A waste collection authority (WCA) is a

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

in the UK charged with the collection of

municipal waste Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste, ...

. There are 376 WCAs in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

who are responsible for collecting

waste Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste prod ...

from nearly 22 million homes and some businesses.What does a waste collection authority do?

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

The WCA passes on the waste to the

waste disposal authority Waste disposal authorities (WDA) were established in the United Kingdom following the Environmental Protection Act 1990. WDAs are in charge of the use of funds from Council Tax to facilitate the disposal of municipal waste. WDAs must manage waste w ...

that is tasked with the ultimate treatment and disposal of that waste. In England WCAs are the district councils and

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

References

Waste organizations Local government services in the United Kingdom {{waste-stub