New food waste legislation for businesses is set to come into force in the UK from March 2025. Companies that produce more than 5kg of food waste per week will have to store wasted food in separate bins and arrange for its collection by licensed waste carriers. According to Defra, the new law means most businesses will have to separate food waste from other waste streams. This will ensure that less wasted food goes to landfills and is disposed of responsibly instead.
This includes any biodegradable material waste produced from processing or preparing food – including inedible parts like fruit and vegetable skins, bones, eggshells, tea bags, and coffee grounds. Nevertheless, the government says the ideal solution is for unavoidable food waste to be treated in an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant, which generates biofuel and digestate.
Biofuel can be used for energy while digestate is spread on land to recycle nutrients and help form a circular economy. The new law is set to come into effect on 31 March 2025. It is part of Defra’s simpler recycling plans, which aim to improve recycling rates, simplify waste management, and benefit the environment. According to the official government response, the preference is for food waste collected to go for anaerobic digestion treatment. This is because it generates biofuel and digestate from unavoidable waste food. The biofuel can be used for energy while digestate is spread on land to recycle nutrients to help form a circular economy.
While Wales and Scotland already have their own food waste legislation in place, the government hopes this law will drive England closer to the target of eliminating food waste from landfill by 2030. Mandatory food waste separation will also apply to all non-domestic properties in England such as care homes, offices, schools, garages, and transport hubs. It is especially relevant for restaurants, cafes, pubs, takeaways, bakeries, and butchers.
Meanwhile, micro-businesses (firms with fewer than 10 full-time employees) are exempt from the new food waste regulation until 31 March 2027. These firms can still dispose of food scraps and leftovers in general waste bins.
Co-founder of BusinessWaste.co.uk, Mark Hall said: “It’s a big win for the environment and it aligns well with the government’s sustainability goals. We are geared up to help businesses comply with these regulations, ensuring a smoother transition to greener waste management practices.”
These are part of Defra’s simpler recycling plans that aim to improve recycling rates, simplify waste management, and benefit the environment. Mandatory food waste separation should ensure less waste food makes its way to landfill sites and is instead disposed of responsibly.
Taking action
- Understand what wastes you produce and in what quantity
- Review your current waste management practices and processes.
- Contact approved food waste collection companies to help with configuring the best system for your business.
- Familiarise yourself with the specific details of the new regulations.
Business advantages
- An opportunity to review services and save costs by optimising waste collection services
- Doing the right thing for the environment by recovering waste food is a key part of improving your sustainability credentials.
- Having a compliant system will protect your brand and avoid fines
Benefits
Separating food waste from general household waste has significant environmental, economic, and social benefits, which has driven the UK to increasingly support separate food waste collection programs. Here are the primary benefits of implementing this approach in the UK:
Reduces Landfill Waste and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Food waste in landfills decomposes anaerobically (without oxygen), producing methane—a potent greenhouse gas that is up to 25 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Separate collection allows food waste to be processed in facilities that capture methane for energy use, reducing emissions significantly. When properly managed, separate food waste collection can help the UK meet its climate targets by lowering overall greenhouse gas emissions from waste management.
Generates Renewable Energy
Collected food waste can be treated in anaerobic digestion facilities, where bacteria break down the organic material in a controlled environment, producing biogas. This biogas can be converted into electricity or heat, offering a renewable energy source that reduces dependency on fossil fuels. The UK’s transition to renewable energy sources benefits greatly from food waste collection, as it provides a continuous supply of organic material for energy generation, helping diversify energy sources and support energy security.
Creates Valuable Soil Fertilisers
The anaerobic digestion process produces digestate, a nutrient-rich by-product that can be used as an organic fertiliser in agriculture. By recycling food waste into digestate, separate collection contributes to a circular economy, returning valuable nutrients to the soil, improving soil health, and reducing the need for chemical fertilisers. This can enhance agricultural sustainability and promote eco-friendly farming practices, benefiting the UK’s agricultural sector and food security.
Improves Waste Sorting and Recycling Rates
Separate food waste collection encourages better household waste-sorting habits, making recycling programs more effective. When food waste is collected separately, there is less contamination in recycling bins, meaning more recyclable materials can be effectively processed. This, in turn, increases the overall recycling rates and reduces the amount of waste going to landfills and incineration.
Cost Savings for Local Authorities and Households
Disposing of food waste in landfills is costly for local authorities, which translates to higher waste management expenses funded by taxpayers. Separate collection can reduce landfill costs by diverting food waste to energy production or composting facilities, offering cost-effective waste management solutions in the long term. Additionally, with the food waste collection systems in place, households might become more aware of the amount of food they are discarding, encouraging reduced waste at the source.
Promotes Awareness of Food Waste Reduction
When people separate their food waste, they become more aware of how much food they discard. This awareness can encourage more responsible consumption and less wasteful behaviour, promoting efforts to buy and use only what is needed. These habits can also lower household food expenses, as people often waste less when they are conscious of their waste generation.
Supports National Environmental Goals and Policies
The UK has ambitious targets to reduce waste, increase recycling rates, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Separate food waste collection aligns with national and international commitments, such as the UK’s 2050 Net Zero goal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. By implementing food waste collection across the country, the UK moves closer to achieving these targets and setting an example for sustainable waste management globally.
Encourages Innovation in Waste Management Technology
As separate food waste collection becomes more widely adopted, it stimulates investment in innovative waste management technologies, such as advanced anaerobic digestion systems, efficient biogas production methods, and improved composting processes. This promotes technological advancement in the waste sector, creating jobs and driving the UK’s waste management industry toward greater efficiency and sustainability.
Separate food waste collection offers a multi-faceted approach to waste management that supports environmental, economic, and social goals. By reducing landfill use, generating renewable energy, creating natural fertilisers, and raising public awareness, the UK can build a more sustainable waste system. As this practice becomes more widespread, it has the potential to play a crucial role in the UK’s environmental and waste management future, creating a cleaner, greener nation.
The UK government aims to eliminate food waste to landfill by 2030. It’s hoped that this new legislation can drive England towards that target, as it also covers changes for food waste collections from homes. Wales and Scotland already have their own food waste legislation in place, which this aims to replicate for England.
Every year more than 9.5 million tonnes of food waste are thrown away in the UK. Having the right information on the food label is essential. A huge amount of this isn’t recovered or recycled and ends up rotting in landfills, adding to carbon emissions and greenhouse gases. Sending food waste to landfill can cost more than £100 per tonne, so it’s an expensive business too.
