UK businesses must follow strict packaging waste regulations that control how packaging is designed, used, recycled, and disposed of. If your company produces, handles, or sells packaged goods, as of 1 January 2025, you’re legally responsible for managing that waste in line with the UK’s packaging rules and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
This guide explains what the regulations are, who they apply to, and how to stay compliant.
Use this quick checklist to see if your business is currently meeting EPR duties:
Keep records and evidence of data, suppliers, and waste collections for audits.
The UK has strict laws to reduce packaging waste and improve recycling. These regulations apply to any organisation involved in the production, use, supply, or import of packaging. The goal is to make businesses responsible for the full life cycle of packaging, from design through to disposal.
Packaging covers a wide range of materials, including cardboard, paper, plastic, glass, metal, wood, and biodegradable alternatives. Common business examples include delivery boxes, food and drink containers, mailing bags, protective wrapping, product cartons, and retail-ready packaging.
The regulations focus on:
They impact many sectors, including manufacturing, retail, e-commerce, hospitality, catering, health and beauty, and wholesale.
Businesses that rely on cardboard or paper packaging often reduce costs by improving recycling systems. Many use cardboard recycling, plastic recycling, or arrange regular paper recycling collections to keep waste charges down. Mixed materials can be handled through mixed recycling collections.
The Producer Responsibility Obligations for Packaging Waste Regulations 2007 set out the original framework for how UK businesses must record, recover, and recycle packaging waste. While EPR is now active, elements of this older system remain part of the transition.
A business must follow packaging waste regulations if it:
If in scope, your business must:
This applies across the supply chain, including raw material suppliers, manufacturers, packers and fillers, sellers, and importers. The obligation is shared, so the cost and responsibility do not fall on one stage alone.
Even if you don’t meet the thresholds, you must still follow good practice. This includes reducing packaging, increasing recyclability, and ensuring commercial recycling collections are in place to avoid contamination.
Waste packaging regulations require businesses to record how much packaging they use and ensure it is properly recycled. Companies must maintain accurate data, label materials clearly, and use licensed waste carriers. This reduces contamination and ensures recyclable packaging does not end up in landfill.
The EU Packaging Waste Directive shaped most of the UK’s current rules. It set packaging reuse and recycling targets and introduced shared responsibility for packaging waste. Although the UK no longer follows EU law, the principles remain. EPR now replaces the old system with a modern, more accountable approach.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) took effect on 1 January 2025. It replaces much of the old Packaging Waste Regulations system. Under EPR, businesses that place packaging on the UK market are now financially responsible for the environmental impact of that packaging throughout its life cycle.
EPR requires in-scope businesses to:
This system places greater responsibility on producers rather than taxpayers or local authorities.
Who EPR applies to
EPR applies to businesses that:
It also applies to some businesses that were not previously required to register under the old regime, so many more organisations now have legal duties.
Phased rollout
While EPR is active, some elements are being introduced in stages. This includes:
EPR makes non-recyclable or mixed-material packaging more expensive to use. Switching to recyclable packaging and setting up effective recycling for plastic packaging waste, glass recycling, and metal recycling keeps environmental impact and costs down.
| Before EPR (up to 2024) | After EPR (from 1 January 2025) |
| 2007 Packaging Waste Regulations were the main system | EPR is now the main system for packaging responsibility |
| Only larger businesses (£2m turnover + 50t packaging) had to report | More businesses are in scope, including smaller producers |
| Businesses bought PRNs to fund recycling | Businesses pay EPR fees based on recyclability and material type |
| Limited data reporting requirements | Detailed, item-level data reporting required |
| Costs largely fell on local authorities and taxpayers | Producers now fund recycling, disposal, and environmental costs |
| Less incentive to design packaging for recycling | Modulated fees reward recyclable, reusable, circular packaging |
If your business supplies or uses packaging, use the following steps to stay compliant:
Work with responsible suppliers
Ask suppliers for packaging specifications and recyclability evidence so data reporting is accurate.
Failure to meet packaging waste regulations can result in:
Not reporting packaging data or failing to pay required fees can lead to fines and investigations. Improving recycling and reducing packaging helps keep costs down, especially as EPR fees increase for non-recyclable materials.
The UK’s packaging waste regulations are strict, and businesses must comply with EPR and data reporting now. Clear recycling systems, reduced packaging, and accurate reporting help control costs and support environmental goals.
For compliant packaging waste collections and recycling support, contact us online or call 0800 211 8390.
Published 13th November 2025 by Mitch Thorne.
Most people believe that when they separate their household or business recycling, it gets processed here in the UK. In reality, a large share of our recyclable waste is still being shipped overseas. Despite growing public awareness and improvements in domestic recycling systems, the UK continues to export substantial quantities of plastic, paper, metal, and glass to other countries.
This raises a difficult question. If the UK wants a circular economy and stronger environmental standards, why are we still exporting so much of our recycling in 2025? What needs to change to fix the system?
The UK remains heavily reliant on other countries to process its recyclable waste. According to reporting by The Guardian, UK plastic waste exports increased by 84% in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024. This has happened despite ongoing calls for the UK to process more recycling at home rather than shipping it abroad.
At the same time, domestic recycling infrastructure has struggled. ENDS Waste & Bioenergy reported that 21 plastic recycling facilities have closed in the past two years due to rising operating costs and weak demand for recycled plastic. When plants close or scale back, the waste does not disappear. It gets exported instead.
This sharp rise also reflects wider industry pressure. The EU plastics recycling industry is now at risk of “imminent collapse” unless urgent action is taken to address low demand for recycled plastics and the volume of cheap virgin plastic on the market, according to sector experts. The UK’s reliance on exporting waste adds further pressure to the system.
Exporting recyclable materials is not a new practice, but the scale of exports in 2025 highlights a structural problem. The UK collects more recyclable waste than it currently has the capacity or financial infrastructure to process. The main drivers behind the rise in exports include:
1. Processing costs in the UK have increased
Energy, labour, equipment and compliance costs have risen. For many councils and private waste companies, processing waste in the UK is more expensive than shipping it abroad. Exporting can appear to be the cheaper option, even if it is not the most sustainable.
2. Limited domestic recycling capacity
With many recycling facilities closing and others running at reduced capacity, the UK simply does not have enough plants to handle the volume of waste produced. Capacity issues affect plastic, paper, metal and glass.
3. Overseas demand for recyclable materials
Many countries rely on imported waste as a raw material for manufacturing. This global demand means recyclable waste has value abroad, especially plastic and metals. Exporters can sell materials more easily overseas than into the UK market, which is struggling.
4. Contamination rates make UK processing harder
If recycling is mixed with food residue, liquids or non-recyclable items, the volume that can be processed drops. High contamination levels make domestic recycling more costly and complex. Exporters can reduce financial impact by sending the problem elsewhere.
The UK exports recyclable waste to a range of countries. While some of this material is recycled responsibly, there are concerns about dumping, burning and mismanagement once it leaves UK shores.
In 2024, the UK exported 598,214 tonnes of plastic waste, a 5% increase from 2023, according to ENDS Report and The Guardian. Data from the World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS) and LetsRecycle shows that plastic waste was shipped to destinations including:
Recycling standards vary between countries. Weaker environmental regulations in some regions increase the risk of pollution, landfill and open burning. Exporting shifts responsibility onto regions that may not have the resources or regulatory oversight to manage it safely.
For businesses that handle dry recyclables, improving systems at the source helps keep more recycling in the UK. Many organisations use dry mixed recycling collections to separate materials correctly and reduce contamination.
Plastic is only part of the story. The UK exports millions of tonnes of other recyclable materials each year, including:
Mark Hall, dry mixed recycling expert at Business Waste, said:
These are all materials the UK could process domestically with the right facilities and investment. Diverting them overseas represents a lost economic and environmental opportunity.
Businesses can improve recycling performance by arranging proper plastic recycling and separate streams for paper, cardboard, metal and glass.
Recycling is meant to reduce carbon emissions, but when materials are shipped across continents, the environmental benefit is weakened.
Shipping the 598,214 tonnes of plastic waste exported in 2024 created an estimated 60,000 tonnes of CO₂ in maritime emissions alone, based on calculations using WasteTrade and BIR carbon factors. This does not include emissions linked to sorting, reprocessing or transport within the receiving country.
Recycling materials domestically would avoid shipping emissions and maximise the environmental gains from using recycled rather than virgin resources. Data shows the carbon savings are significant:
If even half of the UK’s exported recyclable material were processed within the UK, it would save well over one million tonnes of CO₂ each year.
To reduce reliance on overseas processing, the UK needs long-term systemic change rather than short-term fixes. That change should focus on three areas.
1. Investment in domestic recycling infrastructure
The UK needs more modern, efficient facilities that can process higher volumes of recyclables. This includes improved sorting technology and reprocessing plants. The UK Government sets rules for shipments of waste under Gov.uk waste export regulations, but domestic investment must accompany policy if change is to happen.
2. Reducing contamination at the source
Improving household and business recycling knowledge would reduce contamination and increase the amount of waste that can be recycled in the UK. Clearer labelling and simpler recycling rules would help.
3. Policy reform that supports a circular economy
Policy changes must make domestic recycling the easier and more cost-effective choice. That means stronger incentives for UK processing, better enforcement on illegal waste exports and long-term support for local authority recycling systems.
Mark Hall commented on the need for change:
Published 10th November 2025 by Mitch Thorne. Last modified 13th November 2025
Public toilets are disappearing across Great Britain. The British Toilet Association estimates only around 3,300 remain, a 25% drop since 2008.
Access to clean and safe toilets is vital, especially for elderly people, parents, and those with disabilities or medical conditions. But not every city maintains high hygiene standards.
Our sanitary waste experts analysed 8,255 Google Reviews across 742 public toilets in 76 UK cities to find which places have the dirtiest and cleanest facilities.
York tops the list of the dirtiest public toilets in Britain:
London may have the most toilets (118), but York’s are over twice as likely to be called “dirty.”
Cambridge also performs badly, with just 2.8% of reviews mentioning cleanliness. In an ironic twist that differs from its name, Bath ranks second dirtiest.
The top 10 dirtiest UK cities include: York, Bath, Cambridge, London, Bristol, Oxford, Nottingham, Salisbury, Cardiff, and Brighton & Hove.
Sunderland has the cleanest public toilets in the UK, with nearly half of all reviews mentioning cleanliness and a 34.5 hygiene score.
Inverness and Carlisle follow closely, while Dunfermline, Preston, Leeds, Aberdeen, Derry/Londonderry, Wrexham, and St Asaph complete the top ten.
Northern cities dominate this list. No southern English cities made it into the top ten for clean public washrooms.
You might expect that paying more for a toilet means cleaner facilities, but shockingly it’s the opposite.
Our research shows that free toilets or low-cost ones tend to have higher hygiene ratings, while paid toilets are dirtier on average.
Some of the worst-rated paid toilets include:
Cities such as Plymouth, Perth, and Derby charge around 50p per use, so you’ll be paying far more than a penny for what many consider disappointing standards.
Mark Hall, Sanitary Waste Expert and Co-Owner at Business Waste commented:
Everyone deserves a hygienic, accessible place to use the toilet. For some, it’s more than convenience, it’s a necessity.
With fewer than 3,300 public toilets left in the UK, this creates a serious accessibility issue for:
Dirty or closed toilets can cause distress, discomfort, and health risks for those who rely on public facilities daily.
York’s public toilets rank as the dirtiest in the UK, while Sunderland leads the way for clean, hygienic facilities. With fewer public washrooms available, and many charging more for lower standards, there’s a clear need for better maintenance and accessibility nationwide
Mark Hall concurred:
Published 3rd November 2025 by Mitch Thorne. Last modified 5th November 2025
COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED
Thank you to everyone who submitted their entries! The photo competition is now officially closed, and we are delighted to confirm that all submissions have been received.
Our judging panel will begin reviewing the photos shortly. We look forward to announcing the winners once the judging process is complete.
The UK’s bin workers are often overlooked and underappreciated, but they’re pivotal to keeping streets clean and communities running.
Commonly seen as an unglamorous role, BusinessWaste.co.uk wants to shift the narrative and celebrate the UK’s bin workers, bringing pride back to this rewarding and important role. That’s why we’re searching for Britain’s buffest binman.
Do you or a co-worker look hunky in hi-vis, elegant emptying the bins, or beautiful behind the wheel of a bin lorry? Then enter our competition today. We’re looking to acknowledge bin workers across the country, from city centres to coastal towns and countryside villages, who believe they’re top of the UK’s trash!
We welcome nominations from bin workers of all genders, ages, and backgrounds. You don’t have to work on a bin lorry itself, it can be anyone behind the scenes too.
We’ll select an overall winner alongside 11 others to feature on a limited edition 2026 calendar. Funds raised from the calendar will be in aid of FareShare, a charitable organisation focused on fighting hunger and tackling food waste. FareShare’s vision is ‘no good food goes to waste’. The charity works to redistribute surplus food to charities that turn it into meals, and every £1 raised can provide 5 meals.
All you need to do to nominate yourself, a friend, or colleague, is fill in the short form below:
Terms and conditions
By submitting this form, you agree that BusinessWaste.co.uk may use the information and photos you provide for the purposes of running this competition, creating promotional materials (including but not limited to press releases, social media, and online content), and producing the calendar. You confirm that you have the rights to share any photos uploaded and that you give BusinessWaste.co.uk permission to publish, reproduce, and distribute them in connection with this competition and related publicity.
We may edit or adapt submitted material for clarity or length but will not alter its meaning. Personal details such as contact information will be kept private and only used to administer the competition.
Published 15th October 2025 by Mark Hall. Last modified 13th November 2025
Windows 10 reaches End of Support (EoS) on 14th October, rendering millions of devices obsolete. As consumers and businesses look to upgrade their systems, our WEEE waste experts have calculated the amount of waste the shutdown could generate and the value of these resources.
On the 14th of October, Windows 10 will reach End of Support (EoS), meaning Microsoft will no longer provide software updates, security fixes, or technical assistance.
This is problematic because it means any devices that can’t be updated to Windows 11 will face multiple issues:
While users in the European Economic Area (EEA) have received the promise of free extended security updates for Windows 10 until 13th October 2026, the UK has not been given this same offer.
400 million devices are expected to be affected globally, with the UK’s share of the global PC market sitting at 3.6%. This could result in 14.4 million obsolete PCs in the UK.
Based on metal recovery rates data from E-Parisara and average device weights, applied across a share of 70% laptops and 30% desktops, we estimate the Windows 10 EoS could generate 12,805,100 kg of metals – that’s equivalent to the weight of 8,537 cars.
Using metal prices from Kitco, our experts estimate the materials from devices rendered obsolete by the Windows 10 EOS could be worth up to £1.809 billion. This only considers copper, gold, and silver. It doesn’t take into consideration the other precious metals that could be recovered such as platinum, palladium, and indium.
If your device supports it, the first step should always be to upgrade your operating system to Windows 11 to ensure you can continue to use your device and prevent generating any e-waste unnecessarily.
If this isn’t an option, and you decide you need to get a new device, the best move is to recycle any obsolete devices through a certified e-waste handler. Old electronics can be stripped down, precious metals removed and reused, and separated into different materials (such as metal and plastic). These are then recycled in their individual waste streams.
For businesses, this could mean partnering with a waste broker to handle any large quantities of WEEE waste to ensure that any compliance needs are met and waste is diverted away from landfill.
It’s essential that any WEEE waste is treated correctly. In the UK, there’s strict legislation in place that covers disposing of electrical waste. WEEE regulations legally require electronic waste disposal away from landfill or incineration.
Mark Hall, WEEE expert at BusinessWaste.co.uk, says:
“When operating systems like Windows 10 enter the end of support, this can become problematic for users, especially businesses. As cybersecurity becomes an increasingly important issue, many consumers and businesses are finding that they cannot afford to take risks when it comes to device security.
“While it’s important to be vigilant and protect yourself, it’s essential that any obsolete devices do not enter general waste streams. This is against UK WEEE regulations, meaning it’s illegal, and it can be highly damaging to our environment. WEEE waste recycling is complex and requires expert handling. Some electronic equipment and appliances can contain hazardous materials and it’s vital these are separated.
At Business Waste, we provide regular, reliable, and sustainable e-waste collection and recycling for businesses anywhere in the UK. This includes the removal of old computers from offices, damaged and broken laptops from electronic shops, and electrical waste recycling for schools.
Find out how we can help if your business or organisation will be affected by the Windows 10 EoS. We can provide free bins for your WEEE items as you only pay for collection. Plus, you receive a free duty of care certificate for confirmation that your e-waste is disposed of away from landfill.
Get in touch today with our friendly team for more information and a free no-obligation quote – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 3rd October 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 30th October 2025
At-home blood and HIV testing kits are becoming increasingly common in the UK. As an increasing number of people use such kits, it’s also creating a growing sharps waste problem. Thousands of needles and lancets end up in household bins, while the NHS records up to 100,000 needlestick injuries every year.
Improper disposal of home blood testing kits can endanger hospital staff and put waste workers, cleaners, and even family members at risk of injury and exposure to serious bloodborne infections such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV. Safe and responsible disposal is vital to protect human and environmental health.
Our clinical waste experts are urging any users of at-home blood test kits to dispose of sharps waste responsibly, and encouraging the healthcare industry to help tackle the growing problem. Learn how to dispose of home blood test kits safely and reduce the risk of injury.
Throwing away sharps waste with your household general waste presents a huge risk to bin collection workers who may accidentally be pricked by the needles. This can put them at risk of infections such as Hepatitis C and HIV.
Alongside this, general waste bins collected by councils often ends up in landfill or is sent to incinerators. The waste doesn’t go through the specialised handling and treatment required for medical waste, resulting in contamination.
It’s also illegal to dispose of sharps in household waste and is a breach of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. If traced back to you, you could be fined or face a penalty.
Around 32% of sharps injuries are linked to disposal-related causes, such as sharps placed in overfull bins or needles being left loose in waste. It might seem harmless to drop a lancelet or a finger-prick needle in your general waste bin, but once your rubbish has been collected, waste handlers are at risk of injury from touching it.
Between 2012 and 2022, there were 2,600 claims for sharps injuries within the NHS, costing around £10.8 million in damages and legal costs. Of these, 1,460 claims came from staff, including cleaners, porters, and maintenance workers, which highlights how improper disposal puts all staff at risk.
The safest way to dispose of sharps, including those from home blood test kits, is to use a yellow sharps bin, available from pharmacies and GP surgeries. These can be returned once they’re full and they’ll be destroyed safely. Some test providers now include return packaging, but this isn’t widely offered yet.
The most effective ways to reduce sharps waste are to:
Alongside this, with the continual rise of home-testing kits, it seems the toll of the plastic used has been largely forgotten.
Our waste collectors have received injuries while handling rubbish bags containing sharps waste. It’s vital that the healthcare industry, including the NHS and private providers, ensure they include clear guidance of how to dispose of used needles safely and, ideally, offer a return solution so this doesn’t continue.
This would help consumers reduce their sharps waste footprint, and limit the number of sharps waste entering landfill, as well as lowering the potential health risks of injury to waste handlers.
Graham Matthews, clinical waste expert at Business Waste
At Business Waste, we can provide sharps waste bins for organisations anywhere in the UK and arrange regular and reliable collections. Get in touch today for a free no-obligation quote and find out how we can help your business manage its sharps waste safely – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 25th September 2025 by Graham Matthews.
Online marketplaces and retailers selling electronic items need to be aware of recent amendments to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 in the UK. Such organisations will soon have to contribute to the costs of processing e-waste, such as recycling and repairing, just like other businesses that sell electronic products in the country.
The changes aim to create a fairer playing field and reduce the burden on manufacturers and physical electronic retailers when it comes to managing WEEE they didn’t create. It’s estimated that 400,000 tonnes of household electronics are thrown away each year in the UK, like old toasters and lamps, so it’s a lot to handle.
If you run an online marketplace or online retail business (or e-tailer) that sells electronic goods in the UK, then you must prepare for these changes to WEEE regulations. Understand what the changes are, when they come into force, and how to ensure compliance.
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment, etc.) Regulations 2025 were updated on 12 August 2025. Its obligation now covers operators of online marketplaces (OMPs) who place EEE on the UK market from non-UK based suppliers.
This means that online market places and retailers selling electronic and electrical items will have to report their sales and collection and recycling of post-consumer products. It aligns online marketplaces with physical brick-and-mortar retailers that sell electronic goods and for years have had to do this.
Online marketplaces will have to pay their share to manage the electrical waste they generate in a drive towards a circular economy. These amendments aim to make it fairer for UK businesses that currently cover the costs of recycling e-waste from post-consumer products like old and broke toasters, laptops, and lamps.
Items covered by the new WEEE regulatory change include:
The WEEE regulations have been amended to even the playing field when it comes to business responsibility for WEEE waste and recycling. Currently, electrical retailers and distributors must accept e-waste for free of the same type and function when customers buy from them, under the retailer take-back scheme.
Businesses with an electrical and electronic equipment sales area larger than 400 square metres (including aisle, display, and shelf space) must accept small WEEE items for free too – whether they were bought in the store or elsewhere. These are products less than 25cm on their longest side.
It meant consumers could buy electronic items from an online marketplace, such as Amazon or eBay, but return to recycle for free at a different retailer with a physical store. Amending the WEEE regulations aims to remove this burden and place the responsibility for recycling WEEE on the marketplace or e-retailer introducing the items into the UK market in the first place.
Estimates claim that around 100,000 tonnes of e-waste from households are disposed of incorrectly in the UK every year. These contain many valuable metals, including precious metals that should be recovered and reused. It’s hoped these changes will help improve e-waste recycling rates and contribute to a circular economy.
Any online marketplace or retailer that sells or supplies electronic and electrical goods in the UK via a website or mobile application must prepare for these changes. This includes online marketplaces that enable non-UK based suppliers to put their electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) on the UK market.
When the total amount of EEE available via an online marketplace is more than five tonnes annually, then a methodology must also be submitted to the environmental regulator.
The proposed changes were announced in December 2024, but the WEEE regulations weren’t updated until 12 August 2025. However, the changes won’t apply until January 2026. This means online marketplaces and retailers won’t have to submit their methodology to their PCS until then.
Online retailers and marketplaces that help non-UK-based suppliers introduce their EEE products to the market will have to report their sales data from January 2026 to comply. They must register with the Environment Agency and report such sales data by their overseas sellers in the UK.
To do this, they must submit a methodology to their PCS, which shows there’s a clear process in place and the data is as accurate as possible. It should include a summary of the methodology, information about the method (sample selection and sizes), details of the technology used, supporting data, and future improvement information.
Data submitted to the Environment Agency will be used to determine the financial contribution the online marketplace or retailer must make towards the collection, processing, and recycling of WEEE. You can find more information and guidance on the UK government website.
At Business Waste, we can help companies of any type, size, and location in the UK manage all kinds of e-waste responsibly. This includes providing free bins to separate and store WEEE away from other materials to reduce contamination. There are no delivery or rental costs – you only pay for collection.
All e-waste is recycled where possible and disposed of away from landfill. Our experts can carry out a waste audit as well as advising on appropriate action to ensure legal compliance where relevant. Licensed waste carriers remove all e-waste, and you receive a free duty of care certificate for peace of mind.
Discover more about our WEEE collection services in the UK. If you’ve got a question or want to start with a free quote for commercial e-waste collection, then get in touch with one of our friendly and expert team members today over the phone or online – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 5th September 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 17th October 2025
Sevenoaks District Council has announced it will stop all commercial waste collections from the end of September 2025. The move will affect any business in the town and wider Kent region that currently relies on the service to get rid of rubbish from their company.
The council has directly attributed the decision to Defra’s Simpler Recycling reforms, which came into place in April this year for businesses with ten or more full-time employees. Companies with fewer than ten employees are due to comply by March 2027.
The cancellation of the service is likely to cause inconvenience for firms that have used it for many years, from shops and restaurants to other businesses. To help prepare for the change, we’ve put together some helpful advice for what local companies need to do next, and how the decision could impact the area.
All commercial waste collections by Sevenoaks District Council will cease from the 30th of September 2025. No new customers have been accepted since June, but all existing customers should receive their normal service until the end of September (unless notified otherwise).
The decision to stop trade waste collections was made at the council’s cabinet meeting on 12th June 2025. Existing customers should have received notice in late June via a letter that explained the termination of the service.
The letter mentions new Simpler Recycling requirements as the reason for cancelling the service. These require businesses with ten or more full-time employees to have separate bins and collections of food waste, paper and cardboard, and dry mixed recycling (glass, plastic, and metal).
The council claims it doesn’t have the facilities locally to offer a full recycling service, so it can’t continue to offer commercial waste collections in Sevenoaks. Find more information about the decision from the meeting agenda and minutes where the decision was made.
Any business that currently uses Sevenoaks District Council’s commercial waste collection service must find an alternative provider before the end of September 2025. Every business has a legal duty of care under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to ensure its commercial waste is removed, transported, and disposed of responsibly by a licensed waste carrier.
This means your business must arrange commercial waste collection by licensed waste carriers to replace the service provided by Sevenoaks District Council. Follow these steps to properly prepare your business for the change:
Businesses that don’t act before Sevenoaks District Council ceases collections could see missed bin collections, which may lead to a build-up of waste in the local area. This is unsightly and may attract pests like rats and flies too.
Alongside this, the move could lead to desperate attempts to remove rubbish, increasing incidents of fly-tipping. Hopefully, this isn’t something that will occur, but often when councils change rules and regulations, fly-tipping incidents can rise. Changing suppliers before the end of September is vital to prevent such things from happening.
At Business Waste, we can provide commercial waste collection in Sevenoaks for companies of any industry and size. This includes daily, weekly, and fortnightly bin collections of any waste type from general waste and food waste to glass recycling, dry mixed recycling, and more.
Save money with free bins for your rubbish with no rental or delivery charges – you only pay for collections. Licensed waste carriers remove all rubbish, and you receive a free duty of care certificate that provides proof and peace of mind that your waste is managed safely, legally, and responsibly.
We can help with a waste audit and advise around Simpler Recycling regulations to ensure your company is compliant where relevant. Find out more about our business waste services in Sevenoaks and get a free quote for collections today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 19th August 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 22nd October 2025
A cardboard baler is a machine that compresses waste cardboard together into a compact bale. It has a powerful hydraulic press that crushes the cardboard into a dense cube or cuboid to reduce its volume for easier storage and transportation. Vertical and horizontal cardboard balers are available to suit different needs.
There are various types and sizes of cardboard balers, but they all do the same job of compressing the materials. Balers play a big part in commercial recycling for businesses in many industries that produce high volumes of waste cardboard to make managing it more efficient and cost-effective.
Find answers to any questions you may have about what a cardboard baler is and how it works to help decide if one is right for your business.
Cardboard balers work in the same way as other recycling balers, except that only clean and dry cardboard should be loaded into the machine. Waste cardboard is loaded into the baler either at the front, top, or onto a conveyor, depending on whether it’s a vertical or horizontal cardboard baler.
The hydraulic ram then applies huge amounts of pressure to crush the cardboard into a dense block. In a vertical cardboard baler, this pressure is applied from above and the ram presses down, while with horizontal balers the ram usually applies pressure horizontally to compress the cardboard.
Once the bale reaches the required size and weight, it’s either automatically strapped with wire or ejected for manual tying. This depends on the size and type of baler. It’s also either automatically ejected or needs to be removed manually with a forklift truck or pallet jack, depending on the size.
To use a cardboard baler you must read all instructions and ensure proper training before you start for good health and safety. Operations of cardboard balers can differ between machines, so it’s essential you familiarise yourself with the specific parts, buttons, and features of the one your business has in place.
