Simpler recycling: workplace recycling in England

All workplaces in England must separate their waste before it’s collected, including any waste produced by employees, customers and visitors.

You must always separate:

• dry recyclable materials (plastic, metal, glass, paper and card)
• food waste
• non-recyclable waste (also called residual waste)

You can have separate bins for each type of waste or separate the waste before collection. If you provide bins for your customers or visitors, you need to separate this before collection too.

You can decide on the size of containers and frequency of collections based on the volume of waste you produce.

If your business or workplace generates garden waste, you must arrange for it to be recycled or composted if it delivers the best environmental outcome.

Workplaces that must follow these rules  

The rules apply to all businesses, charities and public sector organisations including: 

• offices  
• retail and wholesale, such as supermarkets, pharmacies, convenience stores, garden centres, and service station forecourts  
• transport, such as trains, train stations, buses and coaches, bus stations, domestic vessels and ports, and airports 
• hospitality, such as cafes, restaurants, pubs, take-aways, and hotels  
• holiday parks, campsites and short-term rentals such as cottages or lodges 
• entertainment and sports venues, such as cinemas, theatres, galleries, theme parks, zoos, stadiums and arenas 
• agricultural premises, including shows, showgrounds and markets 
• construction sites 
• warehouses 
• manufacturing facilities, factories, and workshops 
• venues for temporary events such as festivals and shows, including outdoor events 
• places of education, such as schools, colleges, and universities
• healthcare places, such as GP surgeries and hospitals
• care homes   
• charities and those registered as charities   
• places of worship  
• penal institutes  
• charity shops selling donated goods that came from a domestic property  
• residential hostels that provide accommodation to people with no other permanent address or who are unable to live at their permanent address only 
• premises used only or mainly for public meetings

This is not a complete list. If you generate waste that is similar in nature and composition to household waste, you are likely to be in scope of the requirements.   

Guidance for your sector

Find specific guidance for each sector on the WRAP website, which is funded by Defra.

The website also includes a waste calculator. This gives you the potential cost of waste collection services and ideas to improve waste efficiency.   

Construction sites

Construction sites must recycle the materials mentioned in this guidance separately from other construction waste. This includes cardboard packaging from new appliances, and food or packaging waste from contractors on site.  

You should discuss practical solutions with your waste collector. For example, for skip waste collections, your waste collector may ask you to place cardboard in a bag on top of the skip for separate collection.

The recyclable materials mentioned in this guidance should not be mixed or compacted with other construction waste under any circumstances.

Separating recyclable materials and food waste

You must always separate dry recyclable waste, food waste and non-recyclable waste from each other, before it is collected. collection.

You should separate your dry recyclable waste (plastic, glass, metal, paper and cardboard) based on your waste collector’s instructions. This is usually collected loose in containers or clear bags.

Dry recyclable waste

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,aerosols (air fresheners, deodorants), aluminium foil, aluminium food trays and tubes
• plastic - such as rinsed empty food containers and(pots, tubs, trays, tubes), bottles and cartons
• paper and cardboard - such as newspapers, envelopes, boxes and cardboard food packaging

Food waste

You must collect food waste, even if the workplace does not serve food or have a kitchen.

This rule applies no matter how little food waste you have. You should not ask members of staff to take food waste home.

Food waste might include:

• food leftovers, including from customer or staff meals
• banana skins and apple cores
• coffee grounds and tea bags
• waste from food preparation, such as onion skins

Compostable materials

Packaging labelled ‘compostable’ or ‘biodegradable’ cannot be recycled with food waste. You should treat it as non-recyclable waste or arrange a dedicated collection.

CaddyAny caddy liners you use (including compostable liners) usedcan be collected with your food waste.

Food waste bin locations

It is best practice to holdprovide food waste canbins wherever food waste is likely to be collected.generated (such as staff rooms, canteens, food halls).

We recommend checking bins to see where food waste is present and adding food bins in those locations.

Collection frequency for food waste

A weekly or fortnightly food waste collection is recommend by waste collectors, and will limit pests and bad smells. You should also consider how to store food waste to avoid pests or bad smells.

It is not recommended that you store food waste for more than 2 weeks.

Cooking fats and oils

Cooking fats, oils and greases can either be collected with food waste (for small amounts), or through a used cooking oil collection. You should follow your waste collector’s instructions. You must never put cooking oil down the drain.

Composting

On-site composting is a permitted alternative to food waste collection. You must follow any relevant rules on aerobic composting and composting material with animal content. Most workplaces are unlikely to be able to compost all of their organic waste effectively.

Bins for customers and visitors 

Waste from customers and visitors is covered by these rules. It’s best practice to provide separate bins for dry recycling and food waste bins for locations where food is likely to be consumed.

