March 31st 2025 marks the start of Mandatory Food Waste Separation for businesses that employ over 10 people and produce more than 5kg of food waste per week. How can you prepare for this change in legislation?

The Government has confirmed that The Environment Act 2021 will be coming into force from March 31st, 2025. This means that qualifying businesses have less than a year to prepare.

Particularly relevant to the hospitality sector, food factory canteens, and bakeries, this legislation speaks to a growing expectation for businesses to operate under a culture of accountability and transparency when it comes to sustainable practices.

In the following article, we will share a quick overview of The Environment Act 2021. We will also explore five opportunities for you and your site to prepare for this upcoming change in legislation.

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The Environment Act 2021

Applicable to businesses that employ over 10 people, the Environment Act 2021 will be enforced from March 31st. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees will have until March 31st, 2027 to prepare.

The act outlines a number of policies from the Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and is relevant to English businesses, with legislation already in place for Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

In addition to enhanced reporting requirements and the extended responsibility of food producers, the Environment Act 2021 sets out the legal framework for mandatory food waste separation.

Aiming to eliminate avoidable waste by 2030, the act states that sites generating over 5kg of food waste per week will need to segregate this waste from general refuse. The food waste will then need to be collected separately to ensure it is processed correctly or recycled.

It is worth noting that this 5kg of food waste includes biodegradable materials such as tea bags, coffee grounds, egg shells, fruit waste, vegetable peelings, and bones.

Instead of going to landfill, the diverted waste will be managed through composting or anaerobic digestion.

How can your site prepare for this upcoming change in legislation?

Playing catch-up is never a good idea, especially when it comes to matters of compliance. Instead, it is best to prepare for any upcoming changes to legislation before the relevant deadline arrives.

With this in mind, we have listed five solutions that will help you to get ready for April 2025.

1. Conduct a Waste Audit

Before making any big decisions, it’s important that you understand the current process for managing waste at your site. Although it makes sense to pay particular attention to food waste, you will need to inspect the handling of all waste materials. Don’t forget to evaluate where they go once they leave the premises!

Conducting a thorough Waste Audit will help you to identify areas for improvement. It will also allow you to assess waste streams, confirming the total volume of waste, along with the volume of food waste that will need to be separated under the new legislation.

2. Find the right Collection Service

As mentioned above, it’s vital that you evaluate where your waste goes once it leaves your site and select a suitable waste collection service.

Although other factors such as cost and reliability are important, compliance needs to be a top priority. After all, working with an accredited waste collection service that is aware of and working to the latest legislation is the only way to avoid fines, enforcement actions, and even prosecution.

Ideally, you should partner with a food waste carrier that specialises in the recycling of food waste materials.

3. Update the Food Bins at your site

You should also evaluate the waste bins currently at your site.

First, you need to work out if you have enough bins to keep food waste separate or if you need to invest in new ones.

You should then explore the benefits of colour-coding and, if possible, select different coloured bins for general waste and food waste. At Klipspringer, we also supply bin lids and refuse sacks in a selection of colours.

Next, you should consider any special design features that will help to simplify waste management at your site. This could be anything from wheels to ergonomic handles.

Finally, you should think about labelling your bins to further reinforce the importance of waste separation and reduce the risk of human error. Using the image carousel to the left, you can flick through to see an example of a customised label we recently produced.

Discover our full range of Waste Bins

4. Improve the signage at your site

The next step is to use Visual Management tools to convey key messages to your workforce. This signage should include instructions relating to the separation of food waste and the correct process for collection. Some sites have even commissioned interactive spinning boards that allow operatives to work out which waste items go in which bins – an engaging way to educate teams and highlight the distinction between materials.

Explore our full range of Visual Management Solutions

5. Monitor and report your waste

From April 2025, businesses will have to report on the volume of food waste generated at their site and how it is disposed of. In preparation, you should establish the best approach for reporting, sharing, and evaluating this information. This will be especially important if you are working across multiple sites, sit on the boundary of 5kg of waste, or want to set internal targets for the reduction of refuse. One option to explore is Digital Quality Management, as a digital system will eliminate paper checklists, turn your data into audit-ready reports, and allow you to compare the waste volumes of different locations.

At Klipspringer, we closely monitor legislative updates so that we are prepared with the right products and services to help you secure compliance.

If you have any questions about the guidance provided in this article, we would be happy to share further information relating to the Environmental Act 2021, along with our wide selection of products and services.

You can contact us directly on 01473461800 or sales@klipspringer.com. Alternatively, you can fill out the contact form below and one of our friendly team members will be in touch.

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