Changes to the food waste collection services in Kenilworth and South Warwickshire are being considered by Warwick and Stratford District Councils as they look at further plans to work in partnership.

A three-week rubbish collection is another suggestion which councillors will debate at their respective meetings next month.

At a press conference this week the leaders of the two councils revealed that combining waste collection under one contract is the next joint service to be proposed.

The two councils are already working together in a number of areas with management roles in ICT and neighbourhood services being shared across the two authorities, while officers are also looking at a proposal to draw up a joint Local Plan.

Warwick District Council leader Cllr Andrew Day (Con, Bishop's Tachbrook) said "Working together we can enhance our waste management services.

"We're keen to get a good value contract, but also to create a service that makes it easier to do the right thing for our environment. Focused on the future of South Warwickshire, we've joined forces to help shape a more sustainable way of life that will benefit us all."

And Cllr Tony Jefferson (Con, Welcombe), the leader of Stratford District Council, added "A new joint waste contract provides the ideal opportunity to achieve best value for money and help us move towards the achievement of climate change goals.

"This provides an ideal opportunity to demonstrate how working together can deliver real and substantial benefits for the residents of South Warwickshire."

The waste contracts for both councils finish around the same time, which presents an opportunity to procure a combined service across an area serving 126,000 households.

It is hoped that a new contract would focus on achieving both environmental and financial benefits; encouraging residents to increase their household recycling, reduce residual [black bag] waste and reduce the cost of treating and disposing of rubbish. In addition, it could help the two councils achieve carbon-neutral status for their districts by 2030.

Councillors will consider a number of options at meetings next month – Stratford's cabinet meeting on November 9 and Warwick's full council on November 18. These will include:

- The impact of not changing the current waste collection contracts

- Moving to a three-weekly collection of residual waste to encourage further recycling

- Investigate the introduction of a separate food waste collection

Local government is facing significant financial, economic and service delivery challenges and a Government White Paper next year is expected to look at creating a number of unitary authorities.

Discussions are ongoing about whether Warwickshire would be best served by one authority covering the entire county or one each for the north and south with the latter incorporating the districts of Warwick and Stratford.