The law is changing in England which will require businesses to recycle a core set of recyclable materials.
By law, businesses are required to manage and dispose of their waste in a responsible manner. The benefits of doing this effectively includes helping in the effort to tackle climate change and enhancing your image and customer retention.
These changes set to take place on the following dates:
31st March 2025 – if you have 10 or more full-time equivalent (FTE) employees you must be compliant with the new legislation by this date.
31st March 2027 – if you have fewer than 10 FTE employees in total across all of your premises, you must be compliant with the new legislation by this date.
What is the new legislation?
The new legislation in England requires the following types of wastes to be separated in accordance with the arrangements made with your contracted waste collector:
- Food waste – must be collected separately from other waste.
- Dry mixed recycling – includes plastic, metal, glass, paper and cardboard.
- General/residual waste – includes non-recyclable materials.
Keep in mind that all businesses produce some food waste. The Government hasn’t set a minimum food waste weight before the new legislation applies, so it’s likely that these changes will also apply to your workplace if you have 10 or more full-time equivalent (FTE) employees on 31st March 2025, or 31st March 2027 if you have fewer than 10 FTE employees in total across all of your premises.
Please speak to your contracted waste collection provider, who will advise you on what collections they are able to provide and answer any questions you may have regarding the incoming legislation.
If your contracted waste collection provider is Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, you can contact the Trade Waste team via:
E: tradewaste@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk
Introducing ‘The Business of Recycling’ website
WRAP has developed a useful website in partnership with DEFRA. It is a dedicated page for commercial businesses, offering free waste management help with a 5-step guide and also specific industry webinars and information for your business sector.
The website also includes a waste calculator. This tool estimates the amount of waste collected from your business and suggests an alternative, more environmentally friendly option to show where this might be possible.
Visit the ‘Business Of Recycling’ website for more information here: https://businessofrecycling.wrap.ngo/
More information
More information regarding the new legislation can be found on the Government’s ‘Simpler recycling: workplace recycling in England’ guidance page here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/simpler-recycling-workplace-recycling-in-england
