Commercial waste
New Government regulations regarding business waste
On 21 October 2023 the UK Government announced a new recycling legislation called Simpler Recycling.
What this means for businesses
The recycling changes mean that businesses with 10 or more full time equivalent (FTE) employees will be required by law to separate both dry recycling and food waste for collection by March 31 2025.
Dry recycling includes:
- hard plastics
- paper and card
- glass
- steel and aluminium foil, trays, tins and cans
The dry recycling can be collected co-mingled in one bin so no need for multiple separate containers. Food waste will require a separate collection service.
Upcoming implementation dates
To ensure compliance, businesses will be required to separate their waste into 3 bins - general waste, dry recycling and food waste.
Businesses will need to comply by March 31 2025.
Micro-firms will have extra time to implement the new requirements – they must comply by 31 March 2027.
A micro-firm includes fewer than 10 FTE employees.
FTE employment is measured per enterprise rather than per unit, therefore multi-branch enterprises that employ over 10 FTE employees across multiple units are not within scope of this exemption.
Next steps
We are pleased to announce that our new food waste service will be available starting 1 April 2025!
In response to government legislation requiring separate food waste collections, all businesses with more than 10 full-time employees will need to comply by 31 March 2025.
We have designed our service to help your business meet these requirements and manage food waste efficiently. We encourage you to start planning now to ensure smooth compliance with the new regulations. Should you have any questions or require further clarification on these guidelines, please do not hesitate to contact us.
For more information on the latest government guidelines, please visit the official government website or WRAP.
Find out more about what can be recycled in South Norfolk and Broadland.