Funding approved for new food waste collection service in Chichester District

More than £1.2 million has been approved to help deliver a new domestic food waste collection service in Chichester District which is being rolled out from spring 2026.

Chichester District councillors approved the funding at their meeting on Tuesday 18 November.

The weekly collection service will be rolled out across the Chichester District area -by-area. A separate roll-out for communal properties who share bins will take place later in 2026, and these households will receive information nearer the time.

“Implementing a new service like this is a huge undertaking, and requires meticulous planning, but we are delighted to be in a position where the service is ready to launch next year,” says Councillor Mark Chilton, Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate Services, and Chichester Contract Services at Chichester District Council. “From next March all councils in England that do not already offer a food waste collection service must have one in place. This will be a significant change and promises to bring substantial benefits to our district - especially as around a third of the average rubbish bin in Chichester is food waste.

“Our teams have already carried out a number of key actions for this project, including procuring and ordering all the bins and caddies that will be required. We’ve already received one collection vehicle which we are testing out, before the remaining vehicles arrive in December. Dedicated food waste rounds have also been designed and refined using specialist software, so a lot of work has been going on behind the scenes to deliver this new service.

“We want to make sure that residents have all the information they need to make it a great success, and from this point onwards we’ll be issuing regular information about how the new service will work once it launches next spring – people may have already seen details included in the most recent edition of our residents’ magazine, Initiatives which went out earlier this month.

“The service will be really easy to use, and no matter how little food waste you produce, it all counts. I’d also like to thank all our residents for their recycling efforts and really encourage everyone to use the new food waste recycling service when it arrives.

People can also stay up-to-date by downloading the free Chichester District Council app on their smartphone or tablet, and signing up for notifications. This will provide people with live updates as the service is rolled out – as long as notifications have been switched on.

People can find out more at: www.chichester.gov.uk/chichesterdcapp and the app can also be downloaded directly from the Apple Store or Google Play Store.

No other changes are being introduced and all household recycling, waste, and garden waste (if subscribed to) collections will continue as usual every two weeks.

More information can be found on the council’s dedicated webpage: www.chichester.gov.uk/food-waste