The cardboard baling process is similar, whatever machine you use, however. These are the general steps to use a cardboard baler:
Cardboard baler prices vary depending on the type and size of machine, manufacturer, and where you buy it. Generally, larger cardboard balers are more expensive, such as horizontal machines, compared to some of the smaller vertical ones. Whether you buy a new or used machine also affects the cardboard baler price.
Costs range from hundreds of pounds to buy a second-hand small cardboard baler to the tens of thousands for brand new horizontal balers. Renting a baler can be a more cost-effective choice for many businesses, with options such as weekly and monthly hire charges. These also vary depending on the specific baler.
Cardboard balers come in various sizes depending on the type of machine. Vertical cardboard balers are smaller and require less floor space, while horizontal ones are much bigger but can process greater volumes of waste. Some of the smallest cardboard balers produce bales that are 75cm wide, for example.
The type and size of the cardboard baler also affects the size, weight, and dimensions of the bale it produces. To produce a mill-sized cardboard bale it must weigh at least 400kg and measure 120cm x 100cm x 80cm (width x height x depth).
Most cardboard balers can process paper. However, it’s advisable to bale paper and cardboard separately to improve the chance of recycling these materials. Mixing paper and cardboard can reduce the quality of the bale, which requires more energy and time to separate later.
Cardboard balers and compactors both reduce the volume of the material for easier processing, storage, and recycling. However, there are a few key differences between them:
Buying a cardboard baler can be expensive and a significant investment for a business, depending on the size and type of machine. You’ll also be responsible for maintenance and repairs. Businesses that regularly generate large volumes of cardboard can benefit from owning a baler in some cases.
Hiring a cardboard baler is more flexible as you can rent one for a set period and switch to a bigger or smaller machine if the amount of cardboard waste you produce changes. Often any maintenance and repairs are included. This offers a cost-effective choice for many companies.
At Business Waste, we can help arrange cardboard baler rental for your organisation. Get in touch with us today for a free quote for a cardboard baler anywhere in the UK – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 1st August 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 10th November 2025
A baler is a machine that compresses recyclable rubbish into a dense cube or cuboid block. It significantly reduces the volume of waste by compacting it into a large bale. They’re commonly used for efficient and cost-effective waste management by businesses that produce high volumes of recycling.
Waste balers simplify the recycling process of cardboard, paper, plastic, aluminium, and textiles by condensing them into bales. These are much easier to store, transport, and recycle than loose materials. Depending on the materials and amount of waste, the bales can also be used for recycling rebates in some cases.
Waste balers can save space on your site and reduce the volume of some waste types by up to 90%. This saves space compared to using many bins or skips for storage and means you’ll need fewer collections for more affordable management. Read on to find out what a baler is, how it works, and answers to other questions.
A baler works by loading recyclable rubbish of the same stream (such as cardboard or aluminium) into the chamber. The powerful hydraulic ram (or rams in a two-ram baler) then apply pressure to the materials that compacts everything together. This significantly reduces the volume and any air gaps between the waste.
The materials achieve the desired size and density of the bale. If it’s an automatic baler, then wire, twine, or some other strapping is applied to the bale before ejection. For a manual baler, the dense bale is ejected, where it will need to be manually tied together. The bale can then be moved to a safe storage space or transported directly to a recycling centre.
Every baler has its own instructions that you should read and follow closely. There are differences between using vertical and horizontal balers and those of different sizes and types. However, the general process to use a baler is often similar. This is how to use a baler:
Balers differ from compactors as balers are only used for clean and dry recyclable materials, whereas a compactor can crush general waste and other non-recyclable rubbish. If you produce lots of waste but it’s not recyclable, then you may need a waste compactor instead.
The other main difference is that a baler produces dense bales that are removed from the machine for storage and recycling. With a compactor, the waste is crushed together and condensed within its container. Depending on the kind of compactor, the container itself might need removing or emptying, which can require more labour and time.
Balers are available in many sizes. Some common baler sizes include:
Mill size balers
Large balers are often fully automatic, suiting industrial businesses with complex and consistent recycling needs. Mill size balers are ideal for cardboard and plastic and help to reduce storage space thanks to their higher capacity. They typically use a hydraulic ram to compress the chamber contents.
Mobile and portable balers
Portable balers are suited for businesses with flexible requirements. Their mobility ensures industries such as hospitality benefit from the ability to move them around their premises for use at different points. Mobile balers also save money in terms of transportation and storage requirements.
Mini and small balers
Ideal for small businesses, mini balers are much smaller than their industrial counterparts and are usually simpler to operate. They’re lightweight and easy to manage, often featuring refrigerator-style doors for ease of use. Mini balers produce very small bales.
Vertical balers
Vertical balers compress waste with a vertical force. They’re often chosen for their smaller footprint, taking up less floor space compared to a horizontal baler. They’re often cheaper, too, and can process various waste materials depending on the model. Some more sophisticated vertical balers will crush specialised materials, such as coffee cups and storage drums.
Vertical balers are a perfect waste solution for medium-sized businesses, such as nursing homes, hotels, and convenience stores.
Horizontal balers
Horizontal balers squash waste horizontally, pushing the material from either side instead of downwards. This type of baler is ideal for large commercial businesses needing to crush a high volume of waste quickly. Horizontal balers are also chosen for their consistency, producing waste blocks of equal size and shape, even when operated at speed.
Horizontal balers can work with other industrial machinery, such as conveyor belts and shredders, helping to speed up the waste disposal process. They’re often used for packaging waste, old newspapers, cardboard, and other non-elastic waste items.
The production of bale sizes depends on the size and type of baler you use. For example, the largest, mill-sized balers can produce cardboard bales weighing more than 500kg. At the other end of the scale, mini balers can produce cardboard bales of just 29kg. It depends on an individual company’s recycling needs and throughput.
Industrial recycling balers are designed to bale all sorts of recyclable waste. This includes industrial and commercial waste such as:
Balers are increasingly necessary for businesses looking to increase their recycling while saving money and space. The surface area balers and bales of waste take up far outweighs the room needed for pre-baled recycling. They can significantly reduce the volume of rubbish by up to five or ten times, depending on the material.
Balers ensure that the removal process of recycling is more fluid, thanks to baled waste’s ease of transportation. Bales are simple to stack and move, which makes loading onto trucks for transportation simple. Plus, by reducing the volume of waste, you’ll need fewer and less frequent collections – saving you money on waste management costs.
Baling waste can also help you qualify for recycling rebates, depending on the type and volume of waste materials. Rebates can be available for bales of cardboard, paper, scrap metal, and plastic in some cases. Find out more about recycling rebates.
The environmental benefits of using a baler machine are that it reduces the volume of waste. This saves storage space for businesses, which means more rubbish can be kept onsite for longer and waste collections organised less frequently. In turn, this uses less fuel for waste removal, meaning fewer carbon emissions are released.
Using a baler machine also helps businesses sort and separate recyclable rubbish before collection, which reduces the chance of contamination. This boosts recycling rates and reduces the amount of waste that ends up in landfill. Therefore, your waste management avoids adding to air, ground, and water pollution levels caused by landfill waste.
Recycling balers are used in every industry, from retailers and food producers to manufacturers, hospitality, and distribution centres. Recycling and waste companies use them to streamline their disposal processes. Balers are suited to all business sizes, so even independent retail stores benefit from what a baler offers in terms of space and cost-saving benefits.
The cost of a baler depends on the size, type, condition, manufacturer, and where it’s purchased. Generally, smaller balers are cheaper. A new vertical cardboard baler can cost from around £3,000 upwards. Large horizontal balers can cost upwards of £20,000. You can buy second-hand balers for a cheaper choice.
Buying a baler is a big investment for any business. An alternative is to hire a baler. This is more flexible and means it’s easier to change to a bigger or smaller baler if the amount and types of rubbish your organisation produces change. You won’t be stuck with a baler to sell that you no longer use.
Rental rates for baler machines vary depending on the size, type, manufacturer, rental company, and location. The rental terms and length also affect the price. Transportation and installation costs, as well as the collection of any waste bales also need to be factored in. Call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online for a free quote for baler hire in the UK.
Think your business could benefit from a waste baler? We can provide a wide variety of recycling balers to companies of any size and industry anywhere in the UK. As a leading waste broker, we work with local and national firms to source highly competitive prices for waste balers that suit your needs.
Tell us a few details about the type and volume of waste you produce, your location, and some other key information and one of our experts will advise on the best baler for your business. Get a free no-obligation quote for a baler bespoke for your business today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
What is the ram on a baler?
The ram capability on a baler refers to the pressure of the ram held inside the machinery – the stronger the ram, the more it can crush. If you’re crushing tougher materials like metal and plastic, you’ll want to choose a ram with higher compression to avoid springing waste.
Balers are available in 2000, 2300, or 5000 lbs. of ram force. They range from 12 to 18 inches wide, 18 to 24.5 inches deep, and 34 to 36 inches high.
It’s important to be wary of the safety requirements for high ram balers. The force applied to materials such as plastic and glass could cause springing and shattering during the compacting process. Always wear the correct safety equipment, including goggles for eye protection.
How long does it take to bale waste?
How long it takes for your baler to crush your waste depends on the size and strength of the machine and the type and amount of waste you want to compress. This also affects the cycle time of baling. If you have a mill-sized baler, for example, the baling process may well be on an industrial scale, meaning ongoing compressing during business operation times.
What type of power outlet is required for a baler?
The type of power outlet you need for a baler depends on the model of baler you use. It varies hugely depending on the baler size. Speak to the manufacturer and look through the model specs before connecting any baler to a power outlet to ensure it’s correct.
What are the maintenance requirements for a baler machine?
The exact maintenance requirements for a baler depend on the specific machine and should be included in the operating manual and any training provided. General good practice for baler maintenance includes to:
Can a baler machine be used to bale hazardous materials?
Most balers cannot be used to bale hazardous waste materials and are designed to compact dry mixed recycling, such as paper, cardboard, and plastics. However, there are specialist hazardous waste compactors available that are designed to compress soft hazardous materials like contaminated gloves, masks, and paper tissues.
What is the lifespan of a typical baler machine?
The lifespan of a typical baler machine is between 10 and 15 years. This depends on their use, maintenance, and manufacturing quality. Well-built and maintained baler machines can have a lifespan longer than 15 years. Those used less frequently may also last for longer.
What are the safety measures that need to be taken when using a baler machine?
Key safety measures to take when using a baler machine are to:
Is training required to operate a baler machine?
Training is required for anyone to operate a baler machine. It ensures operators use the baling machinery safely and properly to get the best possible results and minimise the chance of accidents. Operator misuse can cause injury and baler breakdown. Proper training helps reduce baler downtime and incidents.
You might be able to provide baler training in-house or use a third party to deliver professional baler training. Important topics to cover include health and safety requirements, equipment, understanding parts, cleaning a baler, instrumentation and controls, and baler machine operation.
How much space is required for a baler machine to operate effectively?
The amount of space you need for a baler to work effectively depends on the size and type of the baler. Generally, you need enough space to walk around the baler, open the chamber door, put in waste, and remove the bales. This should all be possible without blocking any doors or windows in the room.
A baler machine should be placed near where waste is produced and along the path that rubbish follows through your premises. For many organisations, this is in a warehouse, bin area, or at the end of a production line.
Can a baler machine be rented for short-term or long-term use?
Baler machines can be rented for both short and long-term use. This provides an affordable option for organisations that don’t need or want to buy a baler, or only need temporary use. Rental terms for baling machines can vary from a couple of weeks to a few years.
When renting a baler, you’ll need to factor in time to transport and install the baler. Baler leasing is also possible, with some lease-to-own options available where you make regular payments over a set period and own the baler when the final payment is made.
What are the delivery and pickup options for baler machine rentals?
Most balers are delivered on a trailer due to their size. Once a rental agreement is in place, we’ll work to establish a date and time to deliver the baler to your premises. You’ll know in advance to have time to clear the space and ensure the delivery fits in with your operations.
You can book collections of waste bales of cardboard, plastic, metals, and other recyclables on a daily, weekly, or fortnightly basis. Once your baler rental period ends, we’ll arrange pickup of the baler machine at a suitable time and date.
Can a baler machine be customised to fit specific needs or requirements?
Some manufacturers of baling machines can build custom models to suit the specific needs of businesses. Experts can assess your premises and needs, plan a solution, discuss the costs, build a custom baler machine, and install it. A customised baler is normally more expensive than buying or renting another baler due to the extra time and effort required.
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Published 25th July 2025 by Mark Hall. Last modified 12th November 2025
Safe and clean tap water is available across many holiday destinations, yet most people still rely on bottled water.
New research from plastic waste experts at BusinessWaste.co.uk has found that more than 493 million plastic bottles are likely used unnecessarily, with tourists wasting £392,857,000 every year.
One study found that 72% of travellers still rely on bottled water when travelling, and 35% are likely to purchase those bottles as soon as they arrive at their destination1.
In some instances, people travel to countries where the tap water isn’t safe to drink, so they have to rely on store-bought water that has been filtered and treated.
However, people openly admit on many forums to buying bottled water regardless. Lots state a preference for taste, worries about stomach upset, or simple convenience, as they don’t bother to check the safety of local tap water.
Tripadvisor has 2,868 pages of forums discussing tap water with comments such as:
“just driink bottleded water..cheap and easy to obtain..that takes any “scare” out of the water!!! make it easy on yourself.”
“As above , for a few euros and for the relatively short time we spend on holiday and even shorter time we spend in a room why drink from a hotel bathroom tap”
Our research found that tourists drink more than 1.8 billion litres of bottled water annually, and that’s just across the top 50 most visited destinations. That’s enough to fill 723 Olympic swimming pools or 7.2 million bathtubs.
All this water equates to purchases of more than 1.2 billion plastic bottles each year, using 36,153 tonnes of plastic. Stacked end to end, this would wrap around the earth nine times.
When considering countries that UNICEF states have 99% or higher access to safely managed drinking water, this means an enormous amount of plastic water bottles bought are completely unnecessary.
Taking this into account, that’s an estimated 493 million plastic bottles unnecessarily used where tap water is likely safe.
Annually, £841,989,000 is spent on bottled water across the top 50 most visited countries.
Of this, £392,857,000 is potentially unnecessarily spent on bottled water yearly.
An estimated 99,782 tonnes of CO₂e are used to produce the 1.2 billion plastic bottles used every year.
With 493 million of these bottles unnecessary, that means that 40,828 tonnes of CO₂e could be saved by reducing people’s reliance on bottled water.
That’s equivalent to burning almost 95,000 barrels of oil, 29,000 round-trip flights between London and New York, or the pollution from about 8,800 cars driving around for a whole year.
Graham Matthews, plastic waste expert at BusinessWaste.co.uk, comments:
“This data shows the out-of-control scale of plastic waste, and unfortunately, much of this is avoidable. Many tourist destinations have tap water that is safe to drink, but people simply avoid it out of habit or convenience, without considering the damage to our planet.
“Where people buy bottled water as a taste preference, a simple workaround is to add some natural flavouring such as lemon. For many people, they feel that the change in water composition can affect their digestion. If this is the case, we’d recommend purchasing a reusable bottle with an inbuilt filter.
“While you should always drink tap water where you can, if you need to avoid it due to safety issues, consider buying glass bottled water over plastic, or using filtered refill stations where available. If you must buy plastic bottles, buy the biggest bottle you can and decant it.
“Bottled water is a huge source of plastic waste. It’s sometimes unavoidable, but many people admit to not even checking the safety of tap water at their destination and always opting for bottled water purely for convenience. There is simply no excuse for this.”
Published 18th July 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
♫ Happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us, happy birthday Business Waste, happy birthday to us ♫
On July 15th 2025, Business Waste celebrates ten years since the company started operating. Over the last decade, Business Waste has helped tens of thousands of customers across the UK manage their commercial waste, diverting 241,455 tonnes of waste away from landfill.
To celebrate this monumental milestone, we’ve worked out some fascinating figures about the amount of waste we’ve managed and its impact on our customers, the environment, our people, and the business. We’ve also pulled together some key landmarks, highlights, insight from the directors, and look to the future for what the next decade holds.
Join us in raising a (recycled) glass to celebrate ten years of Business Waste!
Business Waste is the brainchild of David Adams and Mark Hall. In 2015, they saw a gap in the market for a waste brokerage business to transform the image of the industry. This involved moving from people in hi-vis jackets working out of portacabins with little web presence to a slick online service that matches businesses with the best solution for their waste needs.
The duo wanted to create a business that had a positive environmental impact. The goal for every customer is to provide services that benefit their company and the world around us. Over the last ten years, the company has diverted 241,455 tonnes of waste away from landfill.
The company started on 15th July 2015, with just three members of staff, who all proudly remain with the business today. Back then, the office space was a tiny room with no windows but now the business occupies a 15,000 square foot office space in the heart of York.
In the following decade, the headcount has expanded to more than 100 members of staff who work across sales, logistics, customer service, accounts, and marketing. Business Waste has seen significant growth. The company recorded revenue of £180,000 in 2015, which this year is expected to reach £23 million – an increase of 12,678%.
Over the last 10 years, the business has worked with customers large and small and built up a clientele of 36,150 customers. No challenge is too big, and the dedicated logistics team ensures Business Waste meets the needs of any business, offering creative and innovative solutions. The business has dealt with over 400 waste types in its ten-year history, from clothing samples to mercury-contaminated materials.
Honest and consistent customer service has always been at the centre of the business model. Each potential and existing customer will always find a real person at the end of the phone based in the York office. The company understands waste management doesn’t always run smoothly, so believes in old-fashioned customer service that provides the best solutions.
Over the last ten years, Business Waste has directly diverted 94,070 tonnes of waste away from landfill through its specific recycling collections across waste streams including dry mixed recycling, glass, cardboard, and food.
However, alongside this, Business Waste always aims to redirect any other waste that would ordinarily go to landfill to other disposal methods. 98% of general waste collections have also been diverted to other facilities, such as energy from waste (EfW) facilities, where waste is incinerated to generate energy.
This means an estimated further 147,384 tonnes of waste have been diverted away from landfill over the last ten years, bringing the total to 241,455 tonnes. This equates to the weight or size of:
The diversion of this waste is calculated to have saved 181,091 tonnes CO₂e, equivalent to:
Alongside the more common streams of waste, Business Waste has dealt with many unusual cases over the past decade, including managing:
It would be impossible to celebrate our tenth anniversary without mentioning the pride I have for the development of individuals within our business. Over the last ten years, we have seen amazing growth, starting in just a tiny office with only three staff, it’s rewarding to see many of those are still with us today. We are fortunate to have a solid management team which covers all the key pillars of our business.David Adams
“Lee Bryson, our Head of Commercial, has been with the business since the start and worked with myself for two years before this. He has been fundamental to the growth of our client base. Liam Barrett our Sales Manager has been with the business for 5 years and has been responsible for driving sales growth and improving our whole team’s performance. Danielle McAlpine was recently appointed as our Head of Customer Experience thanks to her passion for delivering the best possible service over the last four years, boosting our customer retention and earning our 4.9-star score on Trustpilot. Ben Botterill, our Head of Finance has proven his impeccable attention to detail and strategic acumen which has allowed us to continue to drive our growth and plan for the future.
“It is down to these pivotal team members and many others that Business Waste has become the success it is today and I’m excited to continue to develop our staff to ensure the business both thrives and allows an outlet for our many talented individuals.”
At Business Waste, we’re particularly proud of our excellent customer service record, with a 4.9-star rating on Trustpilot and more than 2,600 five-star reviews. This has been no mean feat and can be credited to the passionate and empathetic customer service team who consistently work to solve any challenges.
The company credits its success to its strong core management team, made up of driven individuals who are constantly looking to better the Business Waste offering.
The success of the company has helped us give back to the local community and various good causes with nearly £80,000 donated to charities. Business Waste regularly supports the annual York Against Cancer charity golf day, made significant contributions to Kevin Sinfield’s Epic 7 in 7 in 7 Challenge for MND, and supports York’s The Island, which provides space and time for vulnerable children and young people.
Looking to the future, Business Waste wants to use the enormous skillset and wealth of knowledge among staff to become an educator for the industry. The business feels that there’s a knowledge gap whereby many are unaware of the possibilities of waste management and how we can make greater strides to reduce waste heading to landfill.
The business also hopes to continue its growth journey, spotting opportunities to acquire smaller companies and bring them under the umbrella of the BusinessWaste.co.uk group.
The ten-year anniversary of Business Waste is a monumental milestone for everyone here. When we began the business back in 2015, the waste industry was completely different, and we’ve seen such a transformation over the last decade. There have been huge obstacles to overcome during our operation, not least the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.Mark Hall
We feel that the dedicated staff we have, and our strong commitment to putting customers first have given us the foundations on which to keep our business strong and continue growing. As we look forward to the future, we’re dedicated to becoming educators in our field and helping businesses to understand the best ways to reduce their environmental impact, while protecting their bottom line.
And if you need help with your commercial waste, why not get in touch for a free quote today? Pick up the phone and call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 9th July 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 14th July 2025
Around 20 million people were prescribed Ozempic in the USA in 2023, according to the British Pharmacological Society. This was an increase of 5,000% over five years. In England, it’s estimated around 120,000 patients were prescribed Ozempic in 2023, but one report claims 500,000 people in the UK may be using GLP-1 drugs including those purchasing them privately.
The rise in the use of Ozempic and other brands of GLP-1 pens in the UK and around the world is generating high levels of problematic waste. It’s estimated that 23 million medical pens are incinerated or landfilled every year. These injectable medications are designed for easy application but once used they become waste, which has a significant environmental impact – especially if disposed of incorrectly.
Any type of medication injection pen must be disposed of safely and responsibly to reduce health hazards and environmental risks. Individuals and businesses can play their part to dispose of GLP-1 pens responsibly. Use this guide to understand how to dispose of an Ozempic pen properly from your home or business.
Responsible disposal of Ozempic pens reduces the risk of exposure to this medical waste, which could spread infection and disease to anyone who comes into contact with it. Therefore, the needle must be disposed of as clinical waste while the metal and plastic components might be recycled.
You must not dispose of an Ozempic pen or any other GLP-1 pens in your general waste bin at home or work. This could put those who handle waste at risk and mean the pens end up in landfill, where the plastic and metal materials of the pens can take hundreds of years to break down.
To dispose of an empty Ozempic pen:
There are a few places where you might be able to dispose of Ozempic pens and other medication injection pens:
Unused Ozempic pens should be disposed of in the same way as empty and used ones. Even if the Ozempic pen is completely unused and hasn’t been tampered with it shouldn’t be used by anyone else due to potential safety issues. The best option is to return it to the pharmacy where it was prescribed or purchased.
Businesses such as pharmacies, hospitals, healthcare centres, care homes, and even some shops may all produce used and unused GLP-1 pens that require responsible disposal. This classifies as commercial medical waste whether the pens are used and thrown away by customers, patients, employees, or anyone else. Therefore, you must arrange commercial waste collection of such waste.
Have yellow-lidded sharps bins in your business to segregate used GLP-1 pens from other rubbish and store them securely. We can provide appropriate sharps bins and containers for your business to manage waste Ozempic and GLP-1 pens responsibly. These are available in various sizes to suit your space and the volume of waste produced.
Then arrange removal of these sharps bins by licensed waste carriers. It’s essential that you receive a duty of care certificate or waste transfer note for the removal of your sharps waste. This confirms the safe, legal, and responsible collection, transportation, and disposal of the GLP-1 pens. At Business Waste, we can help with all your commercial medical waste collection needs.
If your business needs sharps containers and bins for Ozempic and other medication injection pens, then at Business Waste we can help. Save money with free sharps containers for Ozempic and other GLP-1 pens. There are no delivery or hire costs – you only pay for collection.
Book collection on a daily, weekly, or fortnightly schedule to suit your needs. All sharps bins are removed by licensed waste carriers and taken to appropriate waste management facilities for disposal away from landfill. You receive a free duty of care certificate that offers proof and peace of mind too.
Speak to one of our friendly and expert team to learn how we can help with Ozempic pen disposal from your business, whether you run a pharmacy, shop, healthcare facility, or any other organisation. Get a free quote for sharps bins anywhere in the UK today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 27th June 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 15th October 2025
Disposing of asbestos in any building, business, or home must be done incredibly carefully to protect the health of those around and the environment. This hazardous and dangerous material is linked to various health conditions. Therefore, safe handling, removal, storage, and disposal by professionals is essential.
Asbestos is still found in many buildings even though it has been banned in the UK for decades. This guide aims to answer common questions about asbestos waste and disposal to ensure you treat it seriously and follow the proper processes to get rid of it safely.
If you have any concerns or queries about asbestos then one of our friendly and experienced team can help – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online. Otherwise, discover everything you need to know about disposing of asbestos safely with these expert answers to frequently asked questions.
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Asbestos is the name for a group of six naturally occurring fibrous minerals, which crystalise to create fibres. These fibres can be separated and used in various products due to their heat-resistant properties, strength, and durability. However, they’re also toxic and carcinogenic, so they pose a serious health risk due to exposure.
Asbestos comes from the Greek word for inextinguishable. It refers to two distinct groups of fibrous minerals (comprised of six individual types) found naturally in the earth:
There are at least 30 types of asbestiform minerals but only these two have any industrial significance. Different asbestos types have good resistance to high temperatures, acids and alkalis, which made them great for construction and industrial use – until links between exposure to asbestos and serious diseases were made.
A wide range of materials can contain asbestos. It’s mainly found in items within buildings such as:
Within the home, some items that may include asbestos are:
To dispose of asbestos from a business or home you should use a professional asbestos removal service. They will come and assess where the asbestos is located, put in place a safe plan to remove it and dispose of it responsibly. Asbestos cannot be reused or recycled.
This is the safest option and ensures compliance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. These dictate that only licensed contractors and trained individuals can handle and remove certain asbestos-containing materials. If the asbestos waste is already removed, it should be double-bagged and collected by licensed waste carriers to transport it to a disposal site.
Householders can see if your local council or authority provides a hazardous waste disposal service. Some Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) may allow the disposal of asbestos at their sites too. Check if your local one does and the rules around asbestos disposal. If asbestos needs removing from a building then you should use professionals though.
Most may require the asbestos to be double-bagged or wrapped in strong polythene with a minimum gauge (often at least 1000 gauge). This must also be sealed and secure. You should also wear personal protective equipment (PPE) including gloves, a mask, protective footwear, and a high-vis jacket. It’s usually easier and safer to use a professional asbestos removal service.
The cost of asbestos waste removal depends on many factors. These include:
The easiest way to find the price for asbestos waste removal is to get a tailored quote that’s bespoke to your specific needs – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
How long it takes to remove asbestos depends on the size of the area where it is and the complexity of removing it. Getting rid of asbestos tiles from a garage roof or within a single room could be done in a day. However, removing asbestos from an industrial site may take weeks.
Before any asbestos is removed the professionals should undertake a site visit and put together a plan. This should include a timeline and estimation of how long the removal process will take. Preparation, the size of the team, types of asbestos materials, accessibility, and any issues that may cause delays all affect how long asbestos removal takes.
Asbestos isn’t always an immediate hazard, but when identified it should be removed as soon as possible. Only when you disturb or damage asbestos-containing materials (ACM) does the risk of exposure increase. Damage to the materials can separate the fibres so they become airborne and hazardous.
It was discovered in the 1930s that when microscopic asbestos fibres (up to 100 times finer than a human hair) become airborne, you may inhale them. The fibres are so slow to move that they can’t be dispelled from the lungs and can cause cancer. When asbestos is disturbed, these fibres can be inhaled and cause significant respiratory health problems.
Researchers still haven’t determined a safe level of exposure. We know the greater and longer the exposure, the higher risk of contracting an asbestos-related disease.
