FCC Environment has published its annual Mapping the Politics of Waste report, examining how Simpler Recycling, local government reorganisation and the rise of Reform UK at local level will affect waste and recycling services across England.

The report, released on 8 April 2026, draws on a YouGov poll of 1,880 adults in England commissioned by FCC in March 2025. It found that 70 per cent of respondents were unaware Simpler Recycling was being introduced and many were unsure which materials they would be able to recycle at home once the policy took effect. Despite the awareness gap, respondents were broadly optimistic: 65 per cent said the reforms would reduce confusion, 61 per cent that they would make recycling easier and 59 per cent that they would lift recycling rates.

Simpler Recycling for households came into force on 31 March 2026, requiring councils to collect food waste, paper and card, dry recyclables and residual waste separately. Resource's own review of all 294 waste collection and unitary authorities found that 63 per cent of councils had a food waste service running on deadline day, with 107 still to roll theirs out. The FCC report does not address council readiness or missed deadlines, focusing instead on public awareness as the primary obstacle.

"As reforms finally move into implementation, it is vital that we understand how political change, governance structures and public awareness will influence their success," said Steve Longdon, chief executive of FCC Environment.

Local government reorganisation

On local government reorganisation, FCC sees the merger of collections and disposal responsibilities under single unitary authorities as a route to "larger, more integrated contracts" with "greater long-term certainty" and the ability to "innovate at scale." FCC holds 134 local authority contracts and runs 11 materials recovery facilities, 50 transfer stations and nine energy from waste plants, a portfolio that positions it well for the kind of consolidated procurement this reorganisation of councils will open up.

However, the report also flags potential transitional risks, including contracts that may need to be renegotiated or terminated early, and pauses in procurement while new authorities settle priorities.

Reform UK and the May elections

On the party political picture, the report tracks Reform UK's growth to more than 270,000 members and eight MPs. At the 2025 local elections, Reform won 677 seats and took control of 10 councils, its first experience of running local services. The report notes Reform's manifesto said little about waste and recycling beyond a general commitment to "more recycling and less single use plastics," and that the party has no stated position on landfill use, energy from waste development or recycling targets.

The analysis frames this as both uncertainty and opportunity, observing that Reform-run councils "may be open to pragmatic partnership working, particularly where it helps them deliver visible improvements quickly." Waste collection is singled out as one of the most visible services residents experience, and the report suggests that how bins are collected and streets kept clean will be an early test of Reform's governing credibility.

The May 2026 elections themselves were the subject of controversy earlier this year. The government initially planned to postpone elections in 30 council areas to facilitate local government reorganisation, before abandoning the plan in February following a legal challenge from Reform UK. All elections will now proceed on 7 May.

Labour's waste record

The report is measured but pointed on the government's progress. It notes that Parliament's Public Accounts Committee criticised Defra for being slow to turn its ambitions into detailed delivery plans, and that the Circular Economy Taskforce, established in November 2024, has yet to produce the Circular Economy Growth Plan originally due in autumn 2025 and now expected in spring this year.

On energy from waste, the report notes the government "stopped short of a full moratorium as seen in Scotland and Wales" but introduced requirements that any new facility "must be carbon capture ready, or demonstrate a credible plan to utilise the heat it produces" and show that proposals "will meaningfully reduce residual waste going to landfill or help phase out older, inefficient plants." FCC operates nine EfW facilities. The report does not address whether England's permitted incineration capacity already exceeds projected residual waste volumes, a question that has divided the sector and prompted Defra's own capacity review.

The report's central argument appears to be that waste reform now depends less on policy design than on political conditions. Simpler Recycling, EPR and the Deposit Return Scheme due in October 2027 are described as "a tightened package aimed at lifting recycling rates and supporting a more consistent, circular system across the UK," but FCC's concern is whether the electoral cycle, council restructuring and a fragmented party map will allow these to succeed. The Circular Economy Growth Plan, still awaited from Defra, and the outcome of the May elections will have a significant bearing on this.