Stinking streets, missed collections and a maggot 'apocalypse': Chaos of the kerbside food bins rollout 100 days after England's new waste rules began

By MARK DUELL, DEPUTY CHIEF REPORTER (DIGITAL) Published: 00:01, 10 July 2026 | Updated: 00:26, 10 July 2026 Food bin schemes across England are in chaos 100 days after new rules were brought in with streets left maggot-infested after collections were routinely missed. Homeowners have complained of stinking bins and a 'maggot apocalypse' during heatwave conditions, with some describing councils' new waste policies as 'farcical'. Fresh rules for household waste and recycling came into force on March 31 but one in four councils were not ready to provide the service with many delaying the rollout. Record-breaking temperatures for both May and June and the ongoing heatwave in July have exacerbated issues with delays following the rollout, as uncollected food waste has caused a stench in the heat while some bin collection times have changed. Households are now told to separate rubbish into a maximum of four different bins for waste collectors to pick up as part of the changes aimed at standardising collections. One is for food and garden waste; one for paper and card; one for dry recyclables such as glass, metal and plastics; and one for general non-recyclable rubbish. The changes, first announced in 2024, also saw weekly food waste collections brought in. About half of councils were not collecting food waste weekly before the new laws were created, and many have struggled to get their new schemes up and running. Some local authorities advise those whose bins are full after collections are missed to dispose of any further food in general waste bins to be picked up on another date. TikTok user @uffte posted a video explaining how she was horrified to return home from dinner out to find 'an explosion of white larvae maggots outside my home' crawling out of her food bin TikTok user @uffte posted a video last week explaining how she was horrified to return home from dinner out to find 'an explosion of white larvae maggots outside my home crawling out of my food recycling bin because the weather is so hot'. Describing it as a 'maggot apocalypse', she said she Googled what to do and ended up pouring hot water over the maggots and moving the bin, but it smelled 'so fishy'. Another homeowner, Ali Mathieson, wrote on Instagram: 'It is a farce. I followed all the rules, put out my new food waste bin which was not collected. I have seven bins now and I live in a terraced house and the pavements along my street are full of bins. 'It is so ugly and dangerous as you can't push a pram or wheelchair on the pavement or even walk alone without having to dodge bins.' Some councils such as South Gloucestershire are temporarily accepting food waste at recycling centres following disruption to bin collections due to the heatwave. Before the recent hot spell, people in Ipswich were among those furious at food waste bins becoming infested with maggots after they were not collected for weeks following their introduction. Andrew Dixon, who lives in the Rushmere St Andrew area of the Suffolk town, said the lack of collections until recently had led to an increase in vermin and foxes locally. The new default requirement for most households in England from March 31 this year are four containers for: These container types may include bags, bins or stackable boxes. After the collections, he told the Ipswich Star: 'Thank goodness they have finally be collected, now we have less vermin around. Whether they keep it up is another thing.' Janet Ratley, who lives on the same road, claimed the delay in collections by East Suffolk Council had also caused her food waste bin to become overrun with maggots. Heather Nyberg, of Parham, had no collection for a month and said the bins 'stink - it's horrendous and they're covered in maggots and fleas and there are rodents'. East Suffolk Council said most residents were receiving weekly collections on time, but some rounds were 'not being completed because of technical problems with the brand-new specialist vehicles - while, at the same time, crews adapt to the new service processes.' A spokesperson added that residents were asked to continue placing the food bins out for collection on the assigned day - but, if it is not taken, they should 'bring it back in from kerbside and store outside with their other larger bins'. They also said: 'If the large caddy becomes full during this period, and there is further food waste to dispose of, residents are welcome to place this in their general waste bin for collection.' In Brighton, video footage showed how foxes have learned how to break into food waste bins when they are locked. A video from Philip Wells's doorbell camera published by The Argus caught foxes opening the bin despite it being locked in the upright and front position. Your browser does not support iframes. Brighton and Hove City Council said: 'While our food waste bins are designed to deter animals – and are largely successful at doing so – foxes are incredibly intelligent and there will always be some who work out how to gain access.' The local authority added that 'placing something heavy on the lid or locating the caddy higher up and out of reach' can help deter foxes. Separately, Brighton Council said it was 'now collecting over 100 tonnes of food waste every week, but much of what remains in the refuse bins could still be recycled or composted'. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council in Dorset has apologised for delays in food waste collections, after rolling them out to more than 100,000 households in April. The council said the new service had seen a higher-than-expected uptake and teams had collected hundreds of tonnes of food waste in the opening weeks. Councillor Andy Hadley, cabinet member for climate mitigation, environment and energy, said: 'We know some areas have experienced delays with collections, and we're sorry for the frustration this has caused. 'We're working hard to improve the service by adding an extra vehicle, increasing staffing, adjusting collection routes and getting vehicles back out on their rounds more quickly by changing where the lorries are emptied.' In South Wales, residents of Caerphilly who requested new food waste caddies were waiting between four and six weeks for them to arrive due to supply problems. Caerphilly County Borough Council leader Jamie Pritchard said the growing demand for containers had 'created unprecedented pressure on manufacturers'. He said requests for food waste caddies had increased by more than 66 per cent – but added that officials were making 'significant progress' in addressing the backlog. Elsewhere, in West Sussex, residents in some areas including Midhurst and Petworth have complained their new food waste bins are not being regularly emptied. Chichester District Council said on its website: 'We're currently experiencing a higher than expected take up of the new food waste service and are aware that a small proportion of residents in the district may be experiencing issues with their collections. 'Our crews are working hard to reach everyone, and we are making changes to resolve this as quickly as possible. If your food waste bin has been missed, please wait until your next scheduled collection day. 