Asbestos-related diseases kill more people than any other single work-related cause in the UK. There’s a long period between exposure and the onset of the disease (15 to 60 years). Therefore, most associated deaths today are from exposure during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s when asbestos was widely used.
You should never try to remove asbestos yourself, as once it’s disturbed it can release fibres that may cause disease in later life. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has stringent regulations for asbestos waste removal – normally licensed asbestos removal contractors should handle it.
If you find asbestos, carry out a thorough risk assessment and restrict the number of people with access to as few as possible. Anyone dealing with asbestos removal should refer to the HSE’s EM9 sheet, which lays out the law for handling it wherever you are in the UK.
HSE direction says all asbestos waste should be double-bagged or double-wrapped in stout plastic sheeting with the correct warning signs attached. If a skip is used, it must be lockable and for asbestos waste only. It’s not acceptable or safe to put asbestos waste – no matter how well wrapped – in a standard skip.
The best thing to do is to leave asbestos waste disposal to professionals. They know what they’re doing, have effective procedures in place, and will remove hazardous waste with skill and care to make sure nobody and nothing remains contaminated.
High-risk asbestos removal can only be done by licensed contractors, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This includes the removal of asbestos insulation (lagging on pipes), sprayed asbestos, and insulation boards (ceilings and partition walls). Using a licensed contractor is always the safest option anyway.
Non-licensed individuals can remove low-risk asbestos. Examples include removing small areas of decorative coatings when replacing light fittings or smoke alarms, loosely fixed asbestos insulation board panels, or roof sheeting when it’s handled carefully without breaking up. However, you should always consult a licensed contractor for advice before doing any such work.
You can dispose of asbestos by arranging removal by a licensed asbestos specialist. They will come to your business or home and transport the asbestos materials for safe disposal at an appropriate facility. Services are available to remove asbestos from the structure or to simply collect bagged-up asbestos ready for disposal.
To dispose of asbestos from a household you should contact your local council or authority to see what asbestos disposal services are available. This may include a collection service, or you might be able to dispose of asbestos at your local tip or household waste recycling centre (HWRC). Options vary depending on your location.
To dispose of asbestos, you must double bag it – ideally in specific asbestos waste bags – or secure it safely. Then you can place it in a covered and locked skip with just asbestos waste or other hazardous waste to avoid contamination. Always check with the skip provider or asbestos waste collection company whether you can put asbestos in a skip or not.
Asbestos is a hazardous material that you cannot recycle in the UK. Waste asbestos goes to landfill with a specific permit allowing the site to accept asbestos. Research is ongoing to try and develop safe and environmentally friendly ways to convert asbestos into new materials. However, legally it must go to landfill in the UK currently.
Safe asbestos sheet disposal is vital for any business or home to reduce the risk of exposure to hazardous materials. Handle any sheets with care and wear gloves, a dust mask, and goggles. Avoid touching and breaking up asbestos sheets where possible, as this increases the risk of exposure to dangerous dust.
Asbestos sheet disposal follows the same steps as getting rid of any other kind of asbestos. The best option is to use a specialist asbestos removal contractor to collect and dispose of any sheets. Households should contact their local authority to see if they provide an asbestos collection service or if you can take asbestos sheets to the tip for safe disposal.
Some of the first evidence of asbestos dates back around 4,500 years in Finland. Here it was used to strengthen pots and utensils. In the UK, its history is more recent when ships, steam engines and other power-generating machinery began to take advantage of its properties in the 1870s.
The main sources of chrysotile asbestos – the commonest fibre in industrial use – were first mined in Quebec, British Columbia, South Africa, Russia, Italy, America, Greece, and Cyprus. Crocidolite was mined in South Africa and Australia, while amosite was mined in Australia and South Africa (the name amosite derives from AMOSA – Asbestos Mines of South Africa).
Asbestos exposure can lead to a range of serious and possibly fatal diseases many years later. Some of the main types of diseases asbestos exposure may cause include:
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Published 20th June 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th November 2025
Simpler Recycling regulations were introduced in England on 31 March 2025 for businesses and non-household premises with ten or more full-time employees. Workplaces should now have separate bins and collections for general waste, food waste, paper and cardboard, and other dry recyclables.
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) recently released updated Simpler Recycling guidance for businesses to reduce confusion about these changes. This 52-page document aims to answer common questions and clarify the requirements of Simpler Recycling for businesses. Further updates to the document are expected in the coming months and years.
We’ve picked out some of the most important points from this updated guidance to make things easy and help your business comply with the Simpler Recycling regulations. Find answers to any queries you may have with these answers to frequently asked questions about Simpler Recycling for businesses.
Simpler Recycling is legislation in England that aims to standardise recycling across homes, businesses, and organisations nationwide. These regulations mean households and workplaces can recycle the same core waste materials whatever their location – food waste, paper and cardboard, dry mixed recycling (glass, metal, and plastic).
As the name suggests, Simpler Recycling regulations should introduce consistent waste collections for businesses and households in England. The policy requires separate collections of these core waste materials to improve recycling and recovery rates while reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill and for incineration.
There are three key dates when businesses and local authorities must comply with Simpler Recycling regulations:
Most businesses will need four bins for each of the main waste streams:
If your business doesn’t produce any of the above waste streams then you don’t need a bin for it. Businesses that produce high volumes of glass, plastic, or metal should use separate bins and containers for these materials where possible.
Simpler Recycling rules apply to businesses with multiple sites across all premises if you have more than 10 full-time employees in total. For example, if you have two sites with six full-time employees working at each one then that’s more than 10 full-time employees in total, which means Simpler Recycling rules must be followed at both sites.
Both sites should have bins and waste collections in place for all the materials covered by the Simpler Recycling regulations. This includes franchised restaurants and coffee shops that have multiple locations, construction sites, offices, and other organisations that operate from various sites and premises under the same business.
Simler Recycling rules will apply to every site no matter how many or few people work there from 31 March 2027.
It is a criminal offence to dispose of commercial waste from workplaces in public litter bins. The updated Simpler Recycling FAQ document from Defra makes it clear that this is a breach of their duty of care. Rubbish from businesses must be separated and disposed of in bins on their premises and removed by licensed waste carriers.
Staff at any workplace must not take rubbish home that’s generated by a workplace or business under Simpler Recycling legislation. This includes things like used tea bags and coffee grounds provided by the workplace, which should be disposed of in a food waste bin at the workplace.
There is no minimum frequency of food waste collections that businesses must arrange under the Simpler Recycling regulations. However, companies and workplaces must have separate bins and collections for waste food no matter what volume they produce. This includes food waste bins and collections for all organisations, even those that don’t serve food like offices.
It’s advisable to have at least a fortnightly collection of waste food from any business though. This helps prevent bad smells from developing as the food decomposes and avoids attracting pests such as vermin and flies. Bins for food waste are available in various sizes so you can use appropriate ones that suit your commercial needs.
Simpler Recycling fines for non-compliance vary depending on the severity of the non-compliance and the sanction applied. The Environment Agency is responsible for enforcement action for non-compliance with Simpler Recycling by businesses. There’s no set fine, but it could be a fixed penalty notice of £110 to a fine of £5,000 or more.
The Environment Agency can issue a compliance notice when an instance of non-compliance with Simpler Recycling is identified by a business in England. The general process follows these steps:
Individuals can report a business or organisation that’s not using bins to separate waste materials for collections in line with Simpler Recycling policy online. Anyone can report workplaces, businesses, public sector organisations, and even charities to the Environment Agency. You cannot report households or micro-firms (with fewer than 10 full-time employees – before 31 March 2027).
To report Simpler Recycling non-compliance you need to provide:
Visit the Gov.uk website to report non-compliance with Simper Recycling legislation. The Environment Agency will review the information you provide and be in touch if they require any more details.
Run a business in England with ten or more full-time employees? Hopefully, you already comply with the Simpler Recycling rules and have appropriate bins and collections in place. If you’re unsure about whether you do or want to double check you’re compliant then at Business Waste we’re here to help.
We provide a wide range of free bins to help separate all waste types covered by Simpler Recycling regulations. There are no delivery or bin hire costs – you only pay for collection. This includes bins, collections, and services for general waste, food waste, dry mixed recycling, glass recycling, paper and cardboard, as well as many other waste streams.
Talk to one of our friendly team if you’ve got any further questions about Simpler Recycling for your business. Get a free quote for commercial waste collection that complies with Simpler Recycling from your business anywhere in the UK – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 11th June 2025 by Graham Matthews.
After you chuck an empty plastic bottle or flattened cardboard box in your recycling bin at home or a dry mixed recycling bin at work you might think that’s it. The piece of rubbish is surely on its way to be recycled and turned into something new? Sadly, not all waste is accepted for recycling.
Ahead of World Environment Day on Thursday 5th June, we decided to analyse data to uncover the regions where the most and least recycling is actually recycled. Data from DEFRA and DAERA was used to calculate the recycling rejection rates for local authorities across England and Northern Ireland.
Discover which regions have the highest and lowest recycling rejection rates in England and Northern Ireland.
Barrow-in-Furness was the local authority area with the highest amount of recycling rejected at 43.91%. Despite residents sending 4,181 tonnes of material for recycling, 1,836 tonnes were rejected. This means only 2,345 tonnes actually went on to be recycled.
Recycling rejection is most likely due to contamination, when the wrong items are placed into dry mixed recycling bins, or items haven’t been cleaned properly, for example. Unfortunately, this means much of this waste will have gone on to be incinerated or sent to landfill rather than recycled.
In second place is Exeter, with the city council’s recycling rejection rates sitting at 38.82%. Residents in the local authority sent 8,822 tonnes of waste for recycling but 3,425 tonnes of this was rejected.
In third place is Liverpool, where the rejection rate for recycling is 29.51%. In Liverpool, residents sent 32,914 tonnes of waste to be recycled, but 9,713 tonnes were rejected.
Tendring District Council is home to the lowest recycling rejection rates in the UK at just 0.01%. The data shows that the area sent 19,551 tonnes of waste for recycling and only 1 tonne of this was rejected. It’s likely the area sees such low rates due to high education for residents on what can and can’t be recycled. The local authority reported a rise in their recycling rates in 2023, which they credited to a new waste system.
In second place is Somerset in the South West of England, where recycling rejection rates sit at just 0.02%. Residents in the area sent 140,865 tonnes of waste for recycling and only 30 tonnes were rejected.
East Devon District Council follows in third place with rejection rates of 0.03%. The local authority saw 27,628 tonnes of recycling sent from households, with only 9 tonnes rejected.
The above table shows that the North East has the highest average rejection rate for recycling while the South West rejects less recycling on average than any other area.
Graham Matthews, dry mixed recycling expert at BusinessWaste.co.uk, comments: “There is a huge diversity in recycling rejection rates across England and Northern Ireland with some local authorities seeing rates close to 45%, whereas others only have one tonne of waste rejected.
“There is a certain onus on households to ensure they are recycling correctly to reduce contamination. However, we’d encourage local councils to dedicate resources to educating the public on how best they can avoid recycling rejection with guidance on what can and can’t be recycled, alongside tips for cleaning materials. Local councils could also consider imposing fines more frequently for those who regularly disregard recycling rules as a deterrent.”
Published 2nd June 2025 by Graham Matthews.
Research shows that even more Brits plan to head abroad in 2025, with 41% hoping to take an overseas holiday, up from 35% last year. Yet wherever tourists head, litter usually follows. Many of our favourite destinations are surrounded by rubbish (that rarely appear on any holiday photos).
At Business Waste, we decided to do some research and analyse the data to reveal the world’s most littered tourist attractions. This involved checking reviews of the most well-known tourist attractions in the world and seeing how often mentions of litter accompany them. These are what we determined as the most littered tourist attractions in the world.
Batu Caves, located just outside of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, took first place as the world’s most littered tourist attraction, with 1.67% of reviews mentioning litter out of a total 13,950 reviews of the destination. The huge cave complex is one of Malaysia’s most iconic tourist destinations and has high religious significance due to its Hindu temple complex dedicated to Lord Murugan, the Hindu God of war.
The site’s litter issue has often been attributed to its popularity with millions of annual visitors, many of whom discard rubbish and often feed the resident monkeys. The large size and complex nature of the site also make it difficult to maintain.
In second place are the Pyramids of Giza, with 0.39% of reviews mentioning litter out of a total 9,058 reviews. This is one of Egypt’s most iconic landmarks and the structure is the only surviving one from the seven wonders of the ancient world. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Unfortunately, the site has become notorious for litter with many reviews mentioning the mounds of rubbish surrounding it, one tourist even labelled their review “Great…if it just weren’t for the landfill”. Several reviews mention a lack of bins, suggesting poor waste management at the site.
Bondi Beach, one of Australia’s most iconic surf spots, takes third place with 0.28% of reviews mentioning litter. It’s the only spot in Oceania to rank in the top ten. Bondi Beach sees millions of visitors a year, and it’s likely many bring food and drinks along for a day at the beach with the packaging likely contributing to the excess litter. Several of the 6,858 reviews discuss issues of overcrowding and litter at the beach, leading to many labelling the attraction as ‘overrated’.
Mark Hall, general waste expert at BusinessWaste.co.uk, comments: “It’s concerning to see so many reviews mentioning litter at iconic tourist attractions around the world. Many of these sites have religious, spiritual, or historic importance, so it’s vital that travellers treat them with respect. Sadly, overtourism is now a huge issue in many countries and this often brings the issue of litter.
“When tourists visit in such vast numbers, it can be difficult for the operators of tourist attractions to manage waste. Therefore, it’s vital that travellers are mindful of the impact of their own waste. You should never litter, and if a bin isn’t available or is full, always take litter home with you to dispose of properly. That way, we can ensure that these sites remain preserved and enjoyable for years to come.”
75 attractions were analysed:
This adjustment was needed as cities with fewer reviews are more susceptible to extreme percentages due to random chance. For example, a city with only 20 reviews and one complaint would show a 5% rate — potentially higher than a larger city with 5000 reviews and 100 complaints (2%). To reduce the skew caused by small review counts, we implemented a smoothing technique that balances each city’s individual rate with the overall average rate across all cities.
Published 29th May 2025 by Graham Matthews.
There’s a growing concern from consumers, customers, and clients that businesses they use and buy from operate sustainably. Many factors affect how eco-friendly a company is but where you base an organisation also has an impact. We wanted to determine where the most sustainable cities in the UK are to start or run a business.
To work it out we analysed 76 cities across the UK and created a score for every one that weighted each factor equally to rank the cities out of 100. This included 55 cities in England, eight in Scotland, seven in Wales, and six in Northern Ireland. To avoid outliers we removed any cities with a population below 5,000.
The eco-friendly factors applied were:
Find out which cities are the most sustainable places to operate a business and those that aren’t as eco-friendly.
Cambridge comes out as the most eco-friendly city to start a business in the UK. However, four out of six Welsh cities feature in the top ten. These are likely boosted by the higher recycling rates found across many cities in Wales compared to their neighbours in England.
Two out of eight Scottish cities also feature while no cities in Northern Ireland make the top ten.
All ten of the least sustainable UK cities for businesses are in England. There are a lot more cities in England compared to the other nations and they’re not helped by a lower recycling rate across most of them too.
Brighton and Hove being the tenth least sustainable city for businesses in the UK is slightly surprising as it has an eco-friendly reputation and was the first place in England to elect an MP from the Green Party.
Cities in Wales are generally more sustainable locations to run a business with those in Scotland also performing well. These are boosted by better recycling rates in general, but there are significantly fewer cities in both countries compared to England
The full data for England shows a clear north-south divide, despite the West Midlands being the worst region. Ripon is the only northern English city that makes the top ten for the country and just three feature in the top 20. In the top half of the table for England there are 16 cities in the south and Midlands compared to just six northern English cities.
Some other significant results from our research found:
These are the business sustainability scores for all UK cities broken down by region:
Where city level data was not available, figures were obtained at a local authority level
Published 13th May 2025 by Graham Matthews.
Currently, a waste carrier’s licence in England costs £154 to make a new registration. If you transport waste between England and Scotland and/or Wales you only need to register with one agency, but the cost of a waste carrier’s licence can vary between the countries.
If you need to register to only transport waste you produce yourself then it’s usually free to do so in England. The UK government can change the cost of a waste carrier licence and may increase it at any time. Discover everything you need to know about the costs associated with a waste carrier’s licence below.
A waste carrier’s licence (WCL) is a legal document that allows a business or individual to transport commercial waste. It essentially covers the carrying of waste in a commercial vehicle. This is to ensure all business waste is removed, transported, and disposed of properly and minimise fly-tipping and illegal dumping.
Anyone with a waste carrier’s licence appears on the public register of waste carriers, brokers, and dealers. This demonstrates to both the Environment Agency and potential or existing customers (if you transport waste for others) that you have a waste carrier’s licence and can legally move commercial waste.
A waste carrier’s licence also demonstrates and upholds the duty of care a business has for managing its commercial waste, which is regulated by the Environmental Protection Act 1990. If you legally require a WCL and do not have one, you could face an unlimited fine in England if prosecuted.
Any business or individual in the UK that transports, buys, sells, or disposes of commercial waste must have a waste carrier’s licence. This includes if you take your own commercial rubbish to a waste management or recycling facility, as well as if you remove waste for other businesses or individuals.
You do not need a waste carrier’s licence to transport your own domestic rubbish, such as taking items to the tip or your local household waste recycling centre (HWRC). However, if you pay for a business to remove your waste then they should have a waste carrier’s licence.
There are two tiers of waste carrier’s licences. The type of waste carried determines which licence is required. These are the types of waste carrier licences:
A waste carrier’s licence cost depends on whether you need an upper or lower tier licence and your location. Lower tier waste producers can usually apply for a free licence. Upper tier licences cost £154 in England. Costs vary in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
These are the current costs for a new registration for a waste carrier’s licence in the UK:
Costs to renew a waste carrier’s licence depend on the country where you’re based. The cost to renew an upper tier waste carrier’s licence in the UK is:
If your details change then you must inform the Environment Agency within 28 days. This includes if the contact details, management, or what your business does changes (such as going from just a waste carrier to a waste broker as well). Should anyone in management be convicted of an environmental offence you must also inform the Environment Agency.
To change what your organisation does costs £40. If your business type legally changes or you go from a lower to upper tier waste carrier then you must make a new registration, which costs £154 in England.
The UK government is responsible for issuing all waste carrier licences. Within each of the nations the individual Environment Agency for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland issues and regulates the use of waste carrier’s licences. Register for a waste carrier’s licence on the UK government website.
If your waste management partner removes and disposes of your commercial waste without the required legal documentation, and you are aware of this, your company could fall foul of the law and face a fine of up to £5,000. Before agreeing to a contract with a waste disposal company, you should always request to see their WCL.
Here is a copy of the Business Waste LTD higher tier waste carrier’s licence – registration number CBDU49243
The safest and most cost-effective way to deal with the issue of waste carrier licences is to use a reliable partner such as Business Waste. We only work with suppliers who are licensed waste carriers to operate legally and provide peace of mind that your waste is managed responsibly.
It may be tempting to move your own rubbish but there are many additional costs and barriers. These include vehicle costs (purchase, insurance, maintenance, and fuel), gate fees, training, additional licences and permits. Then there’s the time, effort, health and safety, and other issues. Using a licensed waste carrier is much easier and more affordable.
At Business Waste we work with licensed waste carriers across the UK who can collect any type and volume of commercial waste. Find out more and get a free quote bespoke to the needs of your business today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 2nd May 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 22nd October 2025
The cost of commercial waste collection depends on many factors. It can cause confusion if you’re an established business, start-up, or new to managing your company’s waste. Commercial waste goes by various names (including trade waste and business waste), and there are different types to consider.
Paper, general waste, dry mixed recycling, clinical waste, plastic, and cardboard are all processed differently. As such, there are different commercial waste collection costs for each stream. In certain circumstances, you may need more than one service, depending on the waste materials your organisation generates.
Discover everything you need to know about commercial waste collection costs in the UK. If you want to know how much commercial waste collection could cost your business then the easiest thing to do is request a free quote tailored to your needs today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
There are no set-in-stone prices for the cost of commercial waste collection, as there are so many factors to consider. The type and volume of waste, how often you want it collected, and where your business is in the UK all affect commercial waste collection costs. Other factors that impact the price include:
The easiest way to find out how much commercial waste collection costs your business is to request a free tailored quote based on your exact requirements. Tell us your location, the waste materials you produce, the number, type, and size of bins you need, and how frequently you want them collected. We’ll provide a bespoke price for commercial waste collection.
Get your free no-obligation quote today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
The cost of waste disposal isn’t straightforward as many factors affect the price. That’s why there’s no single catch-all price for waste disposal. Every business is different, which means costs for specific services each one needs vary. How much waste disposal costs your company will depend on a few important factors.
These are the main things that affect waste disposal costs:
A simple way to find the cheapest commercial waste collection is to use a leading waste broker such as Business Waste. We compare prices from a wide range of reliable and licensed waste carriers within our nationwide network. Using the information you provide we’ll source affordable and cost-effective quotes that meet your needs.
You can find cheap commercial waste collection online or get a quote over the phone. Just tell us where your business is based in the UK, what type and amount of waste you need removed (and an idea of bin types, sizes, and numbers if possible), and how often you want it collected.
Using this information we’ll assess your requirements and determine the best bins and collections for your company, then come back to you with an affordable and cost-effective price. Get your free no-obligation quote today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
When choosing a waste collection company you must ensure they have a waste carrier’s licence. Before signing a contract with a commercial waste disposal company, you and the other decision-makers in your organisation should familiarise yourselves with:
In all industries, some look to exploit customers. The waste management trade is no exception. Here are some of the tricks you should be aware of that unscrupulous companies may try to pull. Although these practices are not strictly illegal, they are unethical.
Under UK law, your organisation has a legal obligation and duty of care to get and keep a waste transfer note that documents every load of waste that leaves your business premises. Your waste management company should provide this free of charge. Be wary of any company that wants to charge you for the provision of a waste transfer note. These must be provided by law.
At Business Waste we provide free bins to save your company money on your waste management costs. This means there are no bin hire costs or delivery fees for any bins, bags, or containers – you only pay for collection.
Some companies may claim to offer free bins but charge a delivery fee, which may be a one-off. Others can charge bin hire costs on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. These can soon add up depending on the number, sizes, and types of bins you use. Check your contract or agreement if you’re unsure.
Weight limits are in place for safety reasons and to encourage companies to develop more pragmatic approaches to how they manage waste. By placing limits on the amount of waste a company can send to landfill, it encourages recycling, reusing of materials, and the prevention of excess waste generation.
Weight limits vary depending on the waste material and the size and type of bin. Extra charges can be applied for any bins that exceed their weight limit or max fill line. This is because the waste carrier will have to pay additional gate fees for overweight bins, so the cost is passed onto you.
Waste limits for each wheelie bin size for general waste are currently as follows:
Waste limits for each wheelie bin size for dry mixed recycling are currently as follows:
You will be charged up to 18p per additional kg over this allowance. If you are being charged more than this, you are paying too much.
Some companies will charge ongoing fees for renting out wheelie bins to your company. Business Waste provides customers with free bins, so a wheelie bin for your business costs you £0. There are no delivery fees or bin hire charges – you only pay for collection.
These are a few tips to save money on your commercial waste collections:
Call Business Waste on 0800 211 8390 for a free no-obligation quote to arrange commercial waste collections anywhere in the UK. You can also contact us online or simply fill out a form and our experts will take care of everything for you.
Can I get a rebate on my recycling?
Certain waste types have scrap and recycling value, which can sometimes generate a small profit. Glass, cardboard, metals, alloys, and recyclable computer components are the most common form of rebate-generating waste. Your waste volumes must be significant (have multiple tonnes) for a rebate.
How much are landfill charges?
The standard landfill tax rate is £126.15 per tonne for 2025-26. The lower rate of landfill tax is £4.05 per tonne. The UK government may increase the price of landfill tax for each coming year at the start of April.
Does Business Waste provide cheap commercial waste collection?
As a leading waste broker, we work with a nationwide and local network of suppliers to offer cheap commercial waste collection to new and existing customers. This includes comparing and sourcing quotes bespoke to your needs, so you don’t end up paying for half-full bin removals or waste services you don’t require.
Get a free quote for cheap commercial waste collection today anywhere in the UK – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Get a fast FREE quote for waste collection
Published 2nd May 2025 by Mark Hall. Last modified 22nd October 2025
Red Tractor is the biggest food chain assurance scheme in the UK with more than 46,000 farmers accredited to its standards. It’s one of the most trusted food logos in the country, as £14 billion worth of food and drink in the UK carries the Red Tractor logo.
The not-for-profit organisation sets high standards and checks compliance across the food chain. These ensure that food with the Red Tractor logo is responsibly sourced, produced safely, and from well-cared-for animals. The Red Tractor logo can only be used on packaging for food produced by certified Red Tractor farms in the UK.
There are many standards for Red Tractor assurance, including those that cover waste management and the environment. Discover what your farm or agricultural business needs to do to comply with Red Tractor standards regarding your waste management.
The main aim of the Red Tractor standards when it comes to waste management is to reduce the risk of contamination and pollution. This includes the storage, handling, and disposal of various waste materials that farms may produce.
Any potential pollutants must be stored in ways that reduce contamination and pollution risks to crops, feedstuffs, animals, soils, groundwater, and watercourses. The main general standards for waste management to comply with the Red Tractor standards are:
These are the ways to store and dispose of specific waste materials to comply with the Red Tractor standards:
Any possible pollutants need storing safely to reduce contamination and pollution risks to crops, feedstuffs, animals, soils, groundwater, and watercourses. This is how standards are measured:
All organic manure must also be stored in a way that limits contamination and pollution risks to crops, feedstuffs, animals, soils, groundwater, and watercourses. This is how standards are measured:
Silage needs storing securely to reduce contamination and pollution hazards. This is how standards are measured:
All plant protection products (PPPs) must be stored and managed in ways that prevent contamination and pollution. This is how standards are measured:
Safe waste management is required to prevent any chemical or physical contamination as well as the spread of disease or pollution. All waste must be disposed of in ways that reduce contamination and pollution risks. This is how standards are measured:
At Business Waste, we provide a wide range of agricultural waste services across the UK. These include options to help you adhere to many of the Red Tractor standards when it comes to your waste management and environmental responsibilities. These are a few ways we can help:
Get a free quote for waste removal from your farm anywhere in the UK today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 29th April 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 2nd May 2025
Understanding what waste disposal is and how it works can help your business get rid of all your rubbish responsibly. This is important to separate and store waste properly within your organisation before it’s disposed of at the end of its life. Different materials can require different methods of disposal.
Safe, legal, and responsible disposal of commercial waste protects the environment and your business. Instances of illegal and improper disposal of any type or volume of waste in the UK could lead to fines and prosecution. It’s therefore vital your business waste is managed and disposed of correctly.
Discover everything you need to know about waste disposal with these expert answers to common questions.
Waste disposal is simply what happens to any unwanted materials, items, or rubbish. It’s the final step in the waste management process and covers what happens at the end of an item or product’s life. There are various methods of waste disposal with common processes including recycling, recovery, composting, incineration, and landfill.
Commercial waste disposal refers to the methods to get rid of waste materials from a business. Company owners have a duty of care to ensure commercial waste is disposed of safely, securely, and legally. Therefore, every business needs to have an appropriate plan in place – whatever type and amount you generate.
Effective waste disposal is important to protect the environment. It ensures waste materials are reused and recycled where possible, preserves resources and saves energy. Appropriate methods of waste disposal minimise landfill use and incineration, which can have a harmful effect on the environment and human health.
