Sevenoaks District Council - New Beginning for Waste Collections

News Release

• 11 August 2025

New beginning for waste collections

Sevenoaks District Council is investing £9 million to increase the variety of goods it collects from residents, whilst making its waste collection service more cost-efficient and better for the environment.

For the first time, the Council will also start collecting glass from most properties, eliminating the need for residents to take their glass bottles and jars to a bottle bank.

The first changes will be introduced from April 2026 when dedicated separate weekly food waste collections will begin.

Most households (except those living in flats) will be provided with two food caddies, a small one for the kitchen and a larger one to be kept outdoors for food waste collections.

About 30% of household waste is made up of cooked and uncooked food. Currently, food put into black sacks is incinerated, but the nutrients are lost forever.

Food waste collected separately will go to a specialist ‘anaerobic digestion’ plant where bacteria break down the food, producing natural biogas. The gas is captured and used for cooking, electricity production and other purposes.

This process also creates compost and soil conditioners used in farming. It is the most cost-effective way to deal with food waste.

The Government has also placed new requirements on councils to boost recycling rates and consistency across the country, which requires a dramatic change in the way Sevenoaks District Council collects waste.

In order to accommodate the new glass collections, separate food waste collections, and maintain the existing general rubbish and recycling collections, the Council will need to move to alternate weekly collections for black and recycling waste.

Alternate weekly means collecting general waste one week and recycling the next week. Food waste collections will continue to take place every week.

Alternate weekly collections will be introduced from summer 2026. Most residents (except those living in flats and certain properties situated away from the road) will get two free wheelie bins, one for general waste, the other for recycling plastics, tins and metals and the new glass collections.

New home recycling collections from the kerb, such as textiles, small electrical items and other materials, will also be introduced, further improving the range of goods that can be collected from nearly every resident’s front door.

This new collection timetable will also enable the Council to put more resources into the waste collection service, which will help reduce the chances of missed waste collections, and will allow it to update its fleet into energy-efficient waste lorries that can lift the new bins.

Residents living in flats should also see improvements to their communal recycling facilities with the introduction of new recycling banks for food waste, textiles and small electrical items in future years.

The Council will provide residents with more information, including the start dates, before the changes are introduced.

Cllr Irene Roy, Sevenoaks District Council’s Cabinet Member for Cleaner and Greener, says: “The improvements to our waste collection service is one of the biggest investments in the Council’s 51-year history. Whilst we recognise that adapting to the changes may take time, the new glass recycling collections and a greater range of materials picked up from your home will make recycling easier, quicker and more convenient.

“We’ll also increase our recycling collection rates and help turn food waste into biogas for energy and compost rather than it being incinerated, all of which will support our natural environment.”

“Before we took any decisions to overhaul the service, we sought residents’ views via our ‘BIG Waste Conversation survey’. Over 4,000 people took part from late 2024 and into 2025. Overall, they supported the introduction of wheelie bins and glass and food waste collections and wanted a waste collection service that was more environmentally friendly and cost effective.

For further information, visit www.sevenoaks.gov.uk/newwastecollections.