Knowsley Council is working closely in partnership with other councils across the Liverpool City Region, as well as Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority (MRWA), to introduce new weekly food waste collections.
Through working together over the last 12 months, the councils have combined their spending power to jointly order food waste vehicles, food caddies and caddy liners in preparation for offering residents a weekly food waste collection. By coordinating the approach across the region this also helps secure the best treatment solution.
St Helens Council, which has provided food waste collections to residents for over a decade, is refreshing its existing service to all residents as well as expanding collections to flats. From 22 September 2025, Liverpool City Council will start Phase 1 of its roll-out to approx. 15,000 properties and will launch a campaign to raise awareness about the benefits and importance of recycling across the city.
Knowsley Council along with other partner councils, will follow Liverpool and St Helens by introducing food waste collections in spring/summer of 2026.
For all councils, the service makes it easy and convenient for residents to recycle their food waste whilst helping to reduce the amount of waste being sent to more environmentally-damaging types of disposal. Everyone will have some inedible food waste such as eggs shells, tea bags or banana skins, so a new weekly collection not only helps reduce waste and provide an opportunity for residents to recycle more but also helps keep household bins cleaner and less full.
Lesley Worswick, Chief Executive of MRWA and Co-Lead of the LCR Waste & Resources Partnership said “When recycled, food waste can be turned into something useful. The food waste is taken to an anaerobic digestion facility where it is used to generate natural forms of energy, such as biogas, an excellent alternative to fossil fuels and a fertiliser which can be used in farming.”
Jason Gooding, Acting Chief Executive of Wirral Council and joint Co-Lead highlighted “We have worked incredibly closely as a partnership during the last year and so it is great to see our colleagues at Liverpool and St Helens moving forward with all our support. We look forward to introducing collections across the rest of the LCR next year so that all residents will have the opportunity to recycle more and contribute to the LCR’s net zero ambitions.”
For more information please visit: https://recycleright.org.uk/household-food-waste-collection/