A new Government food waste law could see Babergh Council facing a big bill.

New recycling laws were announced last October by Suffolk Coastal MP, then environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, and included plans for food waste to be collected from households weekly by March 2026.

On Tuesday, Babergh councillors joined hundreds of local authorities in discussing how to best align their waste and recycling service.

To pay for the new vehicles, caddies, and bins needed to meet the new requirements, the Government said it would meet the cost of up-front transition and ongoing operational cost — Babergh's share of this is just over £1 million.

However, councillors said the money would not be enough to meet the cost, with a financial gap of £259,000 estimated to have to be met by the council.

The council has indicated it will appeal the amount of funding with the Government, with the likelihood of success remaining unknown. 

There are also worries several unforeseen costs could creep up which would have to be met by the council, including available depot space to keep the vehicles overnight, as well as any replacement of both the caddies and the bins once their lifetime has expired.

Also included in the legislation is the requirement for councils to collect seven different types of waste — glass, metal, plastic, paper, card, garden and food waste.

This has led to concerns families would have more waste cluttering their houses.

Babergh's leader, Cllr David Busby, said: "I'm really worried about the way this is going to operate — if you have a small kitchen and a few kids knocking around, having all these things in the kitchen is not going to be hygienic."