Councillors have been informed that a fresh food waste collection programme should lead to significant improvements.

On April 24, members of the East Sussex Joint Waste Partnership—which includes Hastings Borough, Rother District and Wealden District councils—reviewed a performance update on their joint waste collection agreement.

This gathering represented the initial review since the contractor Biffa commenced food waste collections.

Shaun Barnes, the council official overseeing the contract, explained that collections got underway through a staged approach, with eight rounds launching on March 30 and the remaining nine rounds beginning on April 13. He noted that the figures are still relatively fresh.

During the week starting April 13, when all 17 rounds were operational, the service gathered 162.8 tonnes of food waste, averaging approximately one kilogramme per household.

He continued that the councils had carried out spot checks across numerous streets and calculated participation rates of between 50 and 60 percent across the three districts.

Mr Barnes added that the councils acquired 20 new food waste collection vehicles and Biffa recruited additional personnel to cover the routes.

Rother district Liberal Democrat councillor Kathryn Field reported that residents had contacted her regarding missed food waste collections and absent containers.

She observed that those who recalled the period before Biffa had welcomed the company’s arrival, as their email inboxes suddenly contained fewer complaints about waste services. She stated she was unsurprised that the introduction of food waste collections had appeared to bring back previous problems.

She continued that she was fielding numerous concerns—not only from her division but from other areas as well—about missed pickups and households still awaiting delivery of their containers.

She expressed hope that circumstances would get better quickly, remarking that she felt she had been transported back to 15 years earlier, answering questions about missed bins.

Biffa spokesperson Trevor Elliott explained that priority had been given to new employees familiarising themselves with routes, collection procedures and vehicle operations.

He acknowledged that some initial mechanical issues with the vehicles had created difficulties and caused setbacks in certain locations. However, he stressed that the workforce was making tremendous efforts to address the situation.

He noted that the following week would involve greater attention to specifics, with supervisors and managers concentrating less on overall completion and more on refining the service.

He anticipated substantial progress in the weeks ahead.