Are you aware of new food waste legislation?

Environmental campaigners say the news that revised food waste legislation will come into force in England next year is a ‘big win’.

Forming part of Defra’s plan to make recycling easier, improve recycling rates, and simplify waste management, the new law will require most businesses to separate all food waste from other waste streams. It will have to be stored in separate bins, and collected by licensed food waste carriers.

It’s hoped the legislation will prevent excess food waste making its way to landfill sites, with the latest figures showing food currently accounts for 9.5 million tonnes of all waste, and that UK retailers spend around £51,000 each year disposing of food waste to landfill.

The preference, says the government, is for these byproducts of cooking and food production, alongside unused food, to go to anaerobic digestion treatment plants, where they can be transformed into biofuel and digestate to spread over land, recycling nutrients, and contributing to a more sustainable, circular economy.

The new food waste law should come into effect on 31st March, 2025. It will impact public and third-sector organisations such as schools and hospitals, as well as food manufacturers, food retailers and hospitality, with businesses producing more than 5kg of food waste each week expected to arrange separate collections. This will include any biodegradable material waste produced while processing or preparing food, such as bones, eggshells, fruit and vegetable skins, tea bags and coffee grounds.

Those businesses with fewer than 10 full-time employees will have a period of grace, being brought into the scope of the law from the end of March, 2027. 

Currently the government has an ambition to eliminate food waste from landfill entirely by 2030, with hopes the new rules, alongside measures such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) will drive that target forward. Changes to food waste collections domestically are also predicted to come into play soon in England, with Wales and Scotland already operating their own food waste policies.

“It’s a big win for the environment, and it aligns well with the government’s sustainability goals,” says Mark Hall, co-founder of Business Waste. “We are geared up to help businesses comply with these regulations, ensuring a smoother transition to greener waste management practices.”

“It’s great news that the government will require businesses with over 5kg food waste per week to separate it out,” adds Martin Bowman, senior policy and campaigns manager at Feedback. “Sending food waste to landfill results in significant methane emissions, contributing to climate change, and incineration is a highly sub-optimal use of food waste which should, at the very least, be sent for anaerobic digestion or composting.”

Food waste prevention though, Martin continues, should always be the priority, with businesses tackling causes at the root, and building food waste reduction into their ongoing environmental plans. 

This could involve retailers assessing stock, and cutting back on products that don’t perform well, or offering ‘flash sales’ on items with short dates, while foodservice operators could look at reduced menus, improving food storage to extend freshness of produce, and more. 

“Our research has shown that preventing food waste arising in the first place saves around nine times more emissions than sending it to anaerobic digestion,” Martin adds. “We urge the government to implement mandatory food waste reporting for large and medium businesses as a priority, as well as policies to prevent food waste, like protecting against unfair trading practices which lead to food waste.”