Prepare for the arrival of Simpler Recycling legislation

New legislation to boost recycling rates will soon affect every UK business. Calabash is committed to supporting clients with first-class facilities management solutions and responsible resource management lies at the heart of our sustainability strategy. We welcome changes to recycling regulation to reduce the amount of waste consigned to landfill and offer a comprehensive package of solutions designed to take you beyond compliance as an ethical and responsible business. 

We find ourselves in a waste crisis. Consigning rubbish to landfill generates significant greenhouse gas emissions whilst incineration is a major cause of pollution. Despite previous efforts to promote circularity, recent figures indicate that in 2022-23, only 32.7% of London’s household waste was recycled. This is the lowest figure for any UK region and is well below the target of 45% by 2025. 

UK recycling rates have plateaued in recent years and the government faces increasing pressure to put measures in place to encourage greater engagement. Plans to introduce so-called Simpler Recycling legislation were first unveiled in October 2023 and is designed to streamline recycling practices and make it easier to keep resources in the value chain.

For business it means assessing how you handle your waste. From next year, more than 2.2 million companies will be required to separate their waste for recycling. Many are unaware of the changes and the clock is ticking to put appropriate measures in place. 

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has staggered the introduction of the new regime. The timetable for compliance is as follows:

• Separate Waste Collections – From 31 March 2025 businesses with more than 10 employees must separate food waste and dry recyclables for collection, including glass, plastic, metal, and paper/cardboard. Businesses will also be required to separate their food waste. This incorporates everything intended for consumption by humans or pets, as well as biodegradable material such as vegetable skins, and tea bags. The compliance deadline for smaller businesses is 2027 and 31 March 2026 for households.
• Unified Dry Recycling Bin – Businesses no longer need to use separate municipal bins and can combine all dry recyclables in one bin. 
• Additional changes – From 31 March 2027, all businesses will need to separate plastic films and bags from general waste. It will be included as part of the plastic waste stream to increase recycling rates.

The reforms will level the playing field and provide clarity by introducing standardised recycling measures, wherever you are in the country. Yet there is still a lot of awareness raising to be done and according to a July 2024 survey by waste management company First Mile, 64% of businesses in England are not ready for the new legislation.

If that applies to you, it is time to review your waste procedures and investigate what changes you need to make to be compliant. It is also important to educate staff about what is expected of them and why improving recycling rates is important.

Fortunately help is at hand. Calabash has put responsible waste management at the heart of our facilities management offer. Helping clients reduce negative environmental impact is a key component of our sustainability strategy and we have a long standing partnership with First Mile to help businesses embrace best practice.

First Mile provides a series of waste management services to our customers focused on supporting the circular economy. It was the first business in the waste management industry to achieve B Corp Certification and its Zero to Landfill policy means that anything they are unable to recycle goes to a waste-to-energy facility where the output is used to power homes.

The partnership means that we offer customers more than 25 different waste management services and approximately a quarter of our client base are taking advantage across around 70 sites. In addition, they can provide consultancy support and undertake waste audits to give businesses greater visibility around what is going in their bins. According to First Mile’s tracker tools, these sites achieved a recycling rate of 67% over the last months. Our aim is to reach 80%, that would secure Gold accreditation. 

Talk to Calabash today about how we can help your business prepare for Simpler Recycling. Learn more about how our comprehensive package of facilities management solutions enable you to serve the triple bottom line of people, profit and planet.