All businesses have a legal ‘duty of care’ to take all reasonable steps to store and dispose of waste safely, find up to date information, links, hints and tips for your business waste here.

+ Simpler recycling legislation - Is your business ready?

The introduction of the simpler recycling legislation will mean that your business will have to ensure its waste is separated into three different bins: General Waste, Dry Recycling and Food Waste.

 

What does this mean for businesses?

As part of the changes, any business with 10 or more full-time equivalent employees will need to comply with the simpler recycling reforms by 31st March 2025.

Waste will need to be separated into three different collections:

  • General waste
  • Dry recycling
  • Food waste

Food waste can no longer be included in the residual waste stream and will need to be separated along with dry recycling.

Please note: Businesses with less than 10 full time equivalent employees (microbusinesses) need to comply with the changes however, will have until the 31st March 2027 to do so.

 

What types of businesses are included?

  • Offices – including the service sector, libraries, museums, art, sports, and leisure facilities.
  • Hospitality – including food and drink businesses, holiday accommodation, cafeterias and catering providers.
  • Health and Social Care – including mental health services, residential, nursing and care home providers.
  • Retail and Wholesale – including in-person and online stores
  • Food manufacturing

 

What do I need to do for my business?

To ensure that your business is compliant by the 31st March 2025, you need to have three separate collections in place. It may be worth contacting your current waste collection provider to ask if they are able to meet your requirements. Alternatively, we would recommend contacting your local council who may offer these services. Please follow the following links to be directed to local council webpages:

 

Why is this being introduced?

  • Simplify the recycling process: making recycling simpler and easy to understand as well as being more accessible to everyone
  • Improve recycling rates: By having more consistent and clear guidelines, the hope is that this will increase UK recycling rates which have levelled off over recent years.
  • Reduce waste contamination: to help prevent unwanted non-recyclable items contaminating good clean recycling.
  • Reaching Net Zero targets: The legislation will help in ensuring that more waste is diverted away from landfill sites so that less greenhouse gasses are being produced from landfill sites.

To find out more visit your local council website or visit WRAP for further advice and handy 5 step guide. Business of Recycling | WRAP

+ Business Waste Service at Recycling Centres

Business waste is accepted at Thetford, King’s Lynn, Dereham, Norwich North, Norwich South, Hempton and Caister recycling centres, for a charge.  This service is designed to be cost effective for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and is available Monday to Friday only. More information including prices and what you can bring, can be found at www.norfolk.gov.uk/businesswaste .

Waste can be accepted  from any premises used wholly or mainly for trade or business, or for sport, recreation, education or entertainment.  This also includes waste from gardening and building work carried out on a domestic property, if the person carrying out the work is not the homeowner.

You will need to have a waste carriers licence to use this service (see below).

+ Top Tips for Reducing Waste and Saving Money

  • Sign up to the Swap2Save campaign for tips on how to reduce single use products within your business
  • Talk to your suppliers about your aim as a business to avoid creating waste in the first place. For example, ask them to work with you to reduce packaging materials that may generate waste for your business
  • Explore take back schemes (returnable/refillable systems) or how essential components of transit packaging can be reused. For example reuse incoming packaging and boxes for outgoing deliveries.
  • Use rechargeable batteries and refillable printer cartridges and consumable items that will last longer e.g. LED lighting.
  • Always print double-sided and encourage paperless business systems (e-working).
  • If your business involves food, think about organising a separate food waste collection or look into composting food waste.
  • Provide ‘doggie bags’ for customers to take their uneaten food home
  • Talk to your waste contractor or your local council about recycling collections in your area.
  • Organise separate bins inside and outside of your business to sort and keep recyclables ‘Clean, Dry & Loose’ – ready for onwards collection.
  • Ask before giving customers bags, disposable cutlery, or paper serviettes.
  • Stock loose items where possible and avoid over-packaged products.
  • Ensure staff have reusable mugs and glasses, not disposable cups.
  • Visit the  Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) website, which provides lots of practical advice to help businesses become more resource efficient.

+ Alternative Business Waste Collection Services

Some local councils and private business will offer a business waste collection service, if you choose to consider  these as a disposal or recycling outlet for your waste you may wish to consider the points below for discussion.

  • If your business involves food, could a separate food waste collection be possible or look into composting food waste.
  • Talk to your waste contractor or your local council about separate waste and recycling collections in your area.
  • Organise separate bins inside and outside of your business to sort and keep recyclables ‘Clean, Dry & Loose’ – ready for onwards collection.
  • If you are a SME, consider using the Business Waste at Recycling Centres service.