From 31st March, the UK Government’s ‘Simpler Recycling’ initiative will introduce new waste management regulations for businesses.
Under the new rules, any commercial organisation with 10 or more employees will need to separate waste streams – food waste, paper and carboard, and dry recyclables (including glass, plastic and metals) – from general waste. This will involve establishing systems to segregate waste, as well as arranging for their collection by licensed waste carriers.
The Environment Agency (EA) will enforce these regulations, with financial penalties for non-compliance, including fines for contaminating recycling streams or improperly disposing of waste. Members of the public can also report non-compliant businesses, potentially leading to further enforcement action.
Microbusinesses – which have fewer than 10 employees – will have until 31st March 2027 to comply.
Part of the Government’s broader policy drive towards a circular economy, the new rules complement other measures such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) (more on page 21), digital waste tracking and the deposit return scheme (DRS). These efforts aim to reduce landfill waste and improve recycling rates, ultimately lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
At a briefing organised by Cornwall Council, James Ortiz from the waste management team advised that businesses “start by setting out an audit for your waste. It’s important really to understand what you’re doing, what you produce and how ‘Simpler Recycling’ is going to impact you – how are you going to have to split up those waste items and how they’re going to be collected.”
Once businesses have assessed their waste management needs, he recommended: “Have a chat with your waste collection services to talk about how you’re going to be compliant with the legislation and how they will be compliant.”
Another way to be improve compliance, he added, is through waste prevention. “Reducing what you produce from the beginning will ensure you are pre-sorting, in a way.”
Ortiz also advised that the Environmental Authority website has a list of authorised waste brokers, warning: “Make sure that whoever you’re using has a waste carrier’s license, because if you don’t you could get into trouble with the EA if they came knocking at your door when they asked for your duty of care.”
Part of a business’s due diligence is to have up to date waste transfer notes, which should be signed off by the waste collector specifying what materials they’re collecting, who they are, and their destination.
Meanwhile Association of Convenience Stores chief executive James Lowman advised that retailers should review the bin provision they have in public facing areas of their shops, “especially bins that they provide outside the business as they are most likely to have different waste streams that become contaminated.
He added: “It’s important to ensure that there is minimal risk of contamination, which in some cases will mean that shops have to remove some of the bins that they provide. Retailers should speak to their waste collectors as soon as possible to see what their policy is on separation and collection.”
This article first appeared in the March edition of Fine Food Digest.
