Wandsworth Council has significantly increased its food waste collection, achieving a 170% boost in 16 months, equivalent to an additional 240 tonnes of food waste collected. Councillor Paul White, Cabinet Member for Environment, announced the increase during a Council meeting on Wednesday, 10 December 2025.
The council attributes this increase to investment in new trucks and increased monitoring officers. These officers are implementing measures such as door knocking, increasing recycling capacity where needed, providing enclosures on council estates, deploying electrical equipment banks, increasing recycling bag delivery, and arranging extra collections where necessary to improve the efficiency of waste collection and recycling.
Councillor White addressed concerns about the cost of the new vehicles, stating that the trucks inherited from the previous administration were not fit for purpose. He also confirmed that there has been no increase in missed collections, and that the council has in fact reduced missed collections below target.
When asked about future plans to improve waste services, Councillor White outlined several initiatives, including same-day street sweeping, jet washing, and a focus on fly-tipping hotspots. The council reports that the last two quarters have seen a 20% increase in tonnage removal from these hotspots, leading to almost a 20% reduction in fly-tipping reports.
The council's efforts to improve waste collection and recycling align with its broader environmental goals. The council converts food waste at an anaerobic digestion plant, transported by trucks running on hydro-treated vegetable oil. The food waste is converted into biogas to be used in trucks or going straight into the grid.
