Wymondham food waste collections delayed to 9 November

Wymondham’s new weekly food waste collections will not start until the week of 9 November. That is six weeks later than the 28 September date South Norfolk Council advertised all summer.

The council told parish councils about the change on 19 August. It has not put the new date on its own website, and its postcode checker still tells Wymondham households only that collections are “Coming Soon”.

What the council told parish councils

The notice came from Lisa Chandler, the council’s waste service project manager. Wortwell Parish Council published it in full on 19 August, and Wreningham Parish Council carries the same wording. It reads:

Phase 2 of the South Norfolk food waste collection rollout has been rescheduled from 28 September to the week commencing 9 November 2026.

The rescheduled date will provide additional time to recruit and develop sufficient collection drivers, rebalance rounds and ensure the service can be delivered reliably. Resident communications and caddy deliveries will be adjusted accordingly.

The notice also says phase 1 “has been successful and has provided valuable operational learning to support the next stage”.

The council’s own page has not caught up

Four weeks later, the council’s South Norfolk food waste collections page still gives no date at all. It says only that phase 2 collections are “coming soon” and that “the timetable for the next phase of the food waste rollout is currently being reviewed”.

Wymondham News checked the council’s postcode checker on 14 September against 13 Wymondham addresses, across Town Green, Damgate Street, Middleton Street, Back Lane, Norwich Common, Dussindale, Standley Court, Hubbard Close, Youngmans Road, Fiona Close, Marion Close, Gaynor Close and St Leonards Close. Every one returned “Coming Soon” rather than a date.

The council’s own list of towns and villages puts Wymondham in both phases, so a small number of addresses in the parish may already be covered. Spooner Row and Deopham, both inside the NR18 postcode area, returned the phase 1 start date of Monday 27 July.

Which places are still waiting

The council circulated a spreadsheet of phases by village or town to parish councils alongside the notice. It lists 154 places in three columns:

• 39 are phase 1 only. They include Poringland, Tasburgh, Brooke, Deopham, Spooner Row, Barnham Broom and Pulham Market.
• 44 are phase 2 only. They include Diss, Harleston, Bracon Ash, Wreningham, Wortwell, Bressingham, Chedgrave and Rockland St Mary.
• 71 are split across both. They include Wymondham, Hethersett, Long Stratton, Loddon, Mulbarton, Hingham, Costessey, Cringleford and Wicklewood.

That puts 115 towns and villages wholly or partly in the delayed phase. Diss and Harleston, the district’s other main towns, are in phase 2 in full.

This is the second slip

The rollout was already running late before this one. The strategic performance and risk report that goes to South Norfolk Cabinet on Monday 14 September records, against strategic risk SNC P3, that the “introduction of food waste delayed until July 2026 due to delays in vehicle delivery”.

Under the government’s Simpler Recycling rules, councils in England were required to collect food waste weekly from households by 31 March 2026, unless they hold a transitional arrangement allowing a later date. South Norfolk Council has not published whether one applies to it.

Phase 1 did start on time, in the week of 27 July. The council said on 22 July that around 28,000 caddies were being delivered for it. The two-phase plan, with phase 2 from the week of 28 September, was set out in the council’s announcement of 26 June.

What it means for you

If you are in Wymondham and have not had a kitchen caddy and outdoor bin, you are almost certainly in phase 2.

• Nothing changes before November. Keep putting food waste in your rubbish bin until your own collections start.
• Your bin day does not change. The council says food waste is collected weekly on the same day as rubbish and recycling, by a separate vehicle. Our Wymondham bin collection days page has the current rounds.
• Watch for the leaflet. The council says a leaflet with your start date comes first, then the caddy, outdoor bin and liners, one to three weeks before collections begin.
• You cannot opt out of the containers, though the council says you do not have to use them.
• If you think you are in phase 1 and have had nothing, the council asks you to check the postcode checker and then email wasteadmin@southnorfolkandbroadland.gov.uk with your name and address.

Every figure and quotation above comes from the council’s own notice, its own web pages, its own spreadsheet or its own committee papers. Two things it has not published: a reason for phase 2 beyond the wording in the parish notice, and any confirmation that the new date is on its website or in its checker. We will update this page when either changes.