Restaurant Waste Management & Collection
Business Waste provides restaurant waste management for independent restaurants, chains, cafés and other foodservice businesses across the UK.
We can supply separate bins for food waste, glass, cardboard, dry recycling and residual waste, then arrange collections around your opening hours and the volumes your restaurant produces.
Tell us your restaurant size, main waste streams, postcode and how often your bins fill. We’ll help set up suitable containers and a collection schedule for your site.
In England, most restaurants have been required to separate food waste, dry recyclables and residual waste since March 2025. Micro-firms with fewer than 10 full-time employees have until March 31st, 2027.
Collections in the last 7 days
Get a quote for restaurant waste management
- Free quote within 1 hour
- Bins for food waste, glass and recycling
- Collections matched to your restaurant
- Waste Transfer Notes at no extra charge
Simpler Recycling for restaurants and cafes
In England, restaurants already in scope of Simpler Recycling must separate food waste, dry recyclable materials and residual waste before collection. Waste produced by staff and customers is included. A registered carrier must be used, and separate waste streams cannot be mixed with general waste.
For restaurants, this typically looks like:
- Food waste
- Paper and cardboard
- Other dry recyclables such as plastic, metal and glass according to the collection arrangement
- Residual waste
We can provide the containers, collections and paperwork needed to support your restaurant’s Simpler Recycling setup.
Restaurant waste collection
Restaurant waste collections can be arranged around your opening hours, storage space and how quickly different bins fill.
Food waste may need collecting more frequently than cardboard or other dry recycling, so each stream can have its own schedule. One-off collections can also be arranged for clear-outs, equipment changes or additional waste after unusually busy periods.
Registered waste carriers collect each stream and transfer it to an authorised recycling, treatment, recovery or disposal facility.
Whether you’re a small village café or a city centre restaurant, and wherever you’re based in the UK, we have professional waste management services local to you. Our licensed waste carriers will collect waste from your restaurant and transport to a nearby facility for recycling or appropriate disposal.
Get a free quote today for restaurant waste collection. Speak to one of our friendly, expert team who can answer any questions you may have and advise on the best bins and collection schedule for your restaurant. Contact us online or call 0800 211 8390 today.
How restaurant waste collection works
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Tell us about your restaurant
Provide your postcode, opening pattern, main waste streams and average volumes.
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We confirm the bins
We’ll recommend containers for food waste, recycling and residual waste based on storage space and collection needs.
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Separate the waste
Keep food waste, dry recyclables and residual waste in the agreed containers.
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We arrange collections
Each stream is collected at the frequency agreed for your restaurant.
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Keep the paperwork
Waste Transfer Note information is provided for your records.
Restaurant bins
Restaurant bin requirements depend on the amount of food, glass, packaging and residual waste produced, as well as the available storage space and collection frequency. Find suitable bins for your restaurant to ensure your waste ends up in the right place.
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120L wheelie bin
A small two-wheel bin that can store just food or glass waste, or use it for general waste and recyclables.
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240L wheelie bin
The standard size wheelie bin suitable as a restaurant food waste bin or for storing a wide range of other rubbish.
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1100L wheelie bin
This large four-wheel bin is ideal for restaurants that generate lots of cardboard, packaging, and general waste.
Read Our Customer Reviews
Efficient communication
We have worked alongside Business Waste for quite a few months now, and their efficiency with communication and resolving queries is great. Allie especially is a pleasure to liaise with. Great company from a B2B perspective
Flo Bolton-Smith
The real definition of service
The service received was simply outstanding. Business Waste gave good advice and a demonstration of a willingness to help and get me a solution.
Gregory Harrand
Great company
Great company to deal with, special thanks to Danielle who is always on the ball and sort any issues out instantly with proactive involvement with follow up phone calls and emails. I would recommend her to be the next PM to get things done, oh and as a company to deal with all the waste needs for your business.
Top Deals Online
Excellent service set up process
I was impressed by the speed of setting up the service. I made a single phone call to Business Waste and all the necessary paperwork was done efficiently.
Yahya Saeed
Supporting multi-stream waste management for restaurants
The Suya Factory is a restaurant preparing and serving fresh food daily, with a steady flow of customers and deliveries. In this environment, waste handling needs to be structured, reliable, and capable of handling multiple waste streams.
The site produces a mix of general waste, food waste, glass, and dry mixed recycling from packaging, ingredients, and day-to-day service. With limited space and a need to keep back-of-house areas clear, waste must be separated properly and collected on a consistent schedule.
We introduced a multi-bin setup to match the waste profile:
- 1100-litre general waste bin
- 1100-litre mixed recycling bin (paper, card, plastic, cans)
- 240-litre glass bin
- 240-litre food waste bin
All supported by fortnightly collections, giving the site enough capacity across each stream without over-servicing.