There are also legal implications for commercial waste disposal. These include the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and Simpler Recycling regulations. Legislation around business waste disposal mean you must:
Also known as a waste carrier licence, you need a waste disposal licence if you:
Waste disposal licences were introduced in 2014 in the UK and are issued by the Environment Agency. Licences help reduce fly-tipping, and ensure companies make smarter, more sustainable decisions when it comes to business waste disposal.
Registering as a waste carrier is often free if you only transport and dispose of waste you produce yourself. You may have to pay any gate fees or commercial waste disposal costs at the site where you dispose of any waste. If you transport and dispose of waste produced by anyone else then it’s £154 to register as a waste carrier.
You may also need to pay every year to renew your licence. If you’re an upper tier registration then this costs £105 each year. For lower tier registration there’s no need to renew it. Visit the UK government website to apply for a waste disposal licence.
When your business produces any type of waste, you need to store it safely and in line with any regulations for its type before collection. This helps prevent contamination and ensure all waste is disposed of as sustainably as possible. There are a wide range of bins, bags, and containers available to store waste safely before disposal.
Whatever type of business waste you produce, to store it securely you should:
You cannot dump commercial waste anywhere! Dumping commercial waste is illegal in the UK and will result in your organisation facing large fines and damage to your reputation. It’s also terrible for the environment and adds to pollution.
As a business it’s your legal and moral responsibility to dispose of any waste you produce properly. This means unless you are a licensed waste carrier, you need to arrange collection by licensed waste carriers. They will collect it and transport it to a nearby commercial waste disposal site for proper disposal.
If you are a licensed waste carrier, then you can take any rubbish your business produces to commercial waste disposal sites. Here it will be assessed, sorted, treated (if necessary) and disposed of in an appropriate manner. Costs to dispose of commercial waste can depend on the facility, waste type, and volume.
However, if you don’t have a licence then you should use the services of a commercial waste disposal company such as Business Waste. We can collect and take your commercial rubbish to a nearby site for disposal, operating safely and legally.
If your business produces, imports, keeps, stores, transports, treats, or disposes of waste, it’s your responsibility to ensure it’s disposed of correctly. Therefore, this applies to practically every business. Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, you have a duty of care to ensure your business waste is disposed of properly.
This doesn’t mean you have to physically dispose of it yourself. Instead, you must ensure it’s removed by licensed waste carriers and taken to a facility for proper disposal – whether by recycling, reuse, incineration, or any other appropriate method.
Suitable frequencies of commercial waste disposal depend on the amount and type of waste your business produces, and the size of the bins or containers you use. You can arrange collection and disposal of commercial waste on a daily, weekly, or fortnightly basis with Business Waste anywhere in the UK.
For rubbish such as food waste and clinical waste, you’ll likely want it removing from your premises quickly, while cardboard, plastics, and some other types you can store more easily for longer. Speak to one of our expert team and they can advise on the best disposal schedule for you.
There are a few different numbers and email addresses you can use depending on the nature of your enquiry about commercial waste disposal:
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Published 17th April 2025 by Mark Hall. Last modified 22nd October 2025
Commercial recycling should be something that every business in the UK does to get rid of various rubbish streams sustainably. This is especially important to comply with the new Simpler Recycling regulations. Many organisations generate packaging, cardboard, glass, and paper waste every day and it should be recycled.
It’s important to get commercial recycling right in your business to reduce contamination risks and ensure as much as possible is processed properly. This benefits the environment by saving resources and energy and reducing reliance on landfill, which should create less pollution. Recycling also helps your company save on waste management costs.
Understanding how commercial recycling works and its benefits can help your company boost its efforts and operate efficiently. Discover everything you need to know about commercial recycling with these expert answers to frequently asked questions about recycling by businesses.
Commercial recycling is the process of turning rubbish from businesses into new materials and products. It covers aspects such as storing, collecting, sorting, and recycling trade waste to convert it into recycled materials. The materials that make up the waste are processed so they can be used again and again.
Sometimes commercial recycling is referred to as business recycling or trade recycling, as it only applies to waste from companies. Commercial recycling differs from household recycling for this reason. When we recycle, we protect the planet by reducing the:
Commercial recycling covers many common waste streams and some more specialist kinds of waste. Businesses can recycle the following materials and items:
The recycling process for commercial waste depends on the material. There are many ways different products and waste streams are recycled. For example, glass recycling involves it being crushed, heated, and reformed, while for paper recycling it’s washed, mixed with new materials, and dried to form new paper.
As a business, the main thing that’s important is you sort and store your recyclable waste in separate bins, bags, and containers. Then arrange collection by licensed waste carriers to transport it to a recycling facility – rather than going to landfill – for relevant processing and recycling.
How commercial waste is recycled depends on the waste type, but generally, the recycling process follows these steps:
The 5 Rs of recycling are a set of principles that aim to reduce the amount of waste businesses produce and ensure it’s disposed of properly. You should consider each of the 5 Rs of recycling before you dispose of any waste within your organisation. Follow the 5 Rs of recycling in this order:
The advantages of recycling are clear – it has a positive impact on the planet, especially as it reduces the need for landfill sites. Landfill facilities worldwide are becoming increasingly scarce and often overflowing with waste and debris. They may seem like a quick-fix solution for waste disposal, but they cause long-term damage.
The UK produces around 200 million tonnes of waste every year. A large proportion of this finds its way onto landfill sites. However, this waste will take hundreds (if not thousands) of years to decompose naturally. For example, a single plastic bag can take up to 1,000 years to decompose.
The process of decomposition releases a string of harmful gases into the air. These contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer, global warming, and can even cause harm to human life. Business recycling reduces the amount of rubbish that goes to landfill, having a positive environmental impact.
Easily recyclable items such as plastic often find their way into the ocean when not properly disposed of. Studies show that:
We all carry a social responsibility to recycle wherever possible – including businesses. Government initiatives like the Simpler Recycling regulations are being put in place to make recycling more widespread and mandatory. Not all waste is recyclable, but the UK has plenty of technology to safely and consciously dispose of our waste when necessary.
A waste recycling company is a business or organisation that provides commercial recycling services for other organisations. They offer expert advice on how to store and organise commercial waste before collection, deliver recycling bins, and arrange collection and transportation by licensed waste carriers.
Waste recycling companies work with recycling facilities to ensure rubbish is transported to a relevant location and recycled. Your business should receive a duty of care certificate or waste transfer note that confirms the details of when, where, and how the waste removed from your organisation was recycled.
Business Waste is a leading commercial recycling company in the UK. We promote a zero waste to landfill policy and always operate with this goal in mind. Recycling business waste is our focus, and we provide a free duty of care certificate for proof and peace of mind.
The UK government has determined several targets for recycling in the coming years. These are subject to change but currently include:
Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, businesses in the UK have a legal responsibility to ensure they produce, store, transport, and dispose of all waste in ways that best protect the environment. This includes having a legal and moral responsibility to do everything possible to prevent, reuse, recycle or recover waste (in this order).
That means recycling should always be a priority when you create any type of waste where possible. Simpler Recycling regulations also place a legal requirement on many businesses in England to recycle certain materials. Read our Simpler Recycling guide for more information.
Businesses that fail to uphold their duty of care when it comes to waste management may face large fines and even prison sentences of up to five years. This includes everything from unsafe and improper storage of waste (such as recyclables), transportation by an unlicensed carrier, and inappropriate disposal.
If your business is found to dispose of recyclable waste in landfill, for example, you could be fined as this isn’t taking steps to reuse, recycle, or recover the materials. Usually, this will start with a warning, enforcement/prohibition notice, fixed penalty notice, and then a formal caution.
The Environment Agency found the average fine to be more than £7,000. This can seriously damage small businesses and is an avoidable fine.
Recycling waste costs vary per tonne depending on the type of recyclable waste and where it’s taken. To find an accurate price, contact our team online or call 0800 211 8390 for a free bespoke quote. They can provide information about up-to-date costs for recycling waste you need to get rid of per tonne.
To get a recycling bin for your business you should partner with a commercial recycling organisation, such as Business Waste. We provide free recycling bins for companies of any size, industry, and location in the UK. There are no bin hire or delivery fees – you only pay for collection.
Explore our wide range of commercial recycling bins and find a suitable option for your business. This includes everything from small office bins ideal for paper recycling to compactors that reduce the volume of dry recycling. We’ll arrange delivery and collection at a convenient time and day too.
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Published 16th April 2025 by Mark Hall. Last modified 22nd October 2025
Around 80 million Easter eggs are bought in the UK every year, but have you ever wondered which products are all packaging and no chocolate?
Plastic waste experts at BusinessWaste.co.uk have analysed ten popular high street Easter eggs to uncover those that are all style and no substance.
Ten Easter eggs were analysed from these manufacturers and brands: Ferrero, Moo Free, Marks and Spencer, Mars, Reese’s, Aldi, Thorntons, Nestlé, Cadbury and Terry’s.
Researchers compared several factors, including the:
Terry’s Chocolate Orange Egg took the top spot with only 17.7% packaging. The Easter egg, which comes complete with a full Terry’s chocolate orange, alongside the egg itself, is priced at around £5.50. The product also ranked as the most sustainable overall due to its use of just two materials – foil and cardboard. The Easter egg also provides clear instructions for how to recycle the packaging and the packaging uses no plastic at all.
At the other end of the scale, in last place was the Moo Free Moo Freesas Choccy Egg with a whopping 38% packaging. The product is the only vegan item on the list and costs around £6.95. 42% of the packaging was made of plastic, but the brand does provide a QR code to explain why it uses these materials, explaining that cardboard can affect the taste. It’s also worth noting the plastic used is already recycled.
Terry’s Chocolate Orange Egg again places first with a sustainability score of 66.7 out of 100. Cadbury’s Creme Egg Hollow Milk Chocolate Egg comes in second place with a score of 63.3 due to its low percentage of packaging at 19.9% and its use of 100% recyclable materials.
The Ferrero Rocher Easter Egg White Chocolate took last place with a score of just 16.7 out of 100. The product scored poorly as it had no instructions for how to recycle the packaging, which makes up 30% of the product. Alongside this, the product uses four different materials – plastic, cardboard, foil, and paper.
Surprisingly, the only vegan Easter egg also ranked low for sustainability. The Moo Freesas Choccy Egg and a bag of Moofreesas scored just 28.9/100 due to 38% of the product being made up of packaging, alongside only 96.3% being recyclable at home.
Mark Hall, plastic waste expert at BusinessWaste.co.uk, comments: “Over the years, many Easter egg producers have made great strides to reduce the use of plastic in their packaging. Yet our research shows there’s still further to go when it comes to sustainable packaging.
“To find products with close to 40% packaging is quite surprising and unnecessary. Alongside this, we were shocked to find only two products making use of already recycled materials. However, it is great to see nine out of ten products clearly marked with recycling instructions and most packaging having high recyclability rates.
“We’d love to see manufacturers pushing further to reduce unnecessary packaging with Easter products. This would benefit the environment and allow consumers to clearly see what produce they’re getting for their money.”
Published 11th April 2025 by Graham Matthews.
Searches for microplastics have reached an all-time high as research continues to uncover the damaging effects they have on our bodies. Microplastics have been linked to everything from diabetes to infertility. Studies have found particles contaminating various body parts, including our brains, kidneys, and even human placentas.
These tiny bits of plastic waste are seemingly everywhere, and prolonged exposure could affect humans in the future. As the issue grows, plastic waste experts at BusinessWaste.co.uk have produced images predicting how the average human may look after low, mid, and high levels of exposure to microplastics.
Microplastics are tiny particles of plastic less than five millimetres in length that are produced as products break down over time. These particles are becoming more prevalent in our environment, accumulating in rivers, oceans, and soil. Microplastics are not biodegradable, meaning they persist in the environment for hundreds or even thousands of years.
Microplastics are regularly consumed or inhaled by humans, with some research suggesting we even absorb microplastics through our skin. Research into the effects of microplastics on the human body is still ongoing, but studies continue to find extremely damaging consequences.
Only last month research was released showing that the level of microplastics was rising in human brains, with an increase of roughly 50 percent between 2016 and 2024.
The scale of exposure to microplastics over time can have a different impact on someone depending on whether it’s low, mid, or high exposure.
A high level of exposure may be experienced by someone who has prolonged and consistent exposure to microplastics. It could be through their work environment, due to poor quality drinking water, and the repeated use of synthetic fabrics in the home and clothing.
These levels of exposure could present as:
Mid levels of exposure to microplastics may be found in someone who regularly consumes processed food, eats a lot of seafood, and regularly uses synthetic fabrics. This person might live in an area with high levels of air pollution, leading to increased exposure.
These levels of exposure could present as:
Low-level exposure to microplastics may be found in someone exposed through food, drink, and their general environment. At this level, most symptoms would be internal and may not be as visible.
These levels of exposure could present as:
These are a few ways to try and reduce microplastic exposure if you’re concerned about how they may affect your health:
Mark Hall, plastic waste expert at BusinessWaste.co.uk, comments: “While much of the research into the effects of microplastics on humans is in the early stages, it’s clear to see there are many worrying signs of how this pollution might affect us. The imagery we have generated is based on the findings of these studies and shows alarming results, but we hope the images will make people sit up and pay attention to the larger issue.
“Unfortunately, microplastics are abundant in our environment, contaminating everything from the air we breathe to the food we eat. While you can reduce your exposure to certain products, we’ll never fully face the problem until we begin to tackle plastic waste as a larger issue, and look to reduce our reliance on the material.”
Published 28th March 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 14th July 2025
Businesses and households should recycle wood where possible as it’s a natural resource that can be reused. Recycling everything from old wooden pallets used for transporting goods to bits of scrap timber is the sustainable disposal choice at the end of their lives. Most types of wood are recyclable too.
It’s important to use the correct bin or skip for waste wood to reduce the risk of contamination and ensure it goes to the appropriate recycling facility. An efficient waste management plan helps create efficient commercial wood waste recycling.
Learn how to recycle wood waste from your business with these expert answers to frequently asked questions.
Wood is recyclable. Recycling wood is possible as it’s a natural material. Wood is recycled based on its different grades and is often sorted, cleaned, and shredded into chips. These are then used for animal bedding, mulch, or to create new building materials and fresh wood products.
Recycling waste wood is possible with licensed waste collectors for businesses or at many household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) for wood waste from homes. However, you can’t put wood or wooden items in your household recycling bin.
To dispose of wood, your business needs the right size and type of bins, skips, balers, or other containers for storage. Arrange this with Business Waste and we’ll deliver the appropriate skips for your wood waste. Then you simply fill them with your waste and agree on a collection time and location.
Make sure your waste wood is free from contaminants where possible, as bits of metal can interfere with machinery at the recycling plant. However, there’s no need to break down or separate wood by type. After collection, it’s transported to a nearby wood recycling centre where everything’s sorted and processed.
Various UK laws must be followed when recycling wood. The Environmental Protection Act 1990 puts in place measures to control the collection, disposal, and treatment of waste types – including wood waste – while the Hazardous Waste Directive forbids mixing hazardous and non-dangerous waste.
A Waste Transfer Note or Duty of Care Certificate should accompany all movement of waste wood too. This contains legal documents with signatures of both parties sending and receiving the waste wood. It provides proof that the wood was removed, transported, and disposed of safely and legally.
You can recycle MDF alongside other types of wood waste. Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) is made from thin veneers of hard or softwood that are glued together. This mixture of materials could make it complex to recycle, but it classes as grade C. When it reaches a wood recycling centre, MDF will be sorted and recycled alongside other grade C woods.
MDF recycling follows a different process from other types of waste wood. This is because MDF contains a mixture of recycled products with hardwood or softwood, formaldehyde and paraffin wax. Recycling MDF involves separating the different materials for recovery and reuse, which is more complex than other types of wood.
Businesses can arrange collection of old MDF with the rest of their wood waste, as it will be sorted, separated, and recycled away from other kinds of wood waste. Households should check if their local household waste recycling centre accepts old MDF for recycling. Many will have a separate bin for MDF away from general wood recycling.
The process for MDF recycling is:
Plywood is recyclable as it classes as grade C, so it can be recycled alongside other types of similar wood. As plywood is made from a mix of woods and treated, it must be separated at a recycling centre and only recycled with other grade C woods.
It’s recycled in the same way as other wood types, usually by shredding it into wood chips for various uses.
Wood pallet recycling is the best way to get rid of used or broken wooden pallets. If they’re still intact you can reuse or donate them to another business that can use them. Otherwise, recycling wood pallets offers a sustainable and cost-effective way to get rid of such unwanted packaging.
Arrange collection of your old wood pallets by an authorised carrier, such as with Business Waste. We’ll pick up your old pallets and transport them to a wood recycling centre. Here they’re sorted and recycled – either shredded into wood chips or turned into mulch.
How you store wood offcuts depends on what you intend to do with them. If you’re storing waste wood for recycling or disposal, then having a bin, skip, or roll-on roll-off is best in a size that suits the amount of waste you have. Ensure any wood you throw in remains within the weight limits of the bin.
When you want to store wood offcuts for use in the future – such as for creating furniture or use in a construction project – there are more suitable options. Store wood offcuts in a dry, sheltered place that’s off the ground to keep them dry and away from animals that may damage them. Shelving off the ground can be a great option.
You cannot put wood in a recycling bin at home. This includes even small bits of wood, wood offcuts, and shavings. Instead, visit your nearest household waste recycling centre (HWRC) to recycle wood from a domestic property. There will likely be a separate wood waste bin to ensure it’s properly recycled.
To recycle wood as a business, arrange waste wood collection by licensed waste carriers – such as with Business Waste. This helps segregate your wood waste and avoid contaminating other types of waste. Contact us today for a free quote for waste wood collection and recycling.
You can often put small amounts of natural wood in a garden waste bin. Things like twigs, small branches, and bits of bark are usually acceptable. They shouldn’t take up much space and decompose naturally. These are normally fine to put in a domestic or commercial garden waste bin.
If you run a business then check with your waste collector first. When throwing away domestic garden waste check with your local council or authority if wood can be put in a garden waste bin. You should not put big bits of wood, treated wood, or things like wooden pallets and fencing in a garden waste bin.
Published 27th March 2025 by Mark Hall. Last modified 28th October 2025
Getting rid of old clothes, fabrics, and furnishings from your business should be done sustainably. Using dedicated textile waste bins helps keep them separate from other materials and ensures as much as possible is recycled and recovered. It’s important to recycle textiles to preserve resources and energy and avoid adding to landfills.
There’s often confusion around textile recycling though as there are various types of fabrics and materials. Recycling, recovering, or reusing most textiles is possible with effective waste management. Find out how to dispose of textiles responsibly from your business with these answers to common questions.
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To dispose of clothes and textiles from your business you can arrange collection by a licenced waste carrier, such as with Business Waste. Store your waste textiles in appropriate bins on your premises and authorised carriers will collect and transport them to a materials recovery facility (MRF) or recycling centre that specialises in fabric recycling.
Where possible, make sure any clothes and textiles you dispose of are clean and dry. This helps remove any potential contaminants and ensures the fibres are in as good a condition as possible for recycling. It also reduces the chance of contaminants interfering with recycling machinery and causing a problem.
Another way to dispose of clothes and textiles is to offer them for reuse. As long as they’re in good enough condition, donating to a charity should ensure they’re reused. This could mean being sold in a charity shop or given to people in need. When donating to charity as a business, ensure you fill in the appropriate paperwork and follow any relevant guidelines and regulations.
What happens to recycled clothes and textiles depends on how you get rid of them. Any deemed wearable that you donate to charities should be resold or passed on to those in need. Those thrown in a textile bank may be resold as they are to foreign countries for their used clothes markets, while some will be redistributed.
Clothes and textiles disposed of by your business via waste collection should go to an MRF or recycling centre. Here they’ll be sorted, cleaned, and recycled. The process depends on the specific material but often involves shredding or pulling apart the fibres and spinning them to create new yarn and fabrics.
These are then sent to manufacturers who use the materials to create fresh clothing, furnishings, and other textile products. Eventually, the products should ned up on shop shelves and for sale online. This is when you see items advertised as being made from recycled clothes.
Textile waste is a huge problem as when it’s not recycled or reused it often ends up in landfill. It can take more than 200 years to decompose. During this time it can contribute to greenhouse gases and chemicals from the dyes may leach into surrounding soil and water, causing pollution.
For businesses, you’ll have to pay extra landfill tax for sending more waste fabrics to landfill too. Plus, producing new textiles requires a lot more water and materials compared to making them from recycled fabrics. This is less environmentally friendly and costlier for all involved. Recycling textiles avoids contributing to landfill, saves water and costs your business less.
There’s currently no penalty for sending fabric to landfill. In June 2019, the UK government rejected a proposal to ban textiles from landfill entirely. While councils introduced some fabric recycling points, they’re not as common as recycling points for other waste such as plastic and cardboard. Instead, government efforts focus on encouraging reuse and recycling.
Recycling shoes is just as important as other items of clothing. Unfortunately, less than 5% of old shoes are recycled or reused in the world. Even worn-out old shoes can be recycled though. Businesses create all sorts of shoe waste due to used corporate workwear like boots for construction workers to old trainers at sports clubs.
Shoe recycling is challenging as they can contain a mix of materials including leather, rubber, plastic polymers, foam, and metals. These must be separated where possible to maintain the purity and quality of the materials for reuse. Depending on the specific materials the shoes contain they may be recycled with other clothing items.
Most shoes are recycled by shredding and mechanical processing. Rubber, foam, and textiles are all shredded and the materials are often used to create running track and sports court underlay and playground surfaces. Metal parts are removed before shredding, which can then be sorted, shredded, and melted to create new metal products.
You can recycle shoes from your organisation anywhere in the UK with Business Waste. Contact us today for a free quote and more information about recycling shoes of any type, size, and condition from your company. We can provide free bins and one of our experts will advise on the best solution to recycle old shoes based on your needs.
Nearly every type of fabric is recyclable, but some kinds aren’t reusable. Fabric that isn’t recycled will end up in landfill. Textiles and clothes in landfill are a real problem as they sit there and slowly decompose. This can take decades, particularly for artificial fabrics. In other cases, fabric waste that’s not recycled may be incinerated.
Cotton and thread take a few months to decompose, while synthetics like polyester can take hundreds of years. For this reason, it’s important to ensure whoever disposes of your commercial fabric waste – whether it’s you, your local council, or a private company – focuses on recycling whatever they possibly can.
Cotton can be recycled alongside other textiles and fabrics. Recycling one tonne of cotton can save 765,000 litres of water. However, producing recycled cotton is limited, as the quality can be lower than creating clothing and garments from new cotton. Therefore, it’s often blended with new cotton to form fresh products.
Cotton can be recycled in two ways:
You can recycle old towels alongside other types of waste textiles, fabrics, and clothing as they’re generally made from similar fibres. It’s important you ensure they’re clean and dry to avoid introducing any contaminants. Otherwise, throw them into a textile bin and they’ll be processed and recycled in the same way as other textiles.
With old paper towels, these normally go in with general waste. This is because they’re made from fibres that are too small to be of use when recycling. Used paper towels may be wet and contaminated so can’t usually go in with your dry mixed recycling.
Yes, you can recycle polyester, but it follows a slightly different process than recycling other fabrics. You can recycle polyester clothing and items in a textile or clothing recycling bin as normal. They’ll be sorted and separated from other fabrics at the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) and then be recycled in one of two ways:
In the UK you should not put clothes in your recycling bin at home. They may not be recycled and end up in landfill if you do. Instead, you can recycle old clothes by donating them to a charity shop or taking them to a household waste recycling centre near you that has specific bins and facilities in place to recycle clothes and textiles.
If you run a business, arrange delivery of clothes recycling bins to your premises to easily sort, store, and dispose of old and damaged clothes in an eco-friendly way.
You can recycle damaged clothes for any items that you can’t donate or repair. You may be able to give them to an animal shelter to use as bedding or other charities might accept them to transform into things like face masks, cleaning cloths, and padding for chairs.
Recycling damaged clothes that are beyond repair or reuse is also possible though. Throw such items away with other bits of waste fabric and textiles in your clothing recycling bins and they’ll be transported to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) for sorting and processing. Often they’ll be shredded and cleaned to create new fabrics.
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Published 26th March 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th November 2025
Around three billion nappies are thrown away across the UK every year. They make up between 2 and 3% of all household waste in the country too. Many businesses deal with nappy waste in their baby changing facilities and bathrooms. It’s an unavoidable waste stream but requires safe and responsible management.
Knowing how to dispose of nappies properly is important as they can take up to 500 years to break down in landfill. Improper storage, management, and disposal of nappies in your business could also cause exposure to such offensive waste and have a negative environmental impact.
Learn what to do with old nappies and how to dispose of them responsibly from your business or household with these answers to common questions.
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Follow these steps to dispose of nappies as a business:
To dispose of nappies at home you should put them in your general waste bin.
Businesses that produce any amount of nappy waste should have a bin in place to store it safely and separately from other waste materials. This often includes companies with baby changing facilities (such as shops, restaurants, and leisure centres). You may only need one nappy bin depending on your size and facilities.
The likes of nurseries and hospitals require many nappy bins to store used nappies securely. They’ll generate high volumes of old nappies so need appropriate bins in place. Explore our range of nappy waste bins to find suitable options for your business.
Nappies are not hazardous waste. Nappies class as non-hazardous clinical waste or sanitary waste in most cases when businesses need to arrange collection, removal, and disposal. They’re often referred to as offensive waste too – as they normally have an unpleasant sight and smell but are not hazardous.
At home you can put nappies in domestic general waste bins. However, for businesses, it’s against the law to place any nappy waste in domestic bins. Instead, it should go in specific nappy bins, sanitary bins, or non-hazardous clinical waste bags or bins for appropriate disposal. This helps avoid more nappy waste in landfill.
What happens to nappy waste depends on where it goes at the end of its life. The bin it’s placed in (such as a domestic general waste bin or specific commercial nappy bin), also affects what happens to it. These are the main ways that nappy waste is disposed of:
Regular emptying of nappy bins is vital to prevent an unpleasant smell and unhygienic conditions from developing. It’s recommended that nappy bins are emptied at least every three days. However, you may need to empty your nappy bins more often if such waste builds up quickly or your bin is close to being full.
As a business, you still need to provide and use nappy bins for cloth nappies. Biodegradable, recyclable, and disposable nappies should all be stored in a nappy bin as they all class as sanitary and non-hazardous waste. Even though cloth nappies can be recycled with textiles, as a type of offensive waste they should be stored with other nappies first.
Any business that provides bathroom and baby changing facilities should have nappy bins as they offer a safe and hygienic way to store nappy waste. They make it easy to separate waste types and avoid contamination. Plus, with secure lids it’s a safe and simple way to hold nappy waste before collection and to reduce smells escaping.
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Published 20th March 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th November 2025
Not all waste is solid. Businesses generate various waste products in liquid form such as wastewater, oil, and chemicals. These must be managed safely and responsibly from the point of production to storage, removal, and disposal. Effective liquid waste management helps protect the environment and human health against any risks.
Hazardous and non-hazardous liquids pose potential threats such as slipping to more serious harm due to exposure to certain chemicals. Knowing how to store and manage any type of waste liquid is important for businesses. Learn what liquid waste is and how to dispose of it from your business responsibly with this guide.
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Liquid waste is any waste material in a liquid state or form. These are fluids your business produces that are no longer needed, such as wastewater, used and dirty oils, and expired chemicals. Liquid waste can be hazardous or non-hazardous depending on its characteristics.
Waste liquids can be generated as a by-product during a manufacturing process, leftover liquid waste from the food and drinks industry, or contaminated motor oil from a garage that you can’t use. Some of the most common examples of liquid waste are:
Poorly managed liquid waste is dangerous. Spills could make their way into rivers, ponds, and reservoirs – leading to a devastating effect on wildlife. The Environment Agency has sweeping powers over such spills, and courts can impose unlimited fines and prison sentences on negligent companies and individuals.
