NEWS EXTRA
RECYCLING RULES KICK IN AT THE END OF MARCH
The government has issued new rules to boost recycling levels, and it will affect businesses with more than 10 employees from the end of this month.
FROM THE END of this month, there are new rules that will require all businesses in England with more than 10 employees to sort their waste differently for recycling. Most businesses affected will have to use the same four waste streams as households, namely: Residual (non-recyclable) waste, food waste, paper and card and all other dry mixed recyclable materials. Dry recyclable waste is: glass - such as drinks bottles and rinsed empty food jars, metal - such as drinks cans and rinsed empty food tins, empty aerosols, aluminium foil, aluminium food trays and tubes, plastic - such as rinsed empty food containers and bottles and paper and cardboard - such as old newspapers, envelopes, delivery boxes and packaging.
Food waste is: food leftovers and waste generated by preparing food Defra’s Simpler Recycling scheme is designed to ensure that the same materials can be recycled at home or work anywhere, removing the current ‘postcode lottery’ about what can be recycled where, and avoiding any confusion. Defra also hopes that the new rules will encourage manufacturers to design sustainable packaging that’s recyclable anywhere in the UK, helping boost recycling rates. Fines for businesses will be
that present waste on businesses’ behalf.
issued who do not comply with the new Simpler Recycling reforms. According to commercial waste broker
BusinessWaste.co.uk, the first step for breaching the new rules will be to receive a compliance notice from the Environment Agency. If businesses still fail to adhere to the rules, action may be taken against them in line with the Environment Agency Enforcement and Sanctions Policy. This could lead to further warnings, a fine, or prosecution. The agency usually considers the severity of the violations before taking action. The new Simpler Recycling rules affect any business in England with 10 or more full-time employees and arrangements to comply with
them must be in place by 31 March 2025. It means businesses must have separate bins and collections for food waste, cardboard and paper and dry recycling (plastic, metal, and glass, which you can combine). It will no longer be permissible to throw away any of these materials with general waste.
Compliance notices Defra has explained it will issue compliance notices against anyone who is not separating waste in agreement with their waste collector. While this will normally fall under the responsibility of the business as a waste producer, it may also be issued to landlords or facilities management companies
Mark Hall, waste management expert at
BusinessWaste.co.uk, says: “While we would never advise businesses to ignore important rule changes like this, we can understand why many are frustrated. Communication from the government has been very poor, with many businesses unaware the changes were even taking place. It’s fallen on waste management companies like ourselves to reach out to customers to ensure they don’t fall foul of regulations. “Many businesses have been left in the dark about how the rules work and who they apply to; even now we don’t have clear guidance on how the rules will be enforced and what the exact penalties will be.
“The generic nature of the guidance has left many questioning what changes they need to make. For example, do all offices with ten or more employees now need workers to take home food waste to avoid collection fees? While the new rules will bring undeniable environmental benefits, many businesses feel they are the latest in a line of measures which will increase operating costs.” BMJ
8
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net March 2025
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