In anticipation of the Government’s requirement for weekly separate food waste collections from March 2026, Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC) launched its pioneering 123 Waste Collection Service, consisting of:
- Weekly food waste collections
- Fortnightly recycling collections
- Three weekly general waste collections
Founds Group has played a pivotal role in shaping and programme managing one of the largest service transformations undertaken by Mid Sussex in more than two decades. Acting as a trusted partner throughout the programme, Founds Group provided the delivery structure, governance and assurance for Mid Sussex to enable a collaborative approach to be developed with existing service provider Serco, to successfully implement the district wide 123 Waste Collection Service.
This project marks a major step in meeting new Government legislation this March that requires all Local authorities to recycle food waste, whilst supporting local Net Zero ambitions, in this case through a new bio-digester facility turning food waste into green energy.
Working closely with MSDC leadership, Founds Group helped establish strong governance frameworks, clearly defined responsibilities, and a controlled pathway from planning into delivery. This was essential for a programme affecting all 72,000 households across the district.
Founds groups’ ongoing support of early identification and management of delivery risks, from caddy distribution schedules to waste vehicle commissioning, has ensured MSDC and its delivery partner Serco can quickly adapt to operational challenges such as high resident demand, enquiry volumes and logistical pressures.
Founds Group supported MSDC’s Communications Team on readiness planning. This helped ensure residents understood not only how to use the new service, but why the change is critical for environmental goals.
Food waste is one of the UK’s most significant sources of waste related greenhouse gases, with decaying food in landfill responsible for 80% of methane emissions in 2022. With methane more than 20 times more potent than CO₂, diverting food waste from landfill is critical to meeting climate ambitions.
The new model ensures food waste is processed through anaerobic digestion, generating renewable energy and nutrient rich fertiliser for local agriculture rather than ending up in landfill, whilst significantly reducing methane emissions released into the atmosphere.
Mid Sussex is the first council in West Sussex to implement district wide food waste recycling, building on pilots that saw 87% resident satisfaction and a reduction of up to 2kg of general waste per household per week.
The scale and pace of change required significant investment and coordinated delivery across MSDC and Serco, including:
- Delivery of 140,000–175,000 new bins and caddies
- Deployment of 10 new waste collection vehicles
- Creation of 30 new local jobs
- Over 500,000 collections in the first month
- More than 500 tonnes of food waste diverted from landfill in the first four weeks
- 70% resident participation in the first week
The 123 Waste Collection Service is a major milestone in MSDC’s journey towards its 2030 Net Zero ambitions, and we have been proud to be an important part of this. By enabling more efficient separation and processing of waste, the service directly supports lower emissions and working towards a more sustainable district. For Founds Group, it has been an opportunity to apply expertise in programme assurance, complex project delivery and public sector transformation, helping bring a district wide sustainability initiative to life.
