New food waste legislation will come into force in England very soon now will require businesses to separate food waste from other waste streams. Are you ready for this important shift in recycling rules?
The new regulations, which apply to workplaces in England with more than ten employees, come into effect at the end of March 2025. Food waste regulations are already in force in Scotland and Wales.
Even if your food waste is limited to the staff kitchen, this legislation could still apply to you.
So it’s important you understand what the new legislation means for your business and make the necessary changes. But there’s good news too: food recycling has many benefits, including for your business, and we’re here to help you show you how:
- What the new food waste laws are and when they start
- Who the news laws apply to
- The benefits of recycling food waste
- How to prepare your business for the new food laws
- How Waste Mission can help you
What are the new food waste laws and when do they come into force?
The new food waste legislation is part of the government’s Simpler Recycling scheme which aims to ensure households and businesses separate dry recyclables and food waste from their general waste.
This means that, from 31 March 2025, businesses in England with ten or more full-time equivalent employees will need to collect and present their food waste separately – or face fines.
Smaller businesses with fewer than ten full-time equivalent employees will have until 31 March 2027 to comply.
According to DEFRA’s definition, food waste is:
- food leftovers
- waste generated by preparing food (of any volume, including if the workplace does not serve food or have a canteen)
The government says its aim is to ‘enable consistent, more streamlined collections from all households, businesses and relevant non-domestic premises (such as schools and hospitals)’. The wider goal is to increase recycling rates and divert food waste from landfill, promoting more sustainable waste management.
Who does the new legislation apply to?
There’s some important small print to consider in relation to these new food waste rules.
Firstly, they extend to all workplaces and ‘non-domestic premises’ including residential homes, and premises forming part of a university or school, hospital or nursing home.
They apply to businesses and workplaces with ‘ten or more full-time equivalent employees’, even if these employees are spread over different business locations.
Compliance notices can be issued against ‘anyone who is not separating waste in agreement with their waste collector’. This could be the business producing waste, but this may also be, for example, a facilities management company presenting waste on their behalf.
In Wales, the legal requirement to separate and recycle food waste (introduced in April 2024) applies to ‘any premises that produce over 5kg of food waste per week’.
In Scotland, food businesses which produce over 5kg of food waste a week have had to present food waste separately for collection, unless they’re in a rural location, since January 2014. Food businesses are defined as ‘an undertaking… carrying out any activity related to the processing, distribution, preparation or sale of food’.
The benefits of separate food waste collection
Preparing for these changes is essential, with the prospect of heavy fines for non-compliance.
But there are some key benefits – both financial and environmental – for businesses separating out their food waste, too.
- Cost efficiencies: Diverting food waste from landfill could save you disposal costs of more than £100 per tonne. Landfill tax rates are due to increase by 20% in April 2025.
- New revenue sources: Turning your food waste into other valuable commodities can release potential new revenue streams. For example, we use food waste to generate renewable energy.
- Environmental benefits: Keeping waste out of landfill reduces greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane, which is a key contributor to climate change.
- Environmental health: Better food waste management helps create a cleaner, safer work environment by minimising pest risks and odours.
- Better green credentials: Your commitment to sustainability will resonate well with eco-conscious clients.
How to prepare your business for the new food laws
Being proactive about change will make your transition to the new regulations smoother and more efficient.
To get ready for the new regulations, we recommend you:
- Read through the new legislation thoroughly.
- Contact Waste Mission for a waste management review.
- Discuss the most efficient solutions for all your waste management needs.
- Train staff on mandatory food waste separation, and provide separate bins.
How Waste Mission can help
Using a licensed waste provider such as Waste Mission not only gives you peace of mind about compliance – but we also offer expert guidance to help ensure your waste management is as cost-effective and efficient as possible.
Our waste solutions are tailored to your specific business needs:
- bespoke solutions including flexible collection services
- specially designed bins
- efficient waste management with no disruption to your operations
Our strong focus on sustainability will help bolster your green credentials and support the circular economy, in ways that boost your bottom line too.
Our food waste recycling process is engineered to ensure that 100% of the food waste we collect is recycled in the most efficient and environmentally friendly way. All our recycling happens in the UK.
Our recycling approaches include:
- Anaerobic digestion, a process which involves breaking organic material without oxygen, producing biogas – a renewable energy source – and digestate, a nutrient-rich biofertiliser
- Rendering, by which food is transformed into valuable resources such as fats, oils and protein meals
- Composting which decomposes organic food waste into a valuable and nutrient-rich soil conditioner, under controlled aerobic conditions
We also provide detailed reporting on waste collection and recycling metrics, enabling your business to track your sustainability progress.
Summary
New food waste legislation coming into force in England by the end of March 2025 will require businesses with ten or more employees to collect and present their food waste separately.
It’s important for all businesses in Britain to get to grips with the new laws: non-compliance will risk hefty fines. Wales and Scotland already have tough laws in place on food waste.
But it’s an important opportunity too. By understanding the requirements and bringing your waste management processes into line, you can streamline your operations, make cost savings and help protect the environment.
Waste Mission are experts in waste management, with a long track record and a strong focus on sustainability. We’re here to help ease this transition, ensure your compliance and make certain your waste management is as efficient and cost-effective as possible.
