Title

DISTRICT COUNCILS' NETWORK

Waste collection plans to cost £680m a year, councils warn

Government plans to standardise kerbside waste collections will cost £680m a year, district councils have warned.

Government plans to standardise kerbside waste collections will cost £680m a year, district councils have warned today.

The District Councils' Network (DCN) said the proposals would create ‘chaos and confusion' as households could need as many as seven bins each.

DCN said there would be four separate bins for dry recyclables, as well as bins for garden waste, food waste and non-recyclables.

Council leaders also said the reforms would increase the number of collection vehicles on the roads.

DCN's lead member for enhancing quality of life, Cllr Dan Humphreys, said: ‘These proposals are poorly thought out, and will create costly chaos and confusion up and down the country.

'Rather than standardise waste collections, local communities should be able to decide what works best for them.

'What works for residents in villages and rural areas won't work for people living in flats in a busy town or city.'

Earlier this month, chief executives urged the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to identify and fund all additional costs.

DISTRICT COUNCILS' NETWORK

Councils fail to collect quarter of rogue landlord fines

By Dan Peters | 06 March 2026

Councils have collected just a quarter of the total fines issued to rogue landlords, data has shown.

DISTRICT COUNCILS' NETWORK

SEND reforms fail to account for transport costs, say MPs

By Lee Peart | 06 March 2026

Government special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms fail to take account of burgeoning home-to-school transport costs for local authorities,...

DISTRICT COUNCILS' NETWORK

A framework for building trust in councils

By Abdool Kara | 26 February 2026

The outcomes framework is an opportunity to drive clearer insight into public sector outcomes and shared accountability, exposing how effectively services wo...

DISTRICT COUNCILS' NETWORK

Getting ready for the big LGR reset

By Ann McGauran | 26 February 2026

Anna Earnshaw talks to Ann McGauran about reorganisation’s biggest risk, and what central Government could do to ease the path towards unitarisation.

Popular articles by Laura Sharman