Contaminated recyclable waste 

Recycling contamination is when the wrong items are put in a recycling bin. It also happens when recyclable waste is not clean enough to recycle (for example, when there is food or foodliquid residue in plastic or cardboard containers).

To reduce the risk of thiscontamination happening you must: should: 

• provide clear instructions, including clear signs on or near bins bins (your waste collector may provide signs or you can find freely available signage on the WRAP website)
• try to solve recurring contamination issues issues by monitoring behaviour and making changes to signs, bin locations, or the number of bins to make recycling easier

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If the Environment Agency inspects your workplace and identifies contamination, it will take a pragmatic and proportionate approach to enforcement. 

Items not typically collected with recycling

You should provide clear information for your employees, customers and visitors about what can and cannot be recycled in each bin.

The following lists give examples of items that arecannot not typically be collected in dry recycling collections. These are not complete lists. You should check with your waste collector.

Glass

Items not collected include:

• candles
• drinking glasses
• flat glass
• glass cookware (such as Pyrex)
• light bulbs and tubes
• microwave plates
• mirrors
• vases
• window glass
• ceramics, such as crockery or earthenware

Metal

Items not collected include:

• laminated foil, like pet food pouches and coffee pouches
• electrical items and batteries
• general kitchenware like cutlery, pots and pans
• kettles
• irons
• pipes
• packaging that has contained white spirits, paints, engine oils or antifreeze
• aerosol packaging that has contained spray paints, cooking gas, or larger cans (5 litre, for example)
• all waste electricals and electronic equipment, including vapes

Plastic

Items not collected include:

• any plastic packaging or non-packaging items labelled as ‘compostable’ or ‘biodegradable’, including coffee pods
• packaging that has contained white spirits, paints, engine oils or antifreeze
• bulky rigid plastics such as garden furniture, bins and plastic toys
• polystyrene (expanded and high impact) packaging such as packing beads
• polyvinyl chloride (PVC) packaging
• waste electricals and electronic equipment, including vapes

Paper and card

Items not collected include:

• tissues or toilet paper
• absorbent hygiene products (AHPs) including nappies, period products and incontinence products
• cotton wool or makeup pads
• wet wipes
• paperback and hardback books

Check if you can recycle any of these items in your area on the Recycle Now website.

Finding a waste collector  

You should discuss the requirements with your waste collector and arrange separate dry recycling, food waste and non-recyclable waste collection. collections.

The waste collector can be a private wastecompany collector or your local authorityauthority, mayand also provide services.

If your current waste collector does not offer the full range of collection services, you willcan needuse tomultiple arrange these services from other providers. providers.

You must make sure that the company is registered on the Public Register of Waste Carriers, Brokers and Dealers. 

Businesses will continue to pay for their own waste management services.

Micro-firm exemption until 31 March 2027 

Micro-firms have fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees. This relates to the total number of employees in a business, rather than at a certain business location. For example, a business with 3 locations and 5 employees in each location is not a micro-firm (as it has 15 employees in total). Recycling must be separated at all locations.

To count part-time employees, add a fraction based on pro-rated hours. Volunteers, contractors and self-employed workers do not count towards the total.

Micro-firms have until 31 March 2027 to comply. You do not need to register or apply for this temporary exemption.

Legal requirement for workplaces 

Businesses and workplaces have a legal duty to ensure waste disposal is safe, secure and legal and take all reasonable steps to keep waste to a minimum.

If your landlord employs a waste company for you, or you have a waste management contractor, this company has a legal obligation to make sure any separately collected dry recyclables are sent for recycling and that any non-recyclable waste is correctly managed.  

If you do not comply with these requirements by 31 March 2025 (or 31 March 2027 for micro-firms), you are at risk of receiving a compliance notice from the Environment Agency (EA). 

Compliance notices can also be issued against anyone who is not separating waste in agreement with their waste collector.  This will often be the waste producers, for example the business, but this may also be the landlords or facilities management companies that are presenting waste on behalf of the waste producer.    

It is an offence to fail to comply with a compliance notice and enforcement action may be taken against you in line with the EA’s Enforcement and Sanctions policy.  

Legal requirement for waste collectors 

Waste collectors have a legal duty to make sure that dry recyclable materials (plastic, metal, glass, paper and card) and food waste are collected separately from non-recyclable waste.  

Paper and card must be collected separately from plastic, metal and glass. However, if this is not technically or economically practicable, or has no significant environmental benefit, the waste collector can complete a written co-collection assessment.  

Compliance notices can also be issued against a waste collector (excluding a Waste Collection Authority) that is not complying with the rules. 

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Reporting non-compliance 

YouAnyone can report workplacesa workplace or private waste collector that dois not followfollowing these rules to the Environment Agency.

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