Commercial liquid waste must be disposed of carefully and responsibly. You must store liquid waste in secure containers, drums, or bins depending on the type. We can provide your organisation with free bins to remove large and small quantities of hazardous and non-hazardous liquid waste.
To dispose of your waste liquid, simply fill these bins and containers within any max fill lines or weight limits. Then move to the agreed collection point ahead of the pickup time and licensed waste carriers will remove and transport it to a facility for treatment and disposal.
The liquid waste will undergo treatment such as solidification, dewatering, sedimentation, incineration, or composting (depending on the type of waste liquid). This avoids disposing of liquids in landfill or polluting water sources and the environment.
Liquid waste removal costs depend on the type and volume of liquids your business needs removed. The number, types, and sizes of bins and containers you use and how often you want them collected also impact the price – as well as your location in the UK.
The easiest way to get an idea of liquid waste removal cost for your business is to request a free bespoke quote. Tell us the types and number of containers you need and how often you want them collected for a tailored price – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Liquid waste cannot go to landfill under the Environment Agency regulations, since 2010. Each substance has different guidelines for its removal and disposal. Most liquid waste has a safe route to disposal or recycling, but there are specific regulations for hazardous liquid waste – Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005.
Under the Environment Agency’s regulations, businesses that produce hazardous liquid waste must:
The same duty of care applies to waste management companies when the waste is transferred to them. This should be to a third party that can treat or reduce the waste until it’s either recyclable or rendered harmless. Liquid waste handling is a specialism. However, companies need to be aware of the procedures to ensure that no harm is done.
Liquid waste pollution is when fluids contaminate water sources such as rivers and lakes. Harmful substances can damage water sources for humans and wildlife and negatively affect the environment. Waste liquid can spread from its source or storage if it’s not carefully secured in an appropriate container.
The liquid may contain contaminants, so if it comes into contact with other liquids or soaks into the ground it can cause pollution. Should this water be drunk or foods eaten that are grown in polluted soil then it can harm humans and animals.
Waste water is any water that’s unclean and can’t be used for its primary purpose. It’s a catch-all term to define contaminated and dirty water that’s not drinkable, but may not be useable for its original design. Examples of waste water include runoff from buildings, flood water, and water used for irrigation.
Wastewater simply refers to any used water that requires treatment to be used again. Many different industries and businesses can produce wastewater during their daily operations. There are various sources of wastewater, which can include:
Almost a third of water is wasted around the world due to reasons such as leaks and inefficient use. Treatment of liquid waste and sewage is another source of water waste. Businesses can do their bit to reduce water waste that benefits the environment and saves you money on water bills.
These are a few ideas to reduce water waste in your organisation:
At home there are various sources of domestic liquid waste – it’s not just businesses that produce waste liquid. These commonly include leftover cleaning products that you shouldn’t pour down the drain, used cooking oil, and any drinks that aren’t consumed.
Wastewater from your kitchen and bathroom, alongside sewage, also counts as domestic liquid waste. This should be connected to your local sewage system unless you have an unconnected chemical toilet.
Effective liquid waste management is important both at work and in the home to protect human health and the environment. Improper disposal can lead to contamination of water and land, leading to contamination and sickness in humans and animals that use these sources. It may ruin crops and spread disease, which proper management can avoid.
As a business, liquid waste management is also important to ensure you meet your corporate responsibilities and abide by any legal regulations. This is essential especially when disposing of hazardous liquid waste, to avoid your company facing any fines for improper disposal.
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Published 19th March 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th November 2025
Safe and efficient management of industrial waste helps protect the environment and human health. Many manufacturing plants, factories, mills, and other industrial activities produce high volumes of various waste materials. This ranges from material offcuts created during manufacturing processes such as paper and plastic to potentially dangerous hazardous waste.
Separating, storing, and disposing of all waste streams responsibly reduces contamination and exposure risks. A good understanding of what industrial waste is and how to manage it responsibly helps achieve this. Discover what industrial waste is and how to reduce and dispose of it with these expert answers to common questions.
Industrial waste is any rubbish produced during industrial activities such as manufacturing processes. This includes all the materials that are useless or unusable after a manufacturing process finishes. This can consist of solid, chemical, hazardous, liquid, and various other materials. Industrial waste is often an unavoidable by-product of manufacturing.
Factories, mills, and mining operations all generate industrial waste. Licensed waste carriers must remove and dispose of industrial waste to protect human health, wildlife, and the environment. Industrial waste can classify as hazardous waste or non-hazardous waste.
Common types of industrial waste can include:
Industrial waste covers a wide range of materials, so the right way to dispose of it depends on its type. You should always use licensed waste carriers to remove industrial waste and appropriate containers, bins, or bags to separate waste materials and store them safely. Industrial waste should never go to landfill for disposal.
These are the main ways to properly dispose of industrial waste by type:
Improper disposal of chemical or potentially hazardous industrial waste can lead to large fines for your business, as well as negatively affecting the environment and placing human health at risk.
Industrial waste can be dangerous to human health and the environment if disposed of improperly. Any industrial waste in landfill can contaminate the ground, air, and water, which harms the surrounding environment. It’s a problem as industrial waste is unavoidable in many manufacturing processes and certain types cannot be recycled.
Improper industrial waste disposal can cause numerous environmental problems. It may lead to large amounts of pollution, including the release of methane that contributes to the greenhouse effect and damages the ozone layer. Furthermore, the improper disposal of pollutants can damage rivers, streams, and oceans.
Industrial waste that cannot be recycled and reused must be destroyed to prevent it from affecting human health and the environment. This is a less sustainable option compared to recycling, but research and development are ongoing to find greener ways to dispose of industrial waste.
The simplest way to prevent industrial waste is by reducing it at the source. Assessing your manufacturing processes and identifying areas where waste can be cut or reused is a good start. Separating materials such as paper, metals, and packaging and arranging to send them for recycling can reduce the total amount of industrial waste for disposal too.
Reducing industrial waste can save your business money and benefit the environment. Minimising waste at the source is the best way to achieve this by improving your processes and operations. These are a few ways to reduce industrial waste:
Industrial wastewater treatment is a process that removes organic and inorganic contaminants from liquid waste or sewage that an industrial site produces. This treatment means the wastewater can be safely released – whether it’s discharged to the sewers or reused in a factory or plant.
There are various types of industrial wastewater. These arise due to the different industries, contaminants, and pollutants. For example, in the iron and steel industry common wastewater contaminants include oil, metals, acids, and phenols – whereas with textures and leather solid waste, sulphates and chromium are more common.
However, industrial wastewater is easily split into two types:
One way to improve industrial waste management in your business is to assign a dedicated team to oversee the processes you use. They can enforce any green initiatives you introduce and monitor their performance to highlight areas where industrial waste needs reducing or extra focus.
Finding ways to minimise, recycle, and reuse industrial waste is also key to improving your management. This could be done by separating individual waste types for recycling, rather than classing it all as industrial waste. If you have the space and facilities, creating a compost section for any biodegradable waste is an alternative rather than sending it to landfill.
Published 17th March 2025 by Mark Hall. Last modified 28th October 2025
Maidstone Borough Council will cease its commercial waste services on 1 April 2025. For 12 years its Commercial Waste Solutions has supported small and medium size businesses with waste and paper recycling collections. However, the council has regretfully decided to stop providing the service from the end of March.
If your business relies on Maidstone Borough Council’s commercial waste services then you should have received a letter at the start of March. That provided 28 days’ notice of the termination of your agreement with Commercial Waste Solutions. Now your business must arrange alternative waste collections.
We can supply commercial waste collection services in Maidstone and the wider Kent region. This includes free bins to store your waste with no delivery or rental charges – you only pay for collection. Find out how we can help your business transition and get a free quote for our services today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
In a letter sent to existing customers, it was confirmed that agreements with Commercial Waste Solutions will end on Monday 31 March 2025. From this date forward, no further collections will be made. The letter provided 28 days’ notice of the termination of the agreement.
This means that from 1 April 2025, all businesses that rely on Maidstone Borough Council’s commercial waste collection services will need new commercial waste providers. Any commercial waste bins and blue bags provided by the service will be removed from 1 April 2025.
From 1 April 2025, all businesses in England with 10 or more full-time employees must comply with the new Simpler Recycling regulations. This requires separate bins and collections of food waste, paper and cardboard (can be combined), and dry recycling (glass, plastic, and metal, which can be combined). Small businesses with fewer than 10 full-time employees must comply by the end of March 2027.
According to the letter sent to existing customers by Maidstone Borough Council, Commercial Waste Solutions explored if it could provide customers with a full recycling service. However, it determined it doesn’t have the facilities locally to offer this service at a competitive price. A decision to stop collections of commercial waste was made instead.
Any business that relied on Maidstone Borough Council for commercial waste collections must find a new provider before 31 March 2025. Rubbish from your business must be removed by licensed waste carriers and you should receive a waste transfer note or duty of care certificate. This confirms where your waste goes for disposal.
If you have ten or more full-time employees then you must also prepare to comply with the new Simpler Recycling regulations. You’ll need separate bins and collections for:
Failure to arrange alternative commercial waste collections could lead to missed collections, overflowing bins, compliance issues, and potential penalties and fines. At Business Waste, we can provide commercial waste services for any company in Maidstone to help you transition smoothly.
Organise commercial waste collection from your business in Maidstone and the surrounding region with Business Waste. We provide free bins to separate and store your rubbish with no hire or delivery costs – you only pay for collection. Select from a wide range of types and sizes to suit the waste materials you produce.
Daily, weekly, and fortnightly bin collections are available anywhere in Maidstone and the wider borough. You receive a free duty of care, and all waste is removed by licensed waste carriers and disposed of away from landfill. We can help your organisation prepare for and comply with Simpler Recycling too.
Arrange safe, responsible, and reliable waste collection anywhere in Maidstone and use Business Waste to enjoy:
Get your free no-obligation quote for commercial waste collection in Maidstone today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 17th March 2025 by Graham Matthews.
Managing any used chemicals in your business must be done safely to protect employees, customers, and anyone else. This includes everything from secure storage to reliable removal and responsible disposal. Many organisations generate chemical waste from school laboratories to offices that need to get rid of old cleaning products.
A good understanding of what chemical waste is and how to manage it safely is vital. It helps reduce the risk of improper storage, contamination, exposure, and potential leaks or spills. Find out what chemical waste is and how to dispose of it responsibly from your business with these answers to some common questions.
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Chemical waste is any material that’s no longer required that contains or is contaminated with dangerous chemicals. It can be a solid, liquid, or gaseous material that may pose a hazard to human or environmental health. It could be an expired, unused, or unwanted chemical or one that’s dirty or contaminated so it’s unusable.
The waste itself may be hazardous or non-hazardous, which means you need to handle, store, and dispose of chemical waste safely and securely. Examples of chemical waste vary from potentially dangerous ones such as lead acid and pesticides to commonly used but seemingly safer substances like brake fluid and printer toner.
Chemical waste is considered hazardous if it has one or more of these characteristics:
To dispose of chemical waste you must first separate it from other materials and store it in secure containers, such as waste drums and barrels. Businesses must arrange collection by licensed waste carriers and ensure it’s taken to an authorised facility for disposal. Ensure you get a duty of care certificate that includes these details.
How the chemical waste is disposed of will depend on its type, volume, and the facility. There are a few different methods to dispose of chemical waste:
Always keep chemicals and their waste in a secure container that’s locked where possible, to avoid accidental leaks and spills. The type of chemical may affect the best storage but generally keeping it in a cool and dry place that’s well-ventilated is advisable. Make sure every container is clearly labelled as well.
Storing chemical waste undercover protects it from rainwater and contamination too. It should be on a flat surface to reduce the risk of containers falling over and leaking. Locked containers and rooms also reduce the risk of unauthorised access.
You should never pour chemical waste down the drain, especially as a business. It’s your responsibility when dealing with hazardous waste to ensure it causes no harm or damage to the environment or humans, which pouring down the drain could create.
It may be safe to pour some non-hazardous chemicals down the drain at home, such as some glass cleaners and liquid soap. However, it’s still advisable as a business to dispose of these in separate chemical waste bins.
Empty chemical containers can be disposed of with chemical or hazardous waste. Even if they’ve been cleaned they may still retain some chemical elements. When using Business Waste, fill up your chemical waste bin or container and our team will collect it and safely dispose of the contents. The container will be cleaned and reused for further collections where possible.
If you have your own empty chemical waste container, the proper disposal method depends on the material it’s made from and the chemicals it held. Always clean the container and remove any labels first. Then if the chemicals it contained were classed as non-dangerous you can recycle it as normal with your commercial glass, metal, or plastic.
Chemical waste containers are removed by licensed waste carriers and taken to a waste management centre where they’re emptied, and the contents disposed of safely. The empty chemical containers will be cleaned, and dried, and all labels removed. These containers can then be reused to store chemical waste in the future or may be recycled.
Not all chemical containers can be reused – it depends on the type of chemical they contained. Some also require thorough and professional cleaning with solvents and other cleaning products before they can be used again.
At Business Waste, we take care of the containers after collecting your chemical waste and disposing of it – so you don’t have to worry. We can advise on whether you can reuse a container that held oil, solvents, detergents, or any other chemicals.
COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) waste covers items that are toxic and contain a hazardous chemical. Because of its nature this means COSHH waste disposal must be done in line with the Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005 to protect human health and the environment.
Many items are classified as COSHH waste, such as empty paint tins, oily rags, and aerosols. When it comes to COSHH waste disposal, they must be separated from other waste types for safe storage on-site before collection by licensed waste carriers. They’re then treated and disposed of in various methods depending on the material.
Chlorine is one of the most commonly used chemicals in swimming pools, and you can recycle it. Scientists found a way to convert HCL waste back to its original components – hydrogen and chlorine. You can discharge chlorine from swimming pools and hot tubs to send to a treatment plant, where as much as possible can be recycled and reused – rather than polluting our waterways.
Chemical waste collection is available anywhere in the UK with Business Waste. We can provide free bins and containers to store all types and amounts of waste chemicals safely on your site whether your business is based in a city, town, village, or elsewhere in the UK. Licensed waste carriers will collect your chemical waste at a time that suits you.
Explore all locations and arrange chemical waste collection in your area today.
Any waste that’s toxic, flammable, highly reactive, and/or corrosive can go in a chemical waste bin. This includes any waste that was in contact with chemicals, even if it’s not a chemical itself. Examples of what goes in a chemical waste container or bin include:
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Published 13th March 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th November 2025
Many businesses in various industries generate hazardous waste – from chemicals used in schools and laboratories to oil and cleaning products in garages. Knowing how to store, remove, and dispose of any kind of hazardous waste is essential to protect people from exposure to dangerous materials and to look after the environment.
Some hazardous items are obvious like chemicals and asbestos, but others are less clear. To help you understand what classifies as hazardous waste and how to get rid of it responsibly we’ve put together this guide. Learn how to dispose of hazardous waste and manage it safely with these expert answers to common questions about such materials.
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To dispose of hazardous waste you must take special care and precautions due to its dangerous nature. Disposing of hazardous substances and materials can’t be done in the same way as general waste or other rubbish types. Inappropriate hazardous waste management can lead to devastating effects for the public, the environment, and your business.
Follow these five steps to dispose of hazardous waste:
Hazardous waste should be stored safely and securely in dedicated hazardous waste bins or containers. This reduces the risk of unauthorised personnel accessing it, exposure to harmful contents, and contamination. It also helps protect the environment by reducing the chances of any leaks or spillages. To store hazardous waste properly you should:
Hazardous waste can be stored outside, as long as the area is kept secure. For example, hazardous waste should be stored in the appropriate containers, inside a locked or gated area. Ideally, you should store any hazardous waste containers outside under a roof to keep them as safe as possible.
It’s best to store drums of hazardous waste indoors where possible. This reduces the chance of contamination due to rainwater, the lid blowing off in the wind, or vandalism. Safe hazardous waste containers should be durable and sealable, so you can store them outside if inside is not an option. Clearly label each drum for additional safety too.
Various industries and workplaces produce hazardous waste daily. This includes construction companies, laboratories, and pharmacies. Every workplace that creates hazardous waste must store, remove, and dispose of it properly. There are multiple steps you can take to dispose of hazardous workplace waste safely:
The cost of hazardous waste disposal depends on a few factors. These include the types of hazardous materials you need to get rid of, how much you want to dispose of, and how often you require collections. Your location in the UK can also impact hazardous waste disposal costs.
The easiest way to find out how much hazardous waste disposal could cost your business is to get a free bespoke quote from Business Waste. Simply provide these details and we’ll provide a price tailored to your exact needs. You can save money as we offer free bins for hazardous waste with no delivery or hire charges – you only pay for collection.
Certain types of hazardous waste can be recycled. However, they must first be broken down/taken apart at a waste management facility. This includes items such as WEEE products, small electrical items, and lead-acid batteries. If you’re unsure whether your hazardous waste can be recycled, send us any enquiries and we’ll do the rest.
Hazardous waste is typically broken down into four categories:
The following characteristics classify hazardous waste:
You cannot mix hazardous waste. Under government regulations, hazardous waste must be separated before disposal. This is because different kinds of waste go through different disposal channels once collected. Mixing would contaminate waste streams and potentially lead to exposure to dangerous materials. As a result, you’re unable to mix hazardous waste.
There are various ways you can reduce the amount of hazardous waste your business produces. These include:
Toxic waste is a type of hazardous waste that’s extremely dangerous, potentially causing humans and animals death, injury, or birth defects. It is also very harmful and can pollute the environment due to the harmful toxins it gives off.
UK law requires that all organisations store and dispose of the toxic waste they produce safely and appropriately, using a qualified provider, due to its harmful nature. As an employer, you have a legal ‘duty of care’ to make sure the toxic waste your company produces and handles causes no harm or damage.
All toxic waste classes as hazardous waste, but not all hazardous waste is toxic. Toxic waste is only harmful and potentially fatal to humans and other living organisms when it’s absorbed or ingested. Hazardous waste generally contains a lower level of harmful substances, which can be dangerous when it’s released into the air, water, or land.
Plasterboard is not classed as hazardous waste. However, it should not go into general waste and has been banned from landfills in England (since 2005) as it contains the sulphate gypsum. When it becomes wet or mixes with biodegradable waste it can release the toxic gas hydrogen sulphide (H2S).
If you need to dispose of plasterboard, speak to one of our expert team and they can arrange a solution that’s safe, efficient, and avoids your plasterboard waste heading to landfill.
Hazardous materials such as mercury and lead are found within a wide range of electronic items. This means most electronic waste (WEEE waste) classes as hazardous waste. They may also include other potentially toxic chemicals such as cadmium, beryllium, and brominated or polybrominated flame retardant.
Metal, plastic, and glass parts are recyclable as normal, but these hazardous elements require specialist and safe treatment before disposal.
Non-hazardous waste is any waste that doesn’t harm human health or the environment. Usually, it’s recyclable or decomposes naturally and has no toxic traits. There are therefore many kinds of non-hazardous waste. However, some non-hazardous waste can still be offensive, such as used nappies. Examples of non-hazardous waste include:
Paint is a hazardous waste as it’s harmful to humans and the environment if disposed of improperly. It contains heavy metals like mercury and cadmium that can be toxic and poisonous even at low concentrations. Some paints, such as gloss paint, are also flammable, which is another hazardous characteristic.
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Published 12th March 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th November 2025
Councils across the UK offer bulky waste services to collect and dispose of items too big for household general waste and recycling bins, like old sofas, fridges, and washing machines. Prices are a postcode lottery though. Costs depend on what your local council charges, the items they accept, and any specific pricing system.
Simpler Recycling is set to standardise household bin collections across England, so all homes receive the same food waste and core recycling collections. However, domestic bulky waste removal services will remain under the council’s control and differ by region. This means some homes can get rid of bulky items for free while others may have to pay £85 or more.
We wanted to find out how much UK councils charge for bulky waste collection and where offers the most expensive and cheapest services. To do this we checked and compared the prices and bulky waste services on the websites of all 382 councils in the UK. These are our findings.
The exact services, charges, and pricing structure for bulky waste collection varies between councils across the UK. We analysed the available pricing information to determine the minimum cost for pickup of one bulky item where possible and compared the results. These are the key findings:
Making a direct comparison between how much councils in the UK charge for bulky waste collection was no easy task. Many councils have different pricing systems and requirements. Some require a minimum number of items and apply discounts based on this while others have a set charge per item.
Fridge collection was also more complex. Certain councils include fridges within their bulky waste collections, while others have a separate service for them. A couple simply offer free fridge removal, and three councils just won’t collect fridges. Many have restrictions on the types and sizes of fridges they will collect too.
To work out and compare bulky waste collection costs from UK councils we:
Runnymede Borough Council has the highest minimum charge of £85 to remove one bulky waste item. However, they offer the same price for a minimum of three items.
The South East is the region with the highest average price of £44.81 to remove one bulky waste item in the UK.
These councils apply the most expensive minimum costs to collect one, three, six, and nine bulky waste items:
26 councils offer free bulky waste collections in the UK (7% of all councils). Aside from these, four councils offer the lowest minimum charges of £5 – Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, and Glasgow City.
Northern Ireland is the region with the lowest average price of £5.97 to remove one bulky waste item in the UK.
These councils apply the least expensive minimum costs to collect one, three, six, and nine bulky waste items:
Northern Ireland has the cheapest bulky waste collection costs in the UK while the South East of England charges the most – there’s a 651% difference in price between the two regions. In England, the North East offers the lowest minimum costs.
This was determined by adding up the minimum cost to collect one bulky item from each council within every region and working out the average price. Below are the average bulky waste collection costs for each region in order of amount:
The average fridge collection cost is £30 by councils in the UK. Prices and services vary across the country as some councils include fridges as part of their bulky waste collections while others have a separate service.
These are the key findings about council fridge collection costs in the UK:
Published 6th March 2025 by Graham Matthews.
Lots of waste that businesses throw out contains metal – from empty tins of beans eaten at lunch in the office kitchen to sheet metal from a construction site. Recycling metal is important to protect the environment, save energy and raw materials, and boost sustainability. This applies whether recycling tin, copper, or gold.
There are many kinds of scrap metal generated daily by businesses in all industries. Separating it from other waste streams and recycling is essential and it’s helpful to understand how metal is recycled and why it’s important. Find out how to recycle metal and answers to other common questions in this guide.
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Scrap metal is waste made from at least 50% of any type of metal material. This could be old car parts, broken tools (like nails and screwdrivers), or just empty aluminium drink cans. If it’s made from mostly metal and no longer needed then it probably counts as scrap metal.
Almost all metal is infinitely recyclable. This means it can be recycled countless times without its quality diminishing, retaining its quality and properties for reuse as new products and metals. Both ferrous and non-ferrous metals are recyclable though the processes may differ depending on the type.
The only metals that might not be recyclable are those that are heavily contaminated. Metal fuel containers, some car parts, and radioactive metals can be too dangerous or difficult to clean and remove potential toxins to recycle.
Waste metal can be combined in a bin or container before it’s taken to a waste recycling facility for processing. The general way metal is recycled follows these steps:
You can recycle most metals used within your business. Some of the main metals that are highly recyclable include aluminium, brass, copper, iron, steel, and tin. It’s also possible to recycle silver and gold.
Generally, recyclable materials fall under one of two metal categories:
There are a few metals you can’t recycle, though these are less common. They can include radioactive metals such as uranium and plutonium, as well as metals contaminated by harmful toxins.
Disposing of metal waste from your business follows a similar process to other materials. The first step is to separate your scrap metal from other waste types and store them in an individual metal waste container for collection. Splitting them up into different metal waste bins for each type – such as separating waste steel, brass, and iron – can help.
However, this isn’t essential and often doesn’t happen. Instead, the scrap metal dealer or recycling plant will sort it, using magnets and sensors. They also identify the metals by colour or weight. Aluminium, for example, looks silver in colour and is relatively lightweight – while copper looks yellowish and is about 70% heavier.
Arrange metal waste removal with Business Waste and we’ll deliver bins for free – you only pay for collection. Simply fill these within the weight limits for the size of the metal waste bin you use, place it at an agreed accessible pickup point and we’ll transport it to a nearby recycling plant for processing.
There are many advantages of recycling metal. It preserves limited and dwindling resources as metals are finite. This means fewer raw materials are required to create new metal products. It also minimises global warming, as the recycling process emits less carbon dioxide than mining and processing new metal.
For businesses, another advantage of recycling metal is that it reduces the landfill tax you have to pay for disposal, as this is avoided by recycling your waste metal. In some cases, if you generate high volumes, you can also sell metal from your business via metal recycling rebates.
Because of the importance of scrap metal and its recycling, the government introduced the Scrap Metal Dealer Act (SMDA) 2013. One of the key elements of the act was to outlaw scrap being sold for cash. Cash transactions are not traceable, and traceability is one of the essential factors of an efficient metal recycling system.
Steel is 100% recyclable and one of the most commonly recycled metals in the world. It can be completely reused for building materials and all sorts of other products. Around 40% of steel production uses recycled scrap. Recycling steel can be done time and again turning it into new material of the same quality.
Steel recycling starts with the scrap steel being collected and taken to a recycling plant, mill, or foundry. Here it’s sorted and checked to ensure there are no contaminants present. Then it’s usually melted down at over 1,500°C and purified to remove any lingering contaminants. Finally, it solidifies into new steel, for use in all sorts of products.
Certain types of metal waste may go into general waste as they’re difficult to recycle. This can include items such as a hole punch and pots and pans – due to them containing other non-metal materials. Generally, if it’s an item made of less than 50% metal it may not be possible to recycle.
Always check whether you can recycle metal waste first before throwing it in with general waste. Common products such as drinks cans should always be recycled, as they’re normally made 100% from metal.
With scrap metal recycling the waste is first sorted and separated into different types of scrap metal. Machines use magnets to pick out magnetic ferrous metals for non-ferrous metals, for example. It’s then shredded, smelted, and treated. Most results of scrap metal recycling turn the waste into ingots.
These metal ingots can then be melted down again, purified, and solidified into new metal products. Business Waste collects scrap metal for recycling from many organisations to divert such waste from ending up in a landfill. Contact us today for a free quote to recycle your scrap metal.
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Published 3rd March 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th November 2025
Electronic waste (or WEEE) covers a wide range of old, outdated, and other electrical items that are no longer needed. Recycling them at the end of their life is important to recover materials and value from such items. It can be hard to know how to recycle them properly with so many different types of electronic items.
Electrical devices and products contain various materials and components, which usually include metal, plastic, glass, and precious metals. This makes recycling them more complex than singular waste streams like glass and paper. The parts must be separated and processed properly to extract valuable materials.
Recycling WEEE is a sustainable option. Understand how to get rid of electronics from your business and what happens to electrical waste with this WEEE recycling guide.
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WEEE stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. It’s sometimes referred to as e-waste, electrical waste, or electronic waste. WEEE covers any electrical or electronic item with a plug or battery that’s broken, no longer works, or is at the end of its life and ready for disposal.
Disposal of electronic waste must be done carefully. E-waste is too dangerous to send to landfill as it contains toxic materials – such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. Such chemicals leak into the soil when disposed of in landfills, harming ecosystems and potentially polluting water supplies. Instead, e-waste disposal is taken care of in a specialised way.
To dispose of electronics, you must comply with WEEE regulations and arrange collection by a licensed carrier to avoid any electrical waste going to landfill. An easy way to do this is with Business Waste – as we provide you with WEEE bins or containers to fill with your old electronic and electrical waste items.
Place only your electronic waste in these bins, whether appliances, lighting, IT equipment or anything else. There’s no need to break them down and it doesn’t matter if they’re broken or damaged, as they’re separated into their component parts later. Just ensure no other types of waste are in the bin, as this could cause contamination.
