New food waste legislation coming in 2025
Applicable for businesses and public sector organisations from 31st March 2025
Food waste legislation introduction
New food waste legislation is coming into force on 31st March 2025 which will impact all businesses with more than ten employees. ALL food waste must be collected from workplaces, regardless of volume. This includes premises that do not serve food.
This is as part of the Environmental Act 2021. The new reforms named ‘Simpler Recycling’ aim to improve the existing recycling system. The intention is to streamline and simplify the recycling of waste. allmanhall sees this as a positive move to address and reduces around 9.5 million tonnes of food that currently goes to waste in the UK every year.
What is the new legislation?
Known as the ‘Simpler Recycling’ reforms, this new legislation comes into effect in England from 31st March 2025. It will apply to all businesses, and will include public sector organisations such as schools and hospitals.
Those businesses and organisations producing ANY food waste will be required to store food waste in separate bins and arrange for collection by licensed waste collectors. Importantly, biodegradable materials such as vegetable peelings, bones, eggshells, coffee grounds and tea bags are to be included as food waste.
What are the consequences of not complying?
Relevant businesses and public sector organisations must ensure that they are managing their food waste in accordance with the new legislation. Failure to comply could result in financial repercussions in the form of fixed penalty notices.
There is also the risk of reputational damage as well as ethical considerations.
To read more about why we should be reducing waste, even without this new legislation, click here.
Exemption: who does this not apply to?
The regulations apply to ALL businesses and organisations with more than ten employees.
Micro businesses (workplaces with less than 10 full-time employees in total) will not have to adhere to the new legislation until 31st March 2027, allowing more time to prepare to comply. They are however encouraged to introduce this good practice much earlier than that deadline.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland already have their own legislation in place.
What action is required?
Here are some practical tips:
- Review and gain a comprehensive understanding of the types and quantities of waste produced.
- Partner with a food waste collection service. This must be a licensed food waste collector who can provide appropriate waste containers and arrange to collect your food waste.
- Consider the waste bins on site, implementing ‘Food Waste Only’ bins where required.
- Training and signage should also be implemented to ensure the food waste bins are used correctly.
- Monitoring of your food waste volumes will need to be already in place when the reporting requirement is brought into force. Many food waste collectors will weigh the bins on collection, so a simple tracker where these volumes can be recorded would suffice.
Point 5 doubles up as supporting initiatives to gauge and report on waste reduction initiatives in your food service operation… chances are you may already have such measures in place.
Take a look at some food waste reduction strategies here.
How will this benefit organisations?
Those without a food waste collection service already in place will improve their sustainability practices by contributing to a more circular economy. Where food waste is mixed in with general waste, it normally goes to landfill or is incinerated. When food waste is collected by a licensed waste collector, it is processed to generate renewable power and produce organic fertiliser.
There are also likely to be financial benefits in the form of a reduction in cost of your waste collection. General waste collection is often charged by the weight (especially when bins are overfilled), and food waste collection can be charged around £5-8 per bin depending on how many bins you require.
As mentioned above, it can further support and give weight to initiatives you may already have in place to reduce food waste. From smart procurement and menu design to respecting ingredients and getting creative with produce…
A third of all food produced currently goes to waste – that’s not good for the planet or for catering budgets. Perhaps this legislation gives your existing waste reduction efforts bigger ‘teeth’ and will subsequently reduce wasted food and wasted money.
How can you get support?
There are a number of food waste collection carriers operating nationally within the UK. As a trusted procurement partner with established food waste collector relationships, allmanhall is pleased to support you, should you need it.
Existing client partners are encouraged to contact their allmanhall Client Relationship Manager. Otherwise, contact us via hello@allmanhall.co.uk.
allmanhall are also able to advise about other ways to reduce food waste in your foodservice operation.
You can find more on the topic of food waste here:
Why it matters: https://allmanhall.co.uk/blog/food-waste-action-week-why-reducing-food-waste-matters
Strategies for waste reduction: https://allmanhall.co.uk/blog/reducing-food-waste-in-catering-environments