Walsall’s independent group calls for ‘slop bucket saga’ decision to be scrutinised
Walsall’s independent group has called in the decision on weekly food waste collections for households in Walsall.
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Spearheaded by councillor Pete Smith, the call in notice means the decision made by cabinet members will now go before the scrutiny committee.
Last week cabinet members of Walsall Council approved the new scheme which will involve all households being issued with a food waste caddy and offered weekly collections.
It is mandatory for all local authorities to introduce the food waste collections by March 31, 2026, under the Environment Act 2021.
While the independent group is not against the introduction of the new service, it felt that there was inadequate public consultation on how it would be delivered.
Councillor Smith, describing it as the ‘slop bucket saga’, said the decision last week was ‘nodded through’ without any discussion of the options.
He said: “This is going to affect at least 80,000 households in the borough.
“There’s 60 councillors in Walsall and their phones won’t stop buzzing.
“There was no discussion of it at cabinet and there’s been no proper scrutiny of this particular item.
“The bottom line is this, this decision is a mandatory government order. But what isn’t mandatory is how they go about it, the options. That’s what we want discussions on.”
Councillor Smith said lots of residents have been in touch with questions about the new service which he has been unable to answer.
They asked if resident participation is compulsory, whether a second bin be issued to residents for them to put their food waste into throughout the week between collections, and when the service is likely to start.
Leader of the independent group, councillor Aftab Nawaz, said: “We understand that there are requirements coming in from central government, but we don’t feel there’s been enough consultation or thought into how this will work.
“For example, putting bins out with food waste, what if they get knocked over by mischievous people or animals. We could have a situation where food waste is strewn over the streets.
“Secondly, are people with them for the whole week, rather than chucking it into a bin bag, tightening it off and into a normal bin?
“We don’t understand what’s going on and how it’s going to work, they haven’t got the communications right. We shouldn’t be second guessing what’s such an important thing.
“To quote an old friend and politician, Mr Shires, ‘predecision scrutiny is a good thing to do’.”
The council said resident participation is optional and households will be issued a small kitchen caddy for daily use as well as a larger kerbside caddy for the weekly collections.
The new service is estimated to require additional revenue funding of £1.7m.
According to Walsall Council, food waste collections could remove around 6,000 – 10,000 tonnes of waste from going to landfill, depending on residents’ participation.
A review took place in 2023 analysing what Walsall residents put in their green recycling bins and grey residual bins.
It found that food waste made up 40 per cent of what we put in our grey bins, equating to 28,500 tonnes, and nearly a third of that food waste was still in its original packaging.
Councillor Kerry Murphy, portfolio holder for street pride, said: “New legislation means we are required to introduce weekly food waste collections from all households by March 31, 2026.
“A report was presented and approved at Cabinet on 16 April that the offer in Walsall will see separate weekly collections of food waste.”