Arrange collection by a licensed carrier who transports it to an Approved Authorised Treatment Facility (AATF), where as much as possible is recycled. This varies depending on the type of electrical items, but generally, e-waste is dismantled and separated into different materials that are recycled with their specific waste streams – such as metals, glass, and plastic.
Pretty much all e-waste items can be recycled to some extent. If your item uses a plug, charger, or batteries, then it’s recyclable. If it carries the WEEE wheelie bin logo (a black symbol denoting a crossed-out wheelie bin, put in place by the European Union), then it is also recyclable.
Some of the common types of e-waste you can recycle include:
IT recycling can be one of the biggest challenges for businesses and households when it comes to disposing of WEEE. Computers contain a host of hazardous chemicals and materials, including lead, mercury, chromium, beryllium, and cadmium. If your old computer can’t be re-homed or is damaged beyond repair, then you should recycle it.
Only approved centres can recycle computers. At Business Waste we can take care of computer disposal for your business as part of our WEEE collections. Our e-waste collections service will pick up your old PCs and laptops and make sure they’re delivered to approved recycling centres.
Batteries are everywhere and any item that uses one is a type of WEEE. However, you should use separate bins to store and recycle batteries. Batteries are smaller than most other e-waste items and storing them together makes the recycling process more efficient.
We can provide special battery bins to get rid of used batteries – ideal if your company uses lots of electrical and electronic devices. All single-use batteries contain various recyclable materials, such as AAA and AA batteries, button batteries (for a watch), mobile phone batteries, laptops, and power tool batteries.
Generally, components such as USB cables are exempt, as the WEEE regulations only apply to finished products, and they don’t contain a plug or battery. However, accessories including keyboards and USB cables may class as WEEE waste when they don’t function by themselves and must be used with another product.
To stay safe and improve the chance of recycling you should dispose of any old USB cables with WEEE. This way they should be processed properly and their plastic and metal components separated and recycled, rather than going to landfill.
Where you can recycle electronics depends on whether you’re getting rid of items as a business or household. Electronic recycling for businesses must be done by using licensed waste carriers to remove any WEEE from your premises. Store it in separate bins or containers and book a collection at a suitable time and date.
As a consumer, where to recycle electronics depends on the items and your location. Many electrical shops run take-back schemes, and you may be able to return old electricals for recycling. Otherwise, check if your local household waste recycling centre (HWRC) accepts electricals for recycling or if your council offers a collection service.
For small electrical recycling from households, many local councils have specific banks in locations across their areas. Often these are in council and supermarket car parks, as well as other locations. They’re used for recycling small electricals such as kettles, toasters, laptops, and mobile phones from consumers. Check your local council website for the latest information.
Electronic waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in the world. If electronic waste is disposed of irresponsibly or dumped in landfill the hazardous and toxic substances items contain – like lead and mercury – can leach into soil and water. This adds to pollution, which negatively affects the surrounding environment, wildlife, and health of those living and working nearby.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) claims that people trying to recover precious metals from e-waste in landfill could be exposed to a thousand harmful substances. This can lead to all sorts of health complications. Recycling and proper disposal of electronic waste prevents it from ending up in landfill and potentially harming humans and the environment.
Even recycling electrical waste affects the environment though, as it requires lots of energy that releases emissions into the atmosphere. It’s better to reuse old electronics where possible to minimise the environmental impact of this waste stream.
Electrical items and any products that use batteries should never be put in a general waste bin. Disposal of electrical items should be done by returning them to the retailer or taking them to a recycling centre when getting rid of household electrical waste. Businesses should arrange WEEE collections by licensed waste carriers of any old electrical items.
Proper disposal of electrical items is essential to avoid the waste ending up in a landfill, where any hazardous materials can leach into the ground, water, and air. Recycling old electrical items ensures the hazardous elements are treated and disposed of safely, while any precious metals are recovered and reused.
Recycling electronics from your home is possible in a few places. Check if you can return the item to an electrical retailer or the manufacturer, as many offer a take-back scheme. Some provide collections or returns in-store, and many deliver this service even if you didn’t buy the product from their shop.
They should take back your old electrical item, whether it works or not, and send it for recycling. There are more than 10,000 drop-off points in the UK as part of the scheme. Recycling electronics can also be done at many household waste recycling centres that have specific WEEE bins.
Check with your local council or authority, as some even offer collection from your home. You can also use reliable waste collection services such as those available through Business Waste for recycling electronics from your household.
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Published 27th February 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
There are strict regulations that cover the disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) to reduce the amount disposed of in landfill sites and via incineration. Businesses that create any type of e-waste must comply with the producer obligations under this WEEE legislation. This ensures the safe, legal, and responsible management of WEEE.
Changes to WEEE regulations have occurred as the WEEE Regulations 2006 were replaced by the WEEE Regulations 2013 and came into force at the start of 2014. This is the current legislation in place covering the management, disposal, treatment, and recycling of electrical and electronic equipment.
Understanding how the WEEE regulations apply to your business is essential to get rid of your e-waste responsibly and legally and avoid any potential penalties, fines, and environmental harm. Here we explain what the WEEE regulations are, your responsibilities as a business, and how to comply with the legislation.
Simply put, the WEEE regulations in the UK require:
The Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations 2013 apply to every business that produces e-waste in any form. This could be through manufacturing, importing, distributing, selling, repairing, or simply using electronic and electrical products. They were introduced across the UK in 2014 to reduce the amount of WEEE going to landfill.
Under the WEEE regulations, producers and distributors have a responsibility to finance the collection, treatment, and recovery of their e-waste. Using a licensed carrier for your WEEE collections, such as with Business Waste, is a simple way to ensure your old electrical and electronic items are disposed of in line with the WEEE regulations.
It also obligates all businesses that sell electronic or electrical equipment to supply customers with a way to dispose of their old version when selling them a newer one. These regulations apply whether you sell the items in a shop, on the phone, online or by mail order. This must be done in one of two ways, by either:
Learn more about WEEE regulations on the UK government website
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 include most business or household products that use a plug or battery. This covers everything from a broken washing machine to handheld games consoles. The regulations outline 10 main WEEE categories. Any items that fall under these must be disposed of in line with the regulations.
These WEEE categories are:
The WEEE Directive is a European Community Directive that aims to tackle the growing amount of e-waste in Europe. Despite being an EU directive it was implemented into the WEEE Regulations. There are three main aims of the WEEE Directive as it:
As the UK is no longer a member of the EU, the WEEE Directive doesn’t apply directly to businesses in the country. However, many of the same principles and ideas apply within the WEEE regulations.
WEEE compliance with the regulations is vital for businesses that produce electrical items and need to provide a take-back scheme. It’s also essential for organisations that want to recycle electricals, such as broken equipment. As one of the leading WEEE compliance companies, we offer a range of services to fulfil your WEEE obligations.
Regulations were introduced to reduce the amount of electrical waste going to landfill sites or being incinerated. WEEE compliance aims to encourage electronic recycling and the reuse and recovery of products and electrical components. Businesses that generate e-waste in the UK have obligations and must register as a producer when they produce:
At Business Waste, our experts can help and advise on what you need to do to ensure you meet your WEEE compliance requirements. Our waste management services include:
Get a free no-obligation quote for collection of your commercial e-waste today. Speak to one of our friendly team for your bespoke price or to learn more about how we can help you achieve WEEE compliance – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 27th February 2025 by Mark Hall. Last modified 13th November 2025
Dealing with any type of confidential waste must be done with care to protect the sensitive information it contains until it’s destroyed. Many businesses have all sorts of confidential items they need to get rid of safely – from financial records and employee data to CVs from job applicants and documents with customer information.
To help you understand how to dispose of confidential documents from your organisation responsibly we’ve put together this expert guide. It’s important you get rid of sensitive items effectively to prevent unauthorised access to any information. Sustainable and environmentally friendly disposal is also vital to help protect the planet.
Find out how to get rid of confidential waste and what happens to it with these answers to common questions.
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To dispose of confidential waste you must separate it from other materials and store it in secure bins or confidential waste bags. Then arrange collection by licensed waste carriers who transport it to waste management facilities for destruction and disposal. Make sure you receive a duty of care and certificate of destruction as proof.
Under the Data Protection Act 2018, all personal data an organisation stores must be kept secure and disposed of correctly to ensure any confidential or personal information is not accessible to others. Businesses face huge fines and even jail time if confidential waste disposal is not implemented correctly.
There are strict regulations on how companies should handle and dispose of confidential paperwork. At Business Waste, our confidential waste services protect you against breaching the Data Protection Act. We provide free bins to store and dispose of your confidential waste with regular collections by licensed waste carriers anywhere in the UK.
The best way to dispose of confidential paper waste is by using professional confidential paper disposal services. Business Waste can arrange collection and disposal of confidential waste paper to ensure your sensitive documents are destroyed safely and legally. Follow these steps to dispose of confidential paper waste:
UK government legislation regulates the disposal of confidential waste. The Data Protection Act 2018 regulates the process of collecting, processing, storing, and destroying confidential data from organisations. Failing to adhere to its practices may lead to serious consequences, such as heavy fines.
The UK’s data watchdog is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which enforces its rules and regulations. The Data Protection Act stipulates that companies should employ specialised confidential waste disposal services to prevent mismanagement of sensitive data.
There’s also the possibility of fines, loss of reputation and customers, if confidential information is leaked via paperwork that was not destroyed properly. The ICO deals with infringements of the Act and can impose fines of up to £500,000.
Many public and private companies generate materials classed as confidential waste due to holding information about finances, employees, customers, and the business. From a small start-up to an international firm, disposing of sensitive documents in a safe and secure way is vital.
Some of the main industries that regularly need to get rid of confidential waste include:
Confidential waste disposal costs vary in the UK. Prices depend on factors such as the volume of waste you produce, the type of materials, the sizes and number of bins or bags you use, and how often you need them collected. Your location in the UK and whether you need confidential waste shredding or not also affects the cost.
The easiest way to find out how much confidential waste will cost your business is to request a free bespoke quote from Business Waste – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
On-site shredding services provide a convenient way to dispose of confidential documents in your business. Any confidential waste will be processed and shredded on your premises before removal by licensed waste carriers and transportation to a waste management facility for recycling and disposal. Commercial waste collections for off-site shredding are another option.
Many shops sell shredders you can use at home to dispose of confidential personal documents. However, you can’t normally put shredded paper in your domestic recycling bin. Instead, add it to a compost pile for a green disposal method or place any shredded documents in your household general waste bin.
Confidential waste is recycled where possible with Business Waste. Many old sensitive paper documents can be recycled and turned into new paper products. However, shredded confidential documents are harder to recycle in some cases as the pieces are too small for certain sorting machinery used by some recycling facilities.
We aim to transport shredded confidential waste to paper mills where it will be recycled. Unfortunately, sometimes confidential waste is disposed of in landfill and not recycled, which means it has a negative effect on the environment. At Business Waste, we dispose of all confidential waste away from landfill.
To dispose of shredded paper you should put it in confidential waste bins or bags if it contains sensitive information. If it’s just regular shredded paper then you can dispose of it like other paper recycling. However, you should keep shredded paper separate from intact sheets of paper for recycling.
This is because shredded paper isn’t always recyclable. Disposing of it with your normal paper recycling could contaminate the load and reduce the chance of it being recycled. Use separate shredded paper recycling bags or bins for storage and arrange collection by licensed waste carriers who take it to a paper mill or recycling centre for responsible disposal.
Shredded confidential waste made from paper is taken to a paper mill. Here the fibres are separated, screened, and washed to remove ink and contaminants. Water is added and it’s turned into pulp, which is then mixed with fresh pulp to create new recycled paper products, such as paper cups and straws.
Shredded paper can be recycled at paper mills with the machinery and facilities to process it properly. This involves screening the shredded paper, turning it into pulp, and mixing it with fresh pulp to create new paper products. Shredded paper can’t be recycled by itself into brand-new paper.
Some shredded paper can’t be recycled at some recycling facilities if they don’t have the appropriate machinery. This is because the paper shreds are smaller and lighter than regular sheets of paper so they can fall through the sorting machinery and are hard to separate. Their smaller fibres make recycling trickier and not worth it for some recycling centres.
Burning or incinerating confidential documents will destroy them, but the environmental impact is worse than shredding and recycling sensitive waste. Burning paper releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which has a negative environmental effect. The leftover ash may also contain toxic residue, further damaging our planet. Recycling confidential documents so the paper can be reused is a better choice for your business and our world.
Using a shredder is the best way to dispose of confidential documents at home. Shred the items and add them to a compost pile for sustainable disposal – or put them in your household general waste bin. If you don’t have a shredder you can cut them up with scissors or soak them in water and bleach to destroy them.
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Published 21st February 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th November 2025
Manchester is one of the biggest cities in the UK with a proud industrial past and prosperous economic present. It’s home to a flourishing manufacturing, creative, and digital scene with fantastic sporting and entertainment venues and events. Businesses operating in all these sectors produce all sorts of waste.
In 2022/23, Greater Manchester had a household recycling rate of 50.2% and a 98.7% landfill diversion rate. That doesn’t consider all the waste generated by businesses across the city and wider region though. This guide aims to answer any questions you have about managing commercial waste in Manchester.
We can provide an array of reliable waste management services in Manchester to help your business. This includes free bins to store and separate your waste with no rental or delivery costs – you only pay for collection. Plus, we offer audits, collection, recycling, and disposal of any waste materials away from landfill.
Discover how to manage waste effectively, sustainably, and affordably in Manchester.
To implement waste segregation and recycling practices, businesses in Manchester can take the following steps:
Businesses in Manchester can act in various ways to reduce how much waste they produce. These include:
Manchester has several local initiatives and programs aimed at promoting recycling and sustainability. These initiatives may include recycling campaigns, educational programs, and partnerships with waste management companies to provide recycling facilities and services. Additionally, the local government may offer recycling incentives or discounts to businesses that actively participate in recycling programs.
In Manchester, there may be incentives or grants available to support businesses in implementing sustainable waste management practices. These incentives can vary and may include financial assistance, tax benefits, or access to resources and expertise. Businesses can inquire with Manchester City Council, environmental agencies, or industry-specific associations to explore available incentives or grant programs.
Non-compliance with waste management regulations in Manchester can lead to serious consequences. These may include fines, penalties, or legal action imposed by regulatory authorities such as the Environment Agency. Additionally, businesses may face damage to their reputation, loss of customers, or disruption to their operations. It’s essential that businesses adhere to waste management regulations to avoid these consequences.
Businesses should focus on reducing waste generation at the source. This can involve measures such as optimising production processes, implementing lean manufacturing principles, and minimising packaging materials. By reducing waste generation, businesses can lower their environmental footprint.
Manchester City Council provides bins to households across the city and organises collections. Homes should use these bins, bags, and containers to separate recyclable materials and general waste. The bins households in Manchester have can vary depending on the property and location but use each coloured container for the following:
Check the Manchester City Council website for more information about household bin collections.
Published 21st February 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 27th February 2025
A good understanding of clinical waste is important to ensure your business stores, handles, and disposes of it safely. There are many health hazards and environmental risks when managing such types of rubbish. That’s why we’ve compiled this guide to clinical waste to help you identify and manage it responsibly.
Get to grips with ensuring you comply with the relevant regulations and learn what happens to clinical waste once it leaves your premises. Our clinical waste services can also ensure you manage it effectively. Discover how to dispose of clinical waste, the various methods of disposal, and answers to other common questions.
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Clinical waste means the waste created in healthcare settings that may be infectious or harmful. The definition of clinical waste is far-reaching as there are many different types produced in various settings. It covers any items contaminated with bodily fluids, tissue, medicines, as well as body parts and used medicines.
Clinical waste is often referred to as medical, healthcare, or biomedical waste. If a waste item has the potential to spread infection or disease then it’s a kind of clinical waste and must be managed safely.
To dispose of clinical waste from your business the first step is storing it in the correct clinical waste bins, bags, or containers. Then you must arrange clinical collection by a licensed waste carrier, who will ensure removal, transportation, and disposal of clinical waste is done in a safe, legal, and responsible manner.
These are the main steps to dispose of clinical waste:
How clinical waste is disposed of depends on the type of waste you need removing. Most clinical waste is disposed of by incineration. Very high temperatures are applied to the waste, combusting and destroying the organic substances that make up clinical waste materials. Incineration is commonly used for anatomical, cytotoxic and cytostatic, radioactive, and contaminated sharps waste.
An alternative way clinical waste is disposed of is by thermal disinfection systems. Heat is applied to clinical waste to render it non-hazardous, so it can then be recovered, disposed of, or recycled in an alternative way. Clinical waste such as dressings, swabs, and gowns are more likely disposed of via thermal disinfection.
After collection, the clinical waste disposal procedure depends on the type of medical waste. High-temperature incinerators dispose of some clinical waste accordingly. These operate at a minimum temperature of 1,100°C to destroy it. Clinical waste may also go to autoclave and microwave facilities where appropriate.
There are strict guidelines and clinical waste regulations for dealing with medical waste as it has the potential to be extremely dangerous to humans, animals, and the environment.
Many businesses and industries produce some examples of clinical waste, not just healthcare facilities and providers. For example, it’s necessary to have hygiene disposal units for the removal of female sanitary products in any women’s or unisex workplace bathroom, while tattoo artists require sharps bins for their used needles.
Some of the main businesses that require clinical waste services are those dealing with healthcare activities for humans and animals. These include:
Non-clinical waste is any rubbish produced in a healthcare environment that’s not infectious and doesn’t pose a risk of spreading disease. Common examples of non-clinical waste include offensive waste such as used sanitary products and nappies. It can also refer to non-contaminated packaging from medicines and other medical items.
Lots of clinical waste is hazardous when it poses a risk of harm to human health and the environment through exposure. This includes cytotoxic and cytostatic waste and items contaminated with it, such as many sharps, and medicines contaminated or containing a hazardous pharmaceutically active agent.
Not all clinical waste is hazardous though. Non-cytotoxic and non-cytostatic medicines are not hazardous. Offensive healthcare waste is also not hazardous as it’s not infectious and contains no chemical substances, such as nappies, outer dressings, and masks not contaminated with infectious bodily fluids.
The UK government site has a classification of hazardous clinical waste types.
Incontinence pads are not clinical waste in most cases. They’re a type of sanitary waste and offensive waste that’s not pleasant but poses no risk of infection to anyone exposed to them. Incontinence pads only become clinical waste if the person using them has an infectious disease. Most incontinence pads can be disposed of in sanitary waste bins.
The main process for disposing of clinical waste is thermal treatment – used to treat sharps and infectious waste. It utilises high temperatures to make the waste combustible and no longer harmful. Useful materials are resistant to thermal conditions and go through the process without getting damaged, while the waste material is burned.
There are a few ways to perform thermal treatment including:
Autoclave procedure
This involves processing chemical waste by exposing it to high levels of heat, steam, and pressure in an autoclave machine. There are two systems of autoclave – batch or continuous flow process.
Hybrid autoclave systems function similarly. However, they’re incorporated with other technologies so they can also function as washers and sterilisers.
Continuous steam treatment systems
This gets rid of the chemical and clinical waste while enhancing specific material properties – such as firmness and resistance to corrosive and abrasive forces.
Frictional heat treatment systems
Heat for waste combustion is generated through impact and friction. The residue is sterilised and later reduced into manageable volume through fine grinding and drying. This method can be used as an alternative to incineration. Studies show it has near-zero negative environmental impact and it significantly reduces the waste quantity.
Incineration
This involves exposing waste to heat to burn its organic components, converting them to ash, gas, and heat. The gas produced is commonly known as flue gas and is treated to rid it of pollutants before releasing it into the atmosphere. The heat can be utilised to generate electric power.
For chemical and liquid waste that falls under clinical waste, chemical methods are often used. Several options are available for medical waste disposal through chemical treatment.
An irradiative method employs microwave technology in pathogen inactivation. It’s typically used for sharps and infectious waste disposal. Recently microwaves have been upgraded for the treatment of bio-hazardous waste with technologies that control the moisture content. The introduction of microwaves in waste management brought about the advantages of minimised energy loss and reduced heating periods.
There are two systems designed for microwaving – batch and continuous microwave technologies:
With biological processes for disposing of clinical waste, enzymes are utilised to break down certain chemical components of waste matter. It’s quite underdeveloped though and rarely used in waste disposal.
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Published 14th February 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th November 2025
Plastic is one of the most used materials for packaging, toys, electrical items, and many other products. There are many types of plastics, which can make understanding how to dispose of them tricky, but lots of plastic waste is recyclable. It’s important to know what can and cannot be recycled in businesses, households, and elsewhere.
Recycling plastic properly helps reduce the risk of contamination, avoids sending plastic to landfill, and improves recycling rates. To help you get to grips with it we’ve pulled together this useful guide to plastic recycling. Discover which plastics can be recycled and how to dispose of plastic waste properly with these answers to frequently asked questions.
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Most plastic is recyclable. Plastic bottles, pots, and trays are commonly recycled by businesses and households. Hard and soft plastics are recyclable, but it can depend on the grade, condition, and disposal facility where the waste goes. Generally, the lower the code the easier the plastic is to recycle.
Even though many plastics are recyclable, the reality and extent of how much is recycled depends on financial, logistical, and technical factors. Some plastic requires specialist machinery to recycle it while for certain types it can be expensive, which means facilities don’t always recycle it.
The plastic recycling process involves collecting and sorting scrap or waste and cleaning it to remove any contaminants. It’s then either shredded into flakes or melted down and turned into new products. Most plastics are melted into pellets, which are used to make denser plastics – such as chairs and tables.
Waste plastic is collected and then sorted into different plastic types first. Based on this it’s then sent to a specialist recycling unit that handles the specific plastic grade. How the plastic is recycled then depends on the type and recycling facility. Some of the common methods and processes for plastic recycling include:
There are many benefits of recycling plastic as a business. For every tonne of plastic recycled, it saves about 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space. This avoids more plastic potentially polluting nearby soil and water sources, as chemicals can leach out, while it can take hundreds of years to break down.
Recycling plastic also means less new plastic needs creating, which significantly reduces the amount of energy, raw materials, and resources required. For your business, it also saves money by avoiding paying more landfill tax to get rid of your waste. And it shows your clients that you’re actively finding environmentally friendly waste solutions.
How to dispose of plastic can be confusing for businesses and individuals with so many types out there. Businesses must separate and throw away used plastic in individual bins and arrange collection by licensed waste carriers. Households should check with the local council to see what plastic materials they can recycle in their domestic recycling bins.
When plastic is recycled, it’s not melted down to make the same substance again. Melted plastics of different strengths can separate, like oil and water. This means there are some barriers to plastic recycling, which is why different counties and districts have different rules. The widespread use of dyes and polymers also affects the viscosity of plastic, so it needs to be sorted accordingly.
Businesses don’t need to separate every individual plastic type to dispose of it. Simply arrange delivery of plastic waste bins to your premises and fill them with any type of waste plastic within the weight limits of the bin. Ensure all the plastic products are clean and dry to avoid contaminants.
Place the bins at the agreed accessible pickup point ahead of collection time. Your plastic waste will be transported to a nearby recycling plant where it’s sorted, cleaned, and either recycled or disposed of via another method depending on the plastic type.
There are lots of different types of plastics that are recyclable but not all of them are as easy to recycle as others. You can check the symbol on most plastics to see its type and whether it may be easy to recycle. Some of the most common recyclable plastics are:
Not all plastic is recyclable. You can normally work this out by checking the Resin Identification Code (RIC) on a plastic product – usually a number in a recycling triangle shape. Anything with a number seven on it may be hard or impossible to recycle. Even if they’re technically recyclable it might not be easy or widespread.
The main plastics that you cannot recycle include bioplastics, composite plastic, and some plastic packaging. Cling film isn’t recyclable as it’s too thin while blister packaging is a common type of plastic hard to recycle as it contains other materials.
Sadly, any plastic waste that you cannot recycle usually ends up in landfill or being incinerated. Work is ongoing to develop more recyclable and biodegradable plastic types, but a lot of nonrecyclable plastic is still in use. Incineration avoids more waste going to landfill but it can release pollutants and requires larger amounts of energy consumption – neither of which are good for our planet.
Plastic has historically not been biodegradable, which means it doesn’t decompose naturally over time. Technicians have been working to improve this and there are now many alternatives. Unfortunately, most of the foods we buy from supermarkets come in some sort of plastic container and we have a way to go before all companies are using biodegradable alternatives.
Normally you can only recycle plastic once, sometimes two or three times. Much like recycling paper, every time you recycle the same piece of plastic it loses quality. The polymer chain grows shorter every time an item of plastic goes through the recycling process, which weakens it and reduces its quality.
If you’re getting rid of recycled plastic products, it’s still worth adding to your plastic recycling bins though. At the recycling plant, they’ll be sorted and assessed, so any appropriate plastics are reused and recycled where possible and disposed of responsibly if not (rather than going to landfill).
Most products made completely from High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) are recyclable. While polyethylene isn’t biodegradable, it’s very easy to recycle as it’s not bonded with other plastics. Examples of polyethylene products you can recycle include detergent bottles, plastic milk cartons, and cereal packets.
You can recycle polypropylene (PP) in most cases. It’s often used for food packaging and thousands of other products across the automotive, medical, and retail industries. As well as being recyclable, polypropylene takes less time to break down and releases fewer toxins, making it one of the greener plastics. You can recycle polypropylene with your other commercial plastic waste.
Polycarbonate (PC) is fully recyclable. It’s used to create CDs, DVDs, plastic trays, bottles, and other items. When you’re finished with them you can recycle PC items that are turned into new material for various uses. Polycarbonate is shredded and granulated as part of the recycling process.
Polymer recycling is possible as it can be melted down and reformed. Waste polymer plastics and products are taken to a recycling centre and separated into different polymer types. These are shredded, melted, and turned into polymer pellets. The polymer pellets are then sold and used in new plastic products.
You can recycle polymer plastics alongside other plastic types when disposing of such waste from your business or home, as it will be sorted at the recycling centre before processing.
Fibreglass should not be recycled with other types of plastic. It’s a reinforced plastic material containing glass fibres, which are hard to separate from the plastic resin. Therefore any type of waste fibreglass should be stored away from other plastic and recycled on its own.
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Published 13th February 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th November 2025
Businesses of any size, industry, and location in the UK have a legal duty of care to manage all sanitary waste they generate responsibly. This covers everything from the point of production to its final disposal. Various laws and regulations are in place that outline the lawful obligations of businesses.
Having appropriate bins and collections to manage commercial sanitary waste is a legal obligation and essential to maintain high health and safety standards. It’s also vital to maintain a clean and healthy workplace environment. Compliance with these laws reduces the risk of any fines and exposure to potentially offensive waste.
There’s no single regulation that covers sanitary waste management. Instead, three pieces of legislation govern safe and legal regulation of sanitary waste, which are detailed below. Understand the sanitary waste disposal law in the UK and relevant regulations to protect your business, human health, and the environment.
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Sanitary bins are a legal requirement in the UK for workplace bathrooms. Every business in the UK is legally required to provide appropriate facilities and means for the disposal and collection of sanitary products in female washrooms and unisex facilities.
There are three acts that oversee the legal requirements for managing sanitary waste within UK businesses. These are the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, the Water Industries Act 1991, and the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Failure to provide adequate sanitary bins in your workplace bathrooms could be a breach of these legal regulations and result in a large fine. Having sanitary waste bins present in workplace washrooms helps keeps staff and visitors comfortable, so should be a priority for every employer anyway.
There’s no single sanitary waste disposal law in the UK. Instead, a few different regulations cover the area and make it a legal requirement for businesses to have a feminine hygiene bin in their women’s and/or unisex bathrooms. These regulations are the:
Sanitary waste is not categorised as hazardous, special, or clinical waste under UK environmental legislation. It’s also not classed as dangerous goods under transport legislation – as long as it’s considered non-infectious and doesn’t require specialist treatment or disposal.