The result is a clear, structured system that keeps waste organised and easy to manage. Staff can separate materials correctly, collections are reliable, and all waste is handled in line with duty-of-care requirements.
Restaurant food waste management
Food waste is one of the main waste streams for most restaurants and includes preparation waste, plate waste and spoiled ingredients.
We can provide dedicated food waste bins and arrange collections based on the amount your kitchen produces. Keeping food separate from residual waste also supports current workplace recycling requirements in England.
Food waste may be sent to an appropriate biological treatment facility, such as anaerobic digestion or composting, depending on the collection route.
Types of restaurant waste
Restaurants produce several types of waste during their daily operations. Food waste in restaurants is the most common type, but there are various other types of waste. The most regular types of restaurant waste and examples include:
- Preparation waste such as peelings or off-cuts.
- Items past their use-by date or ruined in the kitchen.
- Leftover food that comes back from the plates of customers.
- Excess waste generated in error (for example, producing too large a portion of a dish).
- Packaging, such as cardboard, plastic, glass, aluminium, and other packaging materials for ingredients.
- Textiles/uniforms as an occasional specialist stream.
- Oil waste from cooking and other edible oils leftover during food preparation.
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Food waste
Leftover food, out-of-date ingredients, and prep waste all require separate collection under Simpler Recycling rules.
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Glass waste
Wine, beer, spirits, soft drink bottles and more. Once again, these will require separate bins and collection under Simpler Recycling.
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Packaging waste
Plastic containers, cling film, polystyrene, and other food-grade plastic packaging.
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Cardboard waste
Delivery boxes, napkins, and menus should all be separated from general waste.
Get a quote for restaurant waste management
- Free quote within 1 hour
- Bins for food waste, glass and recycling
- Collections matched to your restaurant
- Waste Transfer Notes at no extra charge
Restaurant waste FAQs
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Why is it important for a restaurant to have a good waste management plan?
There are many reasons. Firstly, your customers care. Studies show that organisations with a sustainable approach to food waste management are likely to outperform those who don’t. With a huge customer focus on sustainability, more restaurants are implementing sustainable waste management policies.
A responsible food waste management policy also benefits the environment. If your restaurant reduces the amount of food waste it sends to landfill, it will cut the amount of carbon dioxide emitted. You could also save money with a food waste management scheme that reduces the amount of overall waste you produce.
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What laws govern restaurant waste management?
In the UK, waste policy is driven by the existing EU Waste Framework Directive. This directive prioritises the prevention of waste, the redistribution of usable products, recycling, recovery, and disposal as the least-preferred means of dealing with waste.
MPs attempted to introduce a Food Waste Reduction Bill to parliament in 2015. However, the bill has yet to make any further progress. Instead, the government currently focuses on voluntary initiatives to reduce food waste, as opposed to taking a regulatory approach.
These voluntary initiatives are primarily led by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
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How can you reduce waste in a restaurant?
There are a few steps you can take to reduce waste in a restaurant:
- Avoid over-buying
- Correctly store food
- Practice regular stock rotation
- Label items correctly
- Inspect all deliveries
- Portion control
- Donate excess ingredients
- Incorporate leftovers
- Compost food waste
- Offer doggy bags
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How often should waste be removed from food production areas?
You should remove waste from food production areas at least once a day and every time the container is full. Food waste should be removed from production areas safely and efficiently to keep production areas in a clean and hygienic condition.
Regular removal of waste from food production areas in restaurants avoids any nasty smells developing and reduces the risk of contaminating foodstuffs being prepared.
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How much food waste do restaurants produce?
In the UK restaurants produce 199,100 tonnes of food waste every year. This has a value of around £682 million, so comes at a significant cost for restaurants. While some of this is plate waste sent back by customers, research also suggests that between four and 10% of restaurant food waste occurs before reaching the customer.
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How do restaurants dispose of waste?
Restaurants must use an EA-registered waste carrier for all of their waste collections. Owners have a Duty of Care to ensure waste is stored correctly before collection. Keeping a documented trail of Waste Transfer Notes is important for this reason.
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How often should bins be emptied in a restaurant?
This depends entirely on the size of the restaurant, the number of customers you’re serving and the waste streams you are producing.
Usually, food waste bins should be emptied at least daily. This helps to prevent odour, deter pest activity and ensure hygiene standards are maintained. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) hygiene regulations instruct that food waste must be stored in a way that prevents pest access and contamination.
We’ll review your restaurant activity and guide on the emptying of bins if required.
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How do you get rid of large amounts of food waste from a restaurant?
All food waste rules detailed on this page apply to large volume collections.
If your restaurant produces large volumes of food waste, we can provide bins sized from 120L to 1,100L. We’ll set a collection schedule that suits your volume, this can be daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. If you produce large volumes of liquid, we can arrange bulk liquid collection by tanker.
Published 13th April 2022 by Mark Hall. Last modified 21st October 2026