'We're very sorry for the disruption to anyone that has been affected and appreciate your patience while we work to resolve this.' In the North East and Cumbria, the BBC reported ten councils had either been given extensions or delayed their start dates for food waste collections. Among them is Middlesbrough Council which had hoped to begin in March but is now aiming for a July start date. Durham County Council has been phasing in collections this month, with its head of environment James Gilchrist saying: 'We have 250,000 households. It's meant recruiting a lot of staff, buying a lot of vehicles. But we always had a plan of June and we're on target for that.' North Tyneside Council wanted to introduce the collections in April but has now delayed this until later in the summer 'due to some supply chain issues'. Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland councils all got an extension until 2039. In Lincolnshire, a South Kesteven District Council meeting heard the new food waste service had created extra pressure on bin collections and resulted in some not being emptied. Council cabinet member Rhys Baker accepted that there were 'some long-standing teething issues that need a bit more investigation' and the council was working on resolving problems with missed collections. Elsewhere in the county, Boston Borough Council said it was delivering new food waste bins to 32,000 households ahead of a weekly service starting in September. Everyone will receive a small indoor food waste caddy, a larger outdoor food waste caddy, an initial roll of liners and an information guide. Lincolnshire County Council, which is already collecting the food waste bins, accepted there were missed collections during 'a short settling-in period while crews became familiar with new routes and presentation arrangements'. In Staffordshire, Cannock Chase District Council apologised for delays to food waste bin collections after starting them on April 27. A spokesperson said: 'There have been some delays to collecting food waste this week, due to problems with our temporary vehicles. Please leave your caddy out until it has been emptied. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.' Coventry City Council will introduce its weekly food waste recycling collection in September - five months after the deadline, but concerns have been raised over different bin collection days. Councillor Grace Lewis said in March: 'I think it is going to be chaos. I don't want to be too pessimistic but I just don't see this working.' Bedford Borough Council said it had also faced 'some challenges in recent weeks, including unexpected staff shortages, a couple of vehicle breakdowns and a small number of missed collections as new crews learn where food waste bins are left outside properties'. A statement added: 'Where rounds have not been completed on their scheduled collection day, crews have returned on the next working day to finish the route and collect remaining food waste bins.' Meanwhile a £25million anaerobic digestion plant has been approved for a site near Royal Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire despite concerns from local councillor Elizabeth Threlfall that it would make the area 'the compost bin for the south-west'. The site will process household food waste and is being cited as crucial to Wiltshire Council's delayed food waste collection service, which is expected to start next year. Developer Eco Sustainable Solutions said the site will process 75,000 tonnes of food waste a year to create biogas and offer a 'vital sustainable solution for Wiltshire's upcoming food waste collections', but local residents remain worried about odours. Previous laws introduced in 2021 defined recycling as glass, plastic, food waste, paper and card - resulting in some authorities issuing individual bins for each. An earlier investigation by BBC News which was reissued on the day of the rollout on March 31 found 79 local authorities – or one in four - did not expect to meet the new deadline that day. Some councils blamed funding issues while others cite demand for new specialist vehicles. Some 57 of the councils missing the deadline said they hoped to launch their service by the end of this year, while more than a dozen could not give a rough start date. Another 31 councils had agreements in place so they could start the collections at a later date – often because of lengthy existing contracts which would be too expensive to change now - and were therefore not deemed to have missed the deadline. The delay came despite the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) handing out more than £340million in grants and providing targeted support. Ministers brought in the change in an attempt to eradicate a 'postcode lottery' on bin collections, which causes confusion as different councils have varying policies. But the changes are costing millions of pounds for some local authorities to implement, with the Daily Mail finding one council facing a £21million bill, another forking out £2.1million on 15 new vans and a third spending £350,000 just to change bin lids. Critics including legal expert and self-proclaimed 'binfluencer' Gary Rycroft have also voiced fears that more bins on the street could block pavements for parents pushing prams. The TaxPayers' Alliance warned people will be 'furious if their hard-earned cash is thrown away on costly new bins', adding: 'Waste collections have been a mess for years and simplifying the system is welcome, but attaching a huge price tag is a rubbish idea.' The Government says the changes give different councils the flexibility to deliver services that work for their communities – replacing the old system where each authority decided on bin types and materials collected, leading to a confusing patchwork of systems. Ministers have also insisted the new rules will standardise sorting and collections across the country and ensure more high-quality recycled material can be processed domestically and used by manufacturers to make new products. Officials say they want the rules to reduce carbon emissions because less rubbish is burned and cut other environmental and social impacts of waste disposal. A Local Government Association spokesperson told the Daily Mail: 'Councils want to recycle as much as possible and support the move to simpler, more consistent collections. 'Many already deliver high-quality recycling services that residents value. However, these changes are a major shift in how waste is collected and require new vehicles, bins, depot space and contract changes. 'We have not had clarity on food waste funding and councils have had to balance these changes alongside the funding of other local services. There are also practical challenges, including long lead-in times for vehicles and difficulties collecting food waste from flats. 'Councils are working hard to roll out services but need clear funding and a review of costs after the first year to ensure they are sustainable.' A Defra spokesperson said: 'This government has provided funding to England's councils this year though the Local Government Finance Settlement, which includes funding for councils to roll out weekly food waste collections. 'This will help keep our streets cleaner, while empowering local authorities to continue to deliver services in the way that works best for their communities.'