Under Schedule 1 of the Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, offensive waste is that not classed as clinical waste but containing bodily fluids, secretions, or excretions. This falls within codes 18 01 04, 18 02 03 or 20 01 99 in Schedule 1, List of Wastes.
Providing sanitary waste includes non-infectious bodily fluids that are not otherwise clinical waste (such as sharps), they should be categorised as “offensive/hygiene waste.” It must still be managed carefully to avoid harm, but it does not need to be treated in the same way as clinical or hazardous materials.
Ensure your business complies with all sanitary waste regulations in the UK with our professional and reliable services. We provide free bins to store sanitary waste in your washrooms. There are no delivery or bin hire costs – you only pay for collection. Various bn sizes and numbers are available to use.
Licensed waste carriers will remove your sanitary waste on a regular basis at convenient times and dates. Choose from daily, weekly, or fortnightly collections. All sanitary waste is transported and disposed of safely and legally. You receive a free duty of care certificate that confirms such details for added peace of mind.
Speak to one of our friendly and expert team for more information about our sanitary waste services and complying with the laws and legislation. Get a free no-obligation quote and answers to any of your questions today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
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Published 11th February 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th November 2025
Managing sanitary waste in your business must be done safely to protect human health and comply with legal regulations. It’s therefore important that you understand your obligations, how to store any type of sanitary waste securely in your washrooms and bathrooms, and how it’s disposed of properly.
To help you get to grips with managing such materials we’ve pulled together everything you need to know about sanitary waste. Discover how to dispose of sanitary waste and what happens to it after leaving your business with these answers to commonly asked questions.
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Sanitary waste disposal is highly regulated. It’s governed by UK legislation to ensure it’s disposed of safely and hygienically, corresponding to the level of risk it presents to human health. Key legislation is the Water Industry Act 1991, which states no sanitary waste should be flushed away that could lead to blockages or problems with the sewers or drainage system.
To dispose of feminine hygiene and other sanitary products, they must be placed in a sanitary waste bin. Women may simply throw them in when used or wrap such waste in toilet paper. Businesses have a duty of care under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to then dispose of it properly as they produce such “controlled” waste.
This requires separating sanitary waste from other waste types and emptying sanitary bins regularly, depending on the volume and usage. Duty of care means employees should not be responsible for sanitary waste removal. Instead, businesses must arrange collection and disposal by a licensed carrier to safely and legally get rid of it.
Any controlled waste (including sanitary) must only be transferred to a waste carrier registered with the Environment Agency. The waste management company must be registered as a waste carrier in the same way as any specialist sanitary bin service collector. They’ll remove the waste and take it to a relevant facility for disposal.
Many women’s hygiene products are made from various materials, including plastic. Tampons to incontinence pads can contain plastic. While these bits of plastic on their own may be recyclable, due to the other materials and health issues, sanitary waste is generally hard to recycle. This means lots of sanitary waste ends up in landfill.
An alternative disposal method is incineration of sanitary products. This removes any health risks the sanitary waste may pose to the environment when left in landfill. However, incineration can release gases and toxic fumes, which add to air pollution. It should undergo treatment to neutralise harmful pathogens before being incinerated.
There are more eco-friendly recyclable and biodegradable women’s health products being developed to help reduce the amount that ends up in landfill. These range from simply using recyclable packaging to creating biodegradable and recyclable applicators themselves.
Generally, sanitary waste is not classified as hazardous. This is because it doesn’t usually contain any toxic, chemical, ignitable, or infectious elements. Instead it’s normally a type of offensive waste, which means it’s non-infectious but can be unpleasant for anyone exposed to it.
The likes of hygiene waste and sanitary protection such as nappies and incontinence pads are types of municipal offensive waste. This includes sanitary waste from humans and animal healthcare. They should be separated from clinical waste but don’t need to be treated as hazardous waste.
At home you may throw away sanitary pads with your general waste. Many feminine hygiene products include packaging so you can wrap it up to dispose of without leakage. At work or in a public bathroom, you should not put sanitary pads in general waste – instead there should be a separate sanitary bin to use.
You should never burn used sanitary pads. Setting fire to sanitary pads can release harmful toxins, causing air pollution. Due to the nature of used sanitary pads it can also pose a serious health hazard for anyone nearby. Used sanitary pads may only be burned within proper sanitary waste incinerators at licenced waste plants.
Incontinence pads should be disposed of in the same way as most other types of sanitary waste. Fold up a used incontinence pad and place it in a plastic bag within a sanitary bin when using a workplace or public bathroom. If you’re at home, you can throw away used incontinence pads with your general waste – just ensure it’s in a bag to avoid leakage.
Most incontinence pads do not class as hazardous waste. Much like waste menstrual products, it’s not normally hazardous as it shouldn’t be infectious. If the person using incontinence pads has a known condition – such as a urinary tract infection – then it may class as hazardous. Most of the time though, it won’t be hazardous.
You must not put sanitary towels, pads, wipes, tampons or any other such products down the toilet. Even with those that claim to be ‘flush-friendly,’ it’s best to avoid and instead place in a relevant sanitary bin. This is because they can cause clogs, which may result in the toilet overflowing or backing up and affecting the septic tank.
It can then be expensive and time-consuming to arrange for a toilet to be fixed at home or in the workplace. Always make sure your business has enough sanitary bins to avoid employees, customers, or visitors resorting to throwing sanitary products down the toilet.
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Published 11th February 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
Combining used packaging, wrappers, and other materials with dry mixed recycling (DMR) is a convenient choice for many businesses. It makes storing small volumes of cardboard, paper, plastic, and metal together more cost-effective and easier to manage than using individual bins. Plus, it may help your company comply with new Simpler Recycling rules.
At Business Waste we can provide commercial dry mixed recycling services for organisations anywhere in the UK. We can advise on the best options based on your business. Understand what is meant by DMR, its benefits for your business, and how to use such bins with this expert guide to dry mixed recycling.
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DMR stands for dry mixed recycling. The general meaning of DMR is many types of uncontaminated recyclable products and materials that you can group together. This includes types of cardboard, paper, plastic, and metal waste. It covers various waste types you don’t need to separate before sending for recycling.
DMR is ideal for businesses that don’t generate a large amount of one specific waste type. For example, if you produce a lot of cardboard waste, it may make sense to have a separate cardboard bin. But if you only generate a small amount alongside waste recyclable plastics and metals, DMR disposal might make more sense.
Place clearly labelled dry mixed recycling bins around your business, so your employees, customers, and clients can recycle DMR waste with ease. It’s quick and convenient with no need to separate the likes of cardboard, paper, metals, and plastics – as long as it’s clean and dry.
Stick to the weight limits of each dry mixed recycling bin and arrange collection by licensed waste carriers on a frequency that suits your needs. Once collected, your dry mixed recycling is taken to a specialist facility where it’s separated using advanced waste management technology.
The different materials are sorted, separated, and recycled in their individual streams. For example, bits of cardboard in your DMR waste might be turned into new cardboard packaging – or repurposed into something completely different. It depends on the type of materials included in your DMR waste.
Introducing DMR waste disposal to the workplace is time efficient, as you don’t need to sort through and separate waste types. It’s also cost-efficient, as recycling is far cheaper for your business than sending waste to landfill. Plus, we each need to play our part to better protect the planet – so the advantages of recycling dry mixed waste far outweigh any negatives.
There are endless benefits to recycling dry mixed waste. Firstly, it’s what we all need to do to help the future of the planet. Although plenty of us regularly recycle, there’s still work to be done. Recycling has an extremely positive impact on the environment by reducing carbon emissions and limiting the need for raw materials.
With landfill facilities becoming increasingly few and far between, recycling is more necessary than it was in the past. Alongside all the environmental benefits, it’s also cost-effective for businesses to regularly recycle DMR waste by reducing any landfill taxes, while also helping you uphold your corporate responsibilities and stay legally compliant.
Every year around five million tonnes of plastic are used in the UK, half of which is for packaging. Almost 14 billion cans made from steel and aluminium are also used, which are completely recyclable. However, government figures from 2020 show that while recycling has increased for aluminium cans it was 82%.
Around 63% of packaging waste in the UK was recycled in 2021. However, some dry mixed recycling types for packaging are more commonly recycled than others, so there’s still a lot of work to do. According to the UK government figures, packaging recycling rates for 2021 that cover DMR were:
For dry mixed recycling to work effectively, any products inside the bin must be clean and dry. This minimises the chance of cross-contamination, which can affect the ability to recycle them. You don’t have to clean each product vigorously but try to ensure they’re free from any food or liquid waste and have been thoroughly dried.
You cannot include bubble wrap in dry mixed recycling. Bubble wrap is often made from a type of plastic (polythene), and although plastic is widely recyclable, bubble wrap is much more difficult to recycle. Although bubble wrap cannot currently be included in DMR waste, you can take bubble wrap to specific collection points for proper disposal and recycling.
The dry mixed recycling EWC code is 20 03 01. This covers the disposal of mixed municipal waste, which includes organic waste and mixed packaging. You need to supply the correct dry mixed recycling EWC code before sending your waste to recycling so those handling your DMR waste deal with it properly.
Yes, at Business Waste we offer single stream recycling for any waste type. Single stream waste collections are available for all types of waste. Learn more about commercial recycling for individual waste streams such as:
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Published 6th February 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th November 2025
Dudley Council will stop its commercial waste collection service from 31 March 2025. The move could impact many of the 10,000 businesses across Dudley, Brierley Hill, Halesowen, and Stourbridge. If your business relies on commercial waste collection and recycling by Dudley Council you must find an alternative arrangement.
The decision was communicated to trade waste customers on 28 January 2025 – around two months before Defra’s new Simper Recycling reforms come into action. It means many companies in Dudley and the surrounding area need to find new licensed waste contractors to collect, dispose of, and recycle their commercial waste soon.
At Business Waste, we can provide commercial waste collection services in Dudley to help your company remain compliant and minimise disruptions. Call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online today to get a free no-obligation quote and discuss your needs.
From 31 March 2025, Dudley Council will no longer offer a commercial waste collection service – including commercial recycling. This means from 1 April 2025 any business that uses Dudley Council’s commercial waste collection services must have a new waste contractor in place.
The last commercial waste collection by Dudley Council will be on your company’s normal collection day during the week beginning 24 March 2025. It can be brought forward if you advise Dudley Council to cease the service sooner.
Businesses that previously used Dudley Council’s commercial waste service will need to find a private waste collection service. Those that don’t act quickly could see missed collections, compliance issues, and increased costs. Any missed collections can lead to a build-up of waste in the local area, which can be unsightly and attract pests like rats and flies.
Companies of any size and industry that currently rely on Dudley Council to collect their waste must find an alternative arrangement before 31 March 2025. Use licensed waste contractors registered with the Environment Agency that provide collection, recycling, and responsible disposal services for all waste types your organisation produces.
This is especially timely as new Simpler Recycling rules for businesses in England with more than ten full-time employees come into force from 31 March 2025 as well. They must have separate collections of food waste, paper and cardboard (can be combined), and other dry recycling (glass, plastic, and metals, which can be combined).
We provide professional and affordable commercial waste collection in Dudley to help your business stay on top of its waste management despite the council’s closure of its service. This includes regular collections and a wide range of bin types and sizes to store any kind and volume of waste materials your company produces.
All rubbish is collected by licensed waste carriers and a duty of care certificate is provided. Everything is disposed of away from landfill too. Prepare for the new Simpler Recycling rules with the right bins and collection services for your company.
Use Business Waste for commercial waste collection in Dudley and benefit from:
Get your free bespoke quote for commercial waste collection in Dudley and the surrounding areas – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online today.
Published 30th January 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 20th February 2025
Businesses and households should get rid of food waste sustainably to avoid sending it to landfills. Unfortunately, it’s estimated that up to 40% of waste food could end up at landfill sites in the UK. Knowing how to dispose of food waste properly could help reduce this amount.
There are various ways to dispose of food waste, depending on where it’s produced. Businesses must segregate and store food in separate waste bins away from other rubbish and arrange for collection by licensed waste carriers. Households can use domestic bins, composting, and other methods to get rid of waste food.
Knowing how to dispose of food waste correctly in the UK is more important than ever due to the new Simpler Recycling rules. These will eventually affect how all businesses and households store and get rid of old food. Discover how to dispose of food waste and why it’s important.
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Disposing of food waste safely is important to protect the environment, human health, and comply with various regulations in the UK. It can also save businesses money and benefit local communities. These are the main reasons why it’s important to dispose of food waste safely from your business:
Businesses must remove food waste from areas where fresh food is present as quickly as possible to avoid cross-contamination. Then you need to dispose of this waste food in containers you can seal shut. They must be made from appropriately robust material, kept in good condition, and easy to clean and disinfect.
You must also have adequate facilities to store and dispose of food and other waste materials. Waste stores should be well-designed and managed to keep them clean and free from animals and pests. Use the number and sizes of food waste bins that fit in this space and can store the volume you produce before they’re collected.
To dispose of your commercial food waste, simply fill these bins in a hygienic and environmentally friendly way. Then arrange collection by licensed waste carriers on a frequency that meets your needs. They’ll remove the waste and transport it to a composting, anaerobic digestion, or energy from waste facility for safe disposal.
Enforced by your local food inspectors, there must also be no signs of contamination from waste to food preparation. The best way to dispose of food waste can depend on the kind and volume of waste and our location. You’ll receive a duty of care certificate that confirms its disposal method.
Around 60% of food waste in the UK is from households. Disposing of it safely is vital to reduce the amount sent to landfills. These are ways to dispose of food waste at home:
Get rid of any type and amount of waste food from your business anywhere in the UK. We provide free bins that comply with FSA standards. There are no rental, delivery, or hidden fees – you only pay for collection. Select from various sizes to suit your needs.
Daily, weekly, and fortnightly collections are available across the country. All food is disposed of safely and responsibly away from landfill. Licensed waste carriers will remove your waste, and you’ll receive a free duty of care certificate confirming legal and responsible collection and disposal.
Get a free no-obligation quote for food waste removal and disposal today. Tell us about your location in the UK, how many and what sizes of bins you need, and how often you want them collected for a bespoke quote – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
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Published 30th January 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th November 2025
The O2 network’s move to switch off 3G in April 2025 could see £13 million worth of e-waste generated. Experts have calculated the huge amount of e-waste that will be generated, alongside the value of each raw material scrapped.
The 3G switch-off on O2’s network is expected to affect approximately 4.3 million1 people across the UK. As a result, this could generate an enormous 70,516 kilograms of e-waste, roughly the same weight as 5.9 double-decker buses. And the materials from scrapping these old phones could be worth a staggering £13,769,488.
Copper is the most abundant metal found in our devices with 68,800 kilograms being generated from 4.3 million old devices, worth a total of £509,808. Silver falls in second place with a total of 1,505 kilograms generated at a value of £1,223,535.
However, the most valuable metal is gold. While 146 kilograms can be retrieved from these old phones, its huge market price means it could be worth an enormous £10,397,184.
Lastly, palladium within phones will generate 65 kilograms of waste, valued at £1,638,961.
O2 will be switching off its 3G network starting in April 2025. The switch-off will begin in the Durham area before moving across the UK. While other networks such as Vodafone and EE have already switched off their networks, O2’s is significant due to the large number of customers it affects.
Networks like Tesco Mobile, GiffGaff, and Virgin Media all use the O2 network, meaning it will also affect their customers. Therefore, it’s estimated the switch-off could impact more than 4.3 million Brits.
The thinking behind switching off 3G networks is that it will allow more capacity and free up “spectrum” that can be used to expand 4G and 5G networks. This should help to combat signal dead spots. The government set a deadline of 2033 to phase out both 3G and 2G.
With some devices only able to connect to data through 3G technology, these will no longer make calls, send texts, or connect to the internet once the network is switched off. As a result, any such devices become unfit for purpose and users will have to swap to a newer model.
Therefore, they’re likely to discard their old devices in some way.
The best option for any old 3G devices is to recycle them. Up to 80% of the materials in your phone are recyclable, and many materials carry value if they’re extracted and reused.
Many places offer recycling schemes that will pay you to recycle your old device such as O2 Recycle and Money Magpie. There’s even a dedicated comparison site to ensure you get the best deal for your old electronics, Compare and Recycle.
Mark Hall, waste management expert at Business Waste, comments: “The decision to switch off 3G and 2G networks will inevitably lead to a huge amount of e-waste and leave a big impact on our environment. E-waste is the world’s fastest-growing solid waste stream with more than 50 million tonnes generated globally each year.
“However, the good news is that with the majority of materials in our devices recyclable, you can look to reduce your carbon footprint. By doing this you can reduce e-waste and prevent it going to landfill.
“E-waste that ends up in landfills can cause damage to our soil, ecosystems, and even human populations as hazardous substances leak out and contaminate the environment. So it’s especially important to ensure you recycle old devices responsibly.”
Published 21st January 2025 by Graham Matthews.
A new year introduces fresh goals, challenges, and trends to many areas of life – and waste management is no exception. Big changes are set for waste management across the UK in 2025. Your business should be aware of them to help navigate them smoothly and stay on top of key trends.
The UK government announced important changes to business waste collections that will be enforced in 2025. Increases in landfill tax may also impact waste management costs for many businesses. And recycling targets from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) remain in place as many businesses seek sustainable ways of working.
To help your business comply with new waste regulations and be ready for other changes we’ve compiled four key things to be aware of in the coming year. Prepare your business with these four important changes and trends set to affect waste management in 2025.
The biggest change to the waste management landscape in the UK for 2025 will be the introduction of Simpler Recycling. From 31 March 2025, any business with ten or more full-time employees must have separate collections in place for:
It means from the start of April this year your business must have individual bins to segregate these waste types. Paper and card must be collected separately from other dry mixed recycling. The changes to food waste legislation require bins for any food waste to prevent it from being thrown away with general waste.
If you run a business with more than ten full-time employees then you must have the appropriate bins and waste collections in place before 31 March 2025. We advise getting these in place before the end of March deadline to ensure compliance with the new Simpler Recycling regulations. Contact us if you want to arrange extra collections or have any questions.
Every year the landfill tax rate usually rises, but from 1 April 2025, the standard rate will increase by 22%. There are two rates, yet most waste that businesses send to landfill sites is charged at the standard rate, which is significantly higher. The lower rate applies to ‘inactive waste’ such as rocks and soil.
From 1 April 2025 landfill tax will be:
These apply to landfill sites in England and Northern Ireland, but the Scottish and Welsh governments have announced rates that match them currently. The tax increase directly affects landfill site operators, but it will undoubtedly be passed down to waste carriers and their customers (such as your business).
It means that the cost to get rid of any waste your business produces that’s sent to landfill sites for disposal will likely increase. This increase aims to encourage alternative disposal methods such as recycling, recovery, and energy from waste. Check what waste type and amounts your organisation sends to landfills and seek alternatives for sustainable and cost-effective solutions.
There’s already a greater focus on the use of sustainable materials by many businesses but this looks set to grow in 2025. Many will look for sustainable solutions as companies aim to reduce the amount of waste they produce and recycle, reuse, and recover as much as possible.
Holding higher standards means companies working with suppliers that create products made of sustainable and fully recyclable materials. This will be especially true when it comes to packaging, so businesses can minimise sending waste to landfill sites. It also helps companies meet their green goals and demonstrate eco credentials to attract sustainable-minded customers and clients.
The impact of Simpler Recycling and higher landfill taxes means moving away from businesses throwing away rubbish with general waste without a second thought. To operate sustainably and save money many will want biodegradable and fully recyclable packaging and products that can be disposed of sustainably and away from landfill sites and incineration.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) was one of the most talked about topics last year and it doesn’t look like slowing down in 2025. AI-integration is already in place at many waste plants around the UK and this could increase in the coming year. Its main application is to help sort waste materials to improve recovery rates.
AI and automated technology are also used to monitor equipment and machinery in waste facilities. This helps identify potential maintenance issues so they can be checked and fixed to minimise any unplanned shutdowns. Pre-empting failures helps save time and money that breakdowns may cause in waste management facilities.
Expect AI technology to be implemented in more ways across the waste management market in 2025.
Published 3rd January 2025 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 20th January 2025
Black Friday offers a good opportunity for consumers to get great deals on all sorts of products. As the name suggests though, there’s a much darker side to the US-imported ‘holiday’. The environmental impact of producing and distributing millions of goods and the waste it generates is shocking.
It’s estimated that Black Friday creates an extra 1.5 million tonnes of waste in the UK – around half of this is from packaging alone. About £3 billion is spent on Black Friday by UK consumers but the cost to the environment is much worse as lots of this waste ends up in landfills.
Discover some more facts and statistics about Black Friday waste, its environmental impact, and ways to act sustainably this year.
More than half of adults in the UK have made a Black Friday purchase in the past. Despite a growing awareness of the environmental damage the day does, we continue to overconsume and buy unnecessary items based on big discounts. It generates an awful lot of waste each year.
The headline figure is that Black Friday creates an estimated 1.5 million tonnes of waste in the UK each year. Here are some more shocking Black Friday waste statistics:
Black Friday is bad for the environment in many ways. Discounts encourage overconsumption with people buying items they don’t need based on a fear of missing out on big savings. Producing, delivering, and disposing of these extra products is estimated to generate 429,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases from Black Friday purchases in the UK.
This massive increase in carbon emissions is terrible as the likes of carbon dioxide trap heat from the sun and the earth’s surface, which contributes to global warming. The power and energy required to support a huge surge in online shopping across Black Friday and Cyber Monday also has a negative environmental impact.
Then there’s all the waste generated. This includes old items thrown away as they’re replaced by new ones, unwanted impulse purchases that are quickly binned, and all the packaging waste it creates. Many Black Friday buys are made from cheap and unsustainable materials too. Transportation and disposal of this waste requires energy and has a further negative environmental effect.
The most sustainable thing to do as a consumer on Black Friday is to avoid buying stuff you don’t need. Even if there’s a big discount on a vacuum cleaner, do you really need a new one? Businesses can also enjoy a zero waste Black Friday by simply not participating – save the deals for other times of the year.
Campaigns like Buy Nothing New Month and Green Friday are already in place to encourage more sustainable shopping habits at this time of year. These are a few more ideas for ways to experience a sustainable Black Friday as a shopper or business:
Looking to improve the sustainability of your business? Explore our reduce waste guides for more ideas on how to minimise the commercial waste your company produces.
Published 18th November 2024 by Graham Matthews.
When throwing away any type of bottle at home or work you might wonder what to do with the cap. It could be from a plastic bottle of water, a glass beer bottle, an empty milk bottle from the office kitchen, or even a bottle of detergent or another cleaning product. Recycling bottle tops is the answer.
The myths and old messaging around what to do with bottle lids was to remove them – but that’s not the case now. Most bottle lids can be left on when they’re recycled as they’re easily separated at recycling facilities. Removing them could mean the caps end up in landfills or littering the environment.
They might be small but with 1.3 billion bottles used worldwide every day and each one having a lid, it soon adds up to a lot of waste. Discover what to do with bottle caps of any type and everything you need to know about bottle top recycling with this guide.
Most bottle caps are made of a type of plastic or metal, depending on the kind of bottle. The two main plastic types that bottle lids are made from are high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP). These are versatile and recyclable plastics but different from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is used to make most plastic bottles.
Metal bottle caps for beer and wine bottles are often made of steel or aluminium. These are both recyclable. Steel bottle tops are sometimes coated with an anti-corrosive tin or chrome plate to protect them, which doesn’t affect their recyclability.
Bottle caps are recyclable. You can recycle bottle tops made from plastic or metal of any colour. Leave plastic bottle caps on when you dispose of them in a plastic recycling bin, dry mixed recycling bin, or household recycling bin. Metal bottle caps can be recycled with glass bottles too.
All bottles and their caps must be clean and dry before they’re thrown away to remove any contaminants. They’ll be taken to a recycling centre where the bottles and lids are checked and separated. Magnets remove metal bottle caps while plastic bottle caps are separated due to their different densities and weights.
After they’re separated the caps are recycled in their individual material streams. For example, HDPE plastic lids are recycled with other HDPE waste. This is often cleaned, shredded, melted, and formed into pellets to create new HDPE plastic products. Metal lids are segregated and recycled to form fresh steel or aluminium materials.
In the summer of 2024, a new EU policy came into force that means plastic bottles now have tethered caps. Rather than a lid that screws off completely, there are small extra strips of plastic that attach the cap to the bottle. The mandatory design across EU states aims to reduce single-use plastic waste.
It’s hoped that by having the plastic bottle cap attached people will recycle both bottle and lid together. This should reduce the risk of people separating them and littering the top or throwing both away with general waste. Plastic bottle tops are one of the most littered items in Europe, which the measure aims to reduce.
The UK is no longer an EU member, so the policy for tethered plastic bottle caps doesn’t apply. However, many manufacturers find it easier and more cost-effective to implement the same design for their products across Europe. That’s why you’ll see bottle caps attached to various drinks bottles in the UK too.
You may also have noticed that many milk bottle tops are now clear or white. This makes them easier to recycle by reducing colour contamination in the HDPE stream, used to make most milk bottle lids. Coloured tops can’t be recycled for food-grade packaging as easily either, so this change aims to improve sustainability.
Recycling bottle tops is essential to protect the environment. Many are made from types of plastic and metal that take hundreds of thousands of years to degrade and release various chemicals as they do so. Bottle lids are also small and often mistaken for food by birds, fish, and other animals – which can cause choking and death.
More than 20 million bottle caps have been removed during beach clearances across the world in the past 30 years. Research from the Dutch North Shore coastline found 80% of bottle caps littering beaches were from consumer drinks and food packaging and 70% were damaged. This suggests they’d been in the environment for a long time.
Every bottle has some kind of lid made from a material that’s often recyclable. This includes empty milk, wine, and drinks bottles, as well as bottles and caps for cosmetic and cleaning products. Recycling them helps extract value from the material, contribute to a circular economy, and avoid adding to landfill levels.
Many businesses dispose of all sorts of bottles and their lids. This includes office workers throwing away drinks bottles, restaurants getting rid of empty beer and wine bottles, and cleaning companies disposing of detergent bottles. Recycling empty bottles and their caps is important for businesses to help the environment and save money.
Recycling such bottles and their tops rather than disposing of them with general waste prevents them from going to landfill sites. This has a positive environmental impact and reduces how much landfill tax your company pays. It helps extract value from the materials too.
We can provide free bins to recycle bottles and their lids for many different materials – you only pay for collections. Find out more about recycling bins for:
Get a free no-obligation quote today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Can you recycle beer bottle caps?
You can recycle beer bottle caps as most are made from steel or aluminium, which are both fully recyclable. Many glass bottle banks accept beer bottle caps with clean, dry, and empty bottles – they’re separated at the recycling centre. Businesses can also recycle beer bottle caps in separate metal recycling bins.
Can you recycle milk bottle tops?
You can recycle milk bottle tops. Most are made from HDPE or PP plastics, which are recyclable. Leave the top on after you’ve rinsed out and dried the milk bottle and put it in your household recycling bin. Businesses can recycle milk bottles and their tops in dry mixed recycling bins or plastic recycling bins.
Can you recycle corks?
Cork is recyclable but it shouldn’t be recycled with the bottle. Some household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) accept cork, but check first, while there are charities that recycle them too.
Published 6th November 2024 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
Contaminated recycling is a problem for many businesses across the UK. Throwing away non-recyclable materials in bins used for dry mixed recycling or individual recycling streams (such as glass, paper, cardboard, plastic, metal, or wood) affects the recycling quality, processing, and possibly your waste management costs.
Contamination can occur due to wishcycling – putting rubbish in a bin and hoping it gets recycled without checking if it’s accepted – and various other reasons. Businesses need to minimise and eliminate recycling contamination to improve recycling rates, protect the environment, and save money.
Reducing recycling contamination ensures your business maintains the value of its recyclable rubbish. Discover how to reduce recycling contamination within your organisation and its impact on the environment and waste management systems.
Recycling contamination is when any non-recyclable materials are disposed of with a recycling stream. They end up in the recycling system where they shouldn’t be, which can cause processing problems. It could be bits of food waste put in a glass recycling bin or general waste in a dry mixed recycling bin, for example.
There are various reasons that contaminated recycling can occur. These include leftover food and liquid waste spilling or leaking onto other materials, poor labelling of bins and waste containers, and confusion about what is recyclable. They can all lead to inappropriate waste being thrown away with recycling loads.
The main reason recycling contamination is a problem is that it can mean part of or an entire recycling load, could be rejected. Instead of the materials being recovered and reused they may be sent to landfill or for incineration. These both add to pollution levels and have a much more negative environmental impact.
In some cases, the contaminants can be removed, and the rest of the waste will still be recycled. However, this requires extra time, energy, and resources. It depends on the material too, as food and liquid waste can leak onto paper and cardboard materials, which reduces the quality of their fibres and often means they can’t be recycled.
Some contaminants such as plastic bags and thin plastic films can damage recycling equipment as they may clog the machinery. Dealing with recycling contaminants costs money and you may face an additional charge. This might cover machinery maintenance, landfill tax (if the waste is no longer recyclable), and any additional services required.
There’s also a risk to human health. Workers might be exposed to hazardous materials and other dangerous waste types without the proper protective clothing. This means they may face serious health risks if they accidentally handle the likes of asbestos or chemical waste.
The rate of recycling contamination varies across businesses and households in the UK and the wider world. Factors such as the size of organisations, waste types produced, and local authority operations affect the chances of contamination occurring. Get an idea of how big the problem is with these recycling contamination statistics:
Organisations of all sizes and industries that generate any type and volume of commercial waste should eliminate contamination. This helps improve recycling rates, boost your green reputation, and save your company money. A few simple steps can minimise the risks of contaminated recycling within your organisation.
Use these expert tips for ways to prevent and reduce recycling contamination in your business:
Minimise the chance of contaminating your recyclable rubbish with free bins for all waste types your business produces. There are no rental or delivery fees – you only pay for collection. Choose from a wide range of bin types and sizes to suit your needs and store your recycling safely.
Get started with a free no-obligation quote today. Speak to one of our friendly team if you have any questions or fill in our contact form below:
Published 23rd September 2024 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th March 2025
Searches for “last minute holiday” are peaking this week, as Brits make the most of the end of summer.
Travel companies are offering a lot of late summer deals. While some places might sound appealing and appear on many bucket lists, in reality they’re literally surrounded by rubbish. To help tourists make more informed decisions, experts from BusinessWaste.co.uk run through the top 5 dirtiest hotspots in the world.
The Taj Mahal is one of the most shockingly trashed monuments in the world. Tonnes of plastic and packaging waste surround it (but they rarely make the photos). Climate activist Licypriya Kangujam says: “I found plastic waste including food wrappers and bottles inside the fountain and gardens of Taj Mahal. The area around the monument was littered with single-use plastics.”
Tourist litter isn’t the only problem at the Taj Mahal. The air pollution in Agra, where the Taj Mahal is located, has particulate matter levels often exceeding the WHO’s safe limits. This significantly impacts the monument’s preservation.
Venice is another gorgeous and unique place, completely trashed by its 20 million visitors every year. Bins are constantly overflowing while rubbish inundates the sides of the main streets and the smaller canals, which often attract rats. Water pollution is also a big issue – the canals have historically contained high levels of nitrates and phosphates. A reduction occurred with fewer tourists during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting visitors have a high impact.
In Phuket, waste management is a pressing issue. The island generates roughly 250 to 300 tonnes of waste per day during peak tourist season. Much of this is plastic waste from beaches and tourist activities, which often ends up in the ocean. This affects marine life and water quality. However, visiting during the monsoon season from May to October could mean fewer tourists and a lesser environmental footprint.
The Egyptian Pyramids have also received many complaints from tourists due to the amount of rubbish and litter around the area. The litter affects the aesthetic and historical integrity of the site and contributes to broader environmental issues in the Giza plateau area. One tourist on TripAdvisor comments: “Unfortunately while the pyramids were over the moon the surrounding area is filled with garbage, plastic bags swirling in the sand and just trash in general. The reason is rather simple…everyone litters.”
Before its temporary closure in 2018, Boracay was generating upwards of 115 tonnes of garbage per day, much of which wasn’t properly managed. Since reopening, efforts have been intensified to control waste, but challenges remain during peak tourist seasons. Touring the island during the off-peak rainy season from June to November helps distribute the tourist load more evenly throughout the year.
Barcelona is a prime example of how tourism can strain local infrastructure. The city generates approximately 1.7 million tonnes of waste annually, with summer months producing twice as much as the rest of the year. Plastic waste and litter are particularly problematic in tourist-frequented areas like beaches and landmarks. One visitor on TripAdvisor says: “Old dirty streets… Be careful, people throw garbage off their balconies onto the street.”
The waste problem at Mount Everest includes an estimated 50 tonnes of rubbish left by climbers on its slopes. These include tents, climbing equipment, and human waste – all of which are frozen and preserved by the cold, impacting the mountain’s ecosystem. Climbing during the official spring and autumn seasons helps, as these times see organised cleanup expeditions.
Bali deals with around 4,000 tonnes of waste daily, with only 60% collected and about 48% ending up in landfills. The rest accumulates in natural environments, particularly around tourist-heavy areas. Visiting Bali during the dry season from April to September might offer a better experience, as less rain means less waste runoff into the ocean.
Image credit: Nyimas Laula, National Geographic (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/bali-fights-for-its-beautiful-beaches-by-rethinking-waste-plastic-trash)
Santorini faces significant waste management issues, especially during peak tourist seasons when its infrastructure is overwhelmed. The island generates a large amount of solid waste, much of which is processed off the island, increasing environmental and logistical burdens. Travelling in the less busy months of March and November can make it a more enjoyable experience.
Rio’s famous beaches like Copacabana and Ipanema face chronic issues with rubbish, especially plastic pollution. The city produces about 7,000 tonnes of waste daily, and heavy rain can wash street garbage into the sea, affecting beach quality. Visiting outside of Carnaval season and following major rainfalls can lead to cleaner beach experiences and a smaller tourist footprint.
Image credit: https://rioonwatch.org/?p=14068
Reduce waste on your next holiday with our expert tips and guides:
Published 4th September 2024 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 3rd October 2025
There are more than 24,000 schools in the UK attended by around nine million pupils – including both primary and secondary schools. Every educational establishment creates lots of waste that needs managing effectively. This includes leftover food in the cafeteria, used workbooks, e-waste from the IT department, and broken sports equipment.
It’s estimated that every primary school pupil creates 45kg of waste each year, while the average secondary school student produces 22kg of waste annually. This adds up to huge volumes of waste, but the good news is that 80% of school waste is recyclable. However, very few UK schools recycle that much.
Recycling for schools is important as it teaches the importance of looking after the environment practically. Plus, it reduces landfill tax costs for waste disposal to free up more budget to invest in education. Use these ideas for recycling at school to improve your school’s sustainability whether you’re a teacher, member of staff, or pupil.
School recycling programs should be in place at every educational establishment across the UK. This is a waste management plan that identifies the types of rubbish the school produces, how and where it’s stored, who collects it, how it’s disposed of, and the costs involved.
Conduct a waste audit to start by reviewing the types and volumes of waste your school creates. Cover all areas such as classrooms and the cafeteria to toilets and playgrounds. Once you’ve got an idea of the rubbish generated you can put in place steps to increase recycling where possible.
School recycling programs should include:
Glass is infinitely recyclable, whereas some types of plastic are trickier to recycle. Therefore it’s better for the environment to use products at school in glass bottles and jars rather than plastic bottles and containers. This applies to bottles of milk in classrooms, ingredients bought for school kitchens, and juices.
There may be concerns about safety due to the risk of broken glass at school. A good way to reduce this is by having teachers and staff pour any drinks from glass bottles into reusable plastic cups. These can be washed and reused, which eliminates single-use plastic waste and improves recycling rates for waste glass.
Packaging waste can present a problem for many schools as they have no control over how goods are presented. Everything from ingredients and food for the canteen to textbooks, sports equipment, and toiletries will all be delivered in some kind of packaging to protect their contents.
Bulk buying is a good way to reduce packaging waste, as less shrink wrap or paper should be used to protect the goods. Another eco-friendly option is to work with suppliers that only use recyclable packaging materials – ideally paper and cardboard. This way you can recycle such waste easily in your school’s recycling bins.
Introducing a little competition is a great way to engage pupils to recycle at school. It could be a friendly challenge between classrooms or forms to see which one recycles the most by the end of the week. Put an empty dry mixed recycling bin in each then weigh and compare results when the school week is over.
On-the-spot rewards for pupils seen by teachers and staff recycling rubbish properly is another good incentive. This can be as simple as giving any student caught putting a plastic bottle in the correct recycling bin a reward (like a sweet). Word should quickly spread to encourage more pupils to actively recycle.
Look out for recycling competition between schools as well. There are various initiatives run throughout the year aimed at improving recycling rates for schools through competition. These have included the Schools Recycle Right Challenge by Planet Ark and the Green School Project by TerraCycle.
One of the best ways to engage pupils and encourage recycling in school is to make environmental education fun. Consider these options to increase enjoyment around recycling at school:
The ongoing digital transformation that sees the world rely more on technology also impacts classrooms. Schools still produce plenty of paper recycling, but many more classrooms use laptops, tablets, and other technology to replace physical books, paper, and other materials. It means schools produce much more e-waste than ever before.
Recycling e-waste is possible and should be done to avoid old electronics ending up in landfill. It ensures precious metals are recovered and other materials such as plastic casings and metals are recycled. Donate any old laptops, computers, and printers that still work but those that are broken and irreparable should be sent for WEEE recycling.
Regularly review recycling activities and results across your school to assess the effectiveness of your plans and actions. This highlights where recycling is improving so you can replicate activities elsewhere within your school. It should also help identify any issues and opportunities to increase recycling.
At Business Waste we can help schools anywhere in the UK arrange regular recycling. We provide free bins with no delivery or rental fees to help save money on your waste management costs. Get a free quote for recycling collections from your school today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online to find out more.
Published 23rd August 2024 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
Digital transformation is the change to use technology to replace or enhance business processes, operations, and customer experiences. It often involves switching analogue tools and manual processes for online and digital alternatives. Many digital transformations are being implemented by businesses to reduce waste through various means.
It’s important for businesses of all sizes, industries, and locations to try and reduce how much waste they produce. This helps protect the environment and lowers waste management costs. Digital transformation is regularly viewed as an effective waste reduction strategy as it involves moving things online with less physical reliance.
Many businesses are shifting to more digitised processes, often to go paperless and cut back on how much waste paper they produce. However, various side effects lead to companies inadvertently generating other types of waste. Here we explore whether digital transformation helps or harms ways to reduce waste.
One of the biggest positive impacts of digital transformation is the reduction in paper use and waste. Moving to digital documents rather than physical paper copies means offices across the world create much less waste paper. Fewer trees are cut down and less water and energy are required to produce as much paper.
Going paperless is a common waste reduction strategy for many businesses. Research has shown it has financial benefits too, as 59% of UK businesses that went paperless reported a full return on investment in less than 12 months, while 84% achieved this in less than 18 months.
These are some common examples of how digital transformation is helping different businesses reduce their paper waste production:
A consequence of reduced paper use by many businesses is a reduction in printing. Offices now store most documents online or in the cloud, which means significantly less printing done at work. The days of the average office worker using 10,000 sheets of printed copy paper a year are behind us.
Screen advertising also means there are fewer printed posters around towns and cities. This all results in businesses not printing as many materials and creating less waste ink cartridges and toners, which can be challenging to recycle. Companies may require fewer printers onsite too, leading to less e-waste.
As digital transformation could see fewer printers in offices in the future it also reduces the type of hazardous waste from printer ink and cartridges. While many ink cartridges can be refilled, plenty are disposed of or replaced. Improper disposal can harm the environment, so creating less printer-related waste should have a positive impact.
Another side effect of the modern digital world is the impact it has on our daily habits outside the workplace. Digital transformation has made it possible for more people to work from home, whether on a hybrid model or fully remote. This could inadvertently reduce packaging waste in a few ways.
The main impact is on food and drink packaging. As more people work from home, fewer are likely to buy coffee in disposable cups on their commute and lunch breaks. While plenty of coffee shops offer hot drinks in recyclable and biodegradable cups, digital transformation is still helping cut back on such waste.
The same is true for workers and their lunches. With more people working from home, it generally means fewer are buying lunch meals from supermarkets and individually wrapped snacks. These are heavily packaged items designed for convenience. Lots of people working from home have the time and space to prepare their own lunches and avoid creating additional packaging waste.
Many businesses have shifted to hold meetings with clients, prospects, and internal teams and stakeholders over Zoom, Skype, and Microsoft Teams. Much of this happened during the COVID-19 pandemic but has continued afterwards alongside other digital transformations. It’s replaced the traditional travelling to meetings across the UK and the wider world.
Online meetings have saved businesses in all industries plenty of money by significantly cutting travel costs. It’s also helped reduce the carbon footprint for lots of companies as employees and clients take fewer flights, trains, and car journeys to meet up. This has hugely reduced direct and indirect energy and fuel usage.
There are various great ways that digital transformation is helping reduce waste. However, the main consequence of this shift to more digital processes is that it’s leading to significant growth in one waste stream – e-waste or waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).
Digital transformation drives a demand for electronic products. Businesses may use fewer printers and photocopiers but there’s a greater reliance on computers, laptops, tablets, and many other electronic goods. Many of these experience regular upgrades and updates as devices become obsolete quicker and need replacing more regularly, which leads to more e-waste.
It also results in greater levels of battery waste – from those powering mobile phones to lithium-ion batteries from laptops. Recycling e-waste and batteries is possible but more challenging than the likes of paper due to the many materials electrical products contain. Research and developments into recycling e-waste are ongoing, with the Royal Mint recently starting to process e-waste to extract gold from old electronics.
While digital transformation has seen a fall in paper waste creation it has generally been offset by more e-waste, which is trickier to recycle. At Business Waste we can help businesses of any industry across the UK recycle your WEEE – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online today for a free quote.
Published 9th August 2024 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 17th January 2025
New commercial food waste legislation in the UK will be in place from the end of March 2025. It means that from this date most businesses will have to separate food waste from other rubbish streams. Companies must store food waste in separate bins and arrange collection by licensed waste carriers.
These are part of Defra’s simpler recycling plans that aim to improve recycling rates, simplify waste management, and benefit the environment. Mandatory food waste separation should ensure less waste food makes its way to landfill sites and is instead disposed of responsibly.
At Business Waste we can help companies of any industry and size anywhere in the UK arrange separate food waste collections. Call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online today for a free quote to prepare for the new food waste law. Keep reading to find out more about the changes to food waste legislation in the UK.
The new food waste legislation in the UK is part of a legal statutory instrument to standardise recycling across England. This is the Environment Act 2021 (Commencement No. 9 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2024. It focuses on changing waste separation and collection requirements for domestic and non-domestic premises, which includes most businesses having to arrange separate food waste collections.
Any business in England that produces ANY food waste per week must arrange separate collection by licensed waste carriers. This includes any biodegradable materials produced from processing or preparing food – including inedible parts like bones, eggshells, fruit and vegetable skins, tea bags, and coffee grounds.
According to the official government response, the preference is for food waste collected to go for anaerobic digestion treatment. This is because it generates biofuel and digestate from unavoidable waste food. The biofuel can be used for energy while digestate is spread on land to recycle nutrients to help form a circular economy.
The new food waste law requiring businesses to separate waste food comes into effect on 31 March 2025 in the UK. This includes for public and third-sector organisations like schools, prisons, and hospitals. For micro businesses (firms with fewer than 10 full-time employees), they must comply with the new food waste law by 31 March 2027.
Mandatory food waste separation will apply to all non-domestic properties in England that produce ANY food waste a week, under the new regulation. This covers all businesses, prisons, hospitals, care homes, offices, schools, garages, and transport hubs. It’s especially relevant for restaurants, cafes, pubs, takeaways, bakeries, and butchers.
Micro businesses will be exempt from the new food waste regulation. That means any firm with fewer than ten full-time employees can still dispose of food scraps and leftovers in general waste bins. However, separating food waste is advisable where possible for companies of any size and industry.
It’s much better for the environment for waste food to be composted or sent to an anaerobic digestion plant rather than going to landfill or for incineration. These options create natural fertilisers and biogas that can be used as an energy source. Plus, your business will pay less landfill tax as part of your waste management costs by separating food waste.
The UK government aims to eliminate food waste to landfill by 2030. It’s hoped that this new legislation can drive England towards that target, as it also covers changes for food waste collections from homes. Wales and Scotland already have their own food waste legislation in place, which this aims to replicate for England.
Every year more than 9.5 million tonnes of food waste are thrown away in the UK. A huge amount of this isn’t recovered or recycled and ends up rotting in landfills, adding to carbon emissions and greenhouse gases. Sending food waste to landfill can cost more than £100 per tonne, so it’s an expensive business too.
If you run any kind of business in England that creates any food waste per week then you should start to prepare for the new commercial food waste regulation. You must have arranged separate storage and collection of food waste by 31st March 2025.
At Business Waste we can help you prepare for these changes and comply with the new regulation. Save money with free food waste bins for your business anywhere in the UK – you only pay for the collection costs. There are no rental or delivery fees. Our expert team can answer your questions and determine the best solution for your organisation.
Follow these steps to prepare for the commercial food waste legislation changes in England:
Contact Business Waste today to arrange your commercial food waste collections.
From 31 March 2026, all households in England should receive food waste collections at least once a week. Local authorities and councils are responsible for arranging this in their areas. Households will likely be provided with a small bin or box to separate food waste from general waste and dry recycling.
The domestic food waste should then be taken to an anaerobic digestion or composting site. This aims to reduce the amount of organic waste making its way to landfill. Your local council should be in touch about the details and timelines for these changes.
Published 17th July 2024 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th December 2024
A digital product passport (DPP) is a label, QR code, or scannable chip that displays information about the item’s environmental impact, composition, production, and history. The DPP helps track each stage of the product’s journey from its beginning to what’s in front of you. It shows what it’s made of, where the materials came from, and its carbon footprint.
But what does this have to do with waste management? Well, the use of a digital product passport in the UK for various items is important to improve the sustainability, recyclability, and recovery of products. It could help prevent many products from making their way to landfills and reduce wasteful practices.
Discover everything you need to know about what digital product passports are, how they work, what businesses and customers should understand about them, and the sustainable benefits they could introduce.
Digital product passports are digital records that show information about the value chain of an item. This includes materials used to make it, where it was produced, the environmental impact of it, and recommended disposal and recycling routes. Digital product passports aim to provide reliable data on the product journey.
They should improve the transparency about specific products so consumers, investors, and businesses can trace the sustainability of products with a DPP. Information about the unique identity of a product is linked via a QR code, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip, or scannable label.
Users simply scan this with a smartphone and are directed towards the digital product passport to see this data. Then they can assess the product’s journey from start to finish and decide whether it aligns with their sustainability desires. The information may also help people dispose of it properly by explaining if it’s recyclable and recommendations for the end of its life.
Various bits of data are covered with the digital product passport requirements. It should show where the product came from, what it contains, and other information about its sustainability. Digital product passport requirements include information about the item’s:
There are some existing digital product passport examples already in use by certain manufacturers and plenty of scope for future applications. The clothing and textiles industry is adopting them, especially sustainable fashion brands. Scannable labels or QR codes on labels display information about the item’s production, carbon footprint, and care guidelines.
This helps to inform buyers looking for ethical and sustainable clothing, provides full transparency about where the item has come from, and provides maintenance information to help prolong its life. The use of DPPs is expected to grow quickly in the coming years for the clothing industry given the focus on the huge amounts of fashion waste generated annually.
Digital product passports are also being used for many other items, from car batteries to food products and more. Here are some current and possible future examples of uses of digital product passports:
A digital product passport drives transparency and accountability for everything that goes into producing an item. Potential buyers seeking sustainable products can assess and compare options with greater trust and choose the one with the lowest carbon footprint, local materials, or least energy consumption. Manufacturers can’t hide and this places more of an impetus for them to create truly sustainable products.
The design stage determines 80% of a product’s environmental impact. Highlighting the production cycle of a product with a DPP could encourage manufacturers to work towards more sustainable designs, especially if potential buyers are put off by what a DPP shows them. Insight into the materials from a DPP helps designers create more durable items.
Knowledge is power. The more people understand where things they use come from and how much energy it takes to produce them, the less likely people are to discard them without a second thought. Using a digital product passport removes the opaque and vagueness of many supply chains and passes on more power to buyers/customers to make truly sustainable purchase choices.
For manufacturers a product passport also helps improve their environmental impact. A clear digital record of a product’s value chain provides full visibility and highlights any opportunities to optimise processes to improve sustainability. This also assist with ensuring companies comply with relevant environmental standards and regulations.
A product passport isn’t just for buyers browsing the rails in a clothes shop. They’re useful for different people from the start to the end of a product’s life. These are the three main stages and people that use a DPP in different ways that help improve sustainability:
Currently, there’s no digital product passport regulation in the UK. It’s therefore up to manufacturers whether they use DPPs for their products or not. However, in the EU it’s expected that digital product legislation will be introduced after a provisional agreement between the European Parliament and the European Council.
This was for the introduction of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). Digital product passports are a key feature of the ESPR, and the new rules will apply to all products on the EU market, regardless of whether they are produced inside or outside the EU.
Digital product regulation is anticipated to be adopted and mandated by the EU between 2026 and 2030 as part of the ESPR. It will apply to all 27 EU countries and looks to prioritise products with a high environmental impact and potential to improve. This includes textiles, furniture, chemicals, batteries, consumer electronics and devices, and construction products.
Under this new digital product legislation it means from 2027 industrial and electric vehicle batteries will have mandatory DPPs across the EU. It’s expected that from 2030 other products like textiles may require a mandatory digital product passport. The exact digital product passport requirements under the EU’s new regulations are still being worked out.
Whether digital product passport regulation will be introduced in the UK remains to be seen. However, if more products across the continent and the wider world start using them then expect to see DPPs on clothes, furniture, electronics, and other items in the future.
Published 27th June 2024 by Graham Matthews.
Recycling clothes is important as it saves water, materials, and energy compared to creating new garments from scratch. It also keeps old clothes out of landfill sites and incinerators, which reduces the carbon footprint associated with used clothing. Individuals and businesses produce lots of fashion waste, so sustainable management is vital.
In the UK we throw out 300,000 tonnes of old clothes every year – that’s a lot of wasted material. Of this amount, less than a fifth are recycled even though you can recover and reuse many textiles. This includes everything from ripping your favourite pair of jeans, kids outgrowing jumpers, and corporate uniforms and construction workwear becoming damaged.
Homes and businesses should do all they can and recycle rather than bin clothes at the end of their life. These are some of the main reasons why recycling clothes is important:
Throwing away old clothing in a general waste bin means there’s a chance it could make its way to landfill. Some councils and local authorities dispose of general waste in landfill sites, so if you chuck an old t-shirt in your household general waste bin it could now be rotting in landfill.
According to WRAP, around £140 million worth of clothes go to landfill sites in the UK every year. This is a staggering waste of money, terrible for the environment, and clothes take up valuable space in landfill sites that could be used by materials that can’t be reused, recycled, or recovered.
Clothes also release toxins when they decompose in landfill due to the chemicals, dyes, and any synthetic fibres they may contain. These can leach into the nearby ground and water while clothes contribute to methane production as they break down – a potent greenhouse gas. Recycling clothes avoids all such problems.
Clothing production relies on using lots of water, raw materials, and other resources. Recycling old clothes eliminates the need to source fresh materials and use up gallons of water to create new clothes. It contributes to a circular economy, while the water and materials saved by recycling can be put to good use elsewhere.
For example, making just one t-shirt uses 2,700 litres of water. Cotton is commonly used to create clothing and it’s highly water-intensive because it’s grown in some of the warmest countries. Then there’s the use of water for dyeing garments, which can pollute clean water in some cases.
Synthetic fibres are formed from crude oil, while the likes of leather, wool, and silk all rely on animals. Recycling old clothes helps recover these materials and reuse them to create new clothing items and textiles. This helps reduce the reliance on gathering fresh materials from such sources, which benefits the environment.
The global fashion industry is responsible for around 10% of greenhouse gas emissions. This is down to the energy required to produce materials and process them into apparel, the transportation of materials and clothing around the world, and the disposal of old and worn-out old clothing items.
If every UK household recycled one black bag full of clothes rather than binning them it would save enough carbon to heat 400,000 homes. Emissions from incineration and methane from clothes decomposing in landfill are huge. Recycling avoids this and cuts carbon emissions as it’s more energy-efficient than producing new clothes.
The trend for buying cheap clothing and wearing items a few times before discarding them is devastating for the environment. Fast fashion is one of the main polluters in the world. Reassessing your spending habits as a consumer and recycling used clothes is an easy way to tackle the issue.
Businesses can also play a part by adapting their practices. Clothes retailers could reduce how many new seasons and collections they introduce. Offering an incentive to customers who recycle their old items in-store can also benefit the environment, whether it’s a discount or providing access to a new range.
Other companies also rely on clothing, such as uniforms in restaurants, construction gear, and even suits for lawyers. Set a good example as a business by reusing and recycling business clothing where possible and avoid updating designs too regularly, as this can create unnecessary waste.
An easy way to recycle clothes that are in decent condition is to donate them to a local charity or community cause. Some charities will sell them in their shops to benefit their work while others may send them directly to those in need. You can also recycle clothes at clothing banks to help good causes.
Businesses that have lots of old clothes, such as excess stock or used corporate workwear, can also donate those in usable condition to charities. It’s a great way to do your bit, help others, and avoid such waste going to landfill.
If you run a business that needs textile collection and recycling services then at Business Waste we can help – whatever the type, volume, and condition of the old clothes. Get a free quote for clothes recycling for your business anywhere in the UK today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 29th May 2024 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th November 2025
Does your business produce lots of dry waste such as cardboard and paper, general waste, or dry mixed recycling? If you’re looking for a cost-effective solution for affordable commercial waste management in the UK then you might consider a front or rear end loader bin. Storing more waste can reduce how many collections you need and cut your waste management costs.
Front and rear end loaders are both big static metal containers, similar in size and shape to a skip. However, they’re generally more secure than skips as they each have a roof and lockable lids. They’re placed in a set position on your site and specialist lifting equipment empties and removes them.
You can use either a front or rear end loader to store a range of dry waste types but not glass, liquid, or hazardous waste. While rear and front end loader bins are cut from the same cloth there are some important differences between the two. Work out which is best for your business below.
The main difference between front and rear end loader bins are their sizes and shapes. They both come in different sizes, but generally, rear end loaders are larger waste containers. For example, a 10-yard front end loader can hold around 80 bags of waste while a 10-yard rear end loader has the capacity for up to 100 bags of waste.
It’s the shape that affects their capacity. This also impacts how you access these skips to throw away bags of waste. With a front end loader, you simply lift the lid and drop in your waste like a big wheelie bin. The lids of some FELs are split into two panels or there may be a panel on the side you slide across for access.
With a rear end loader, access is at the back. Their shape is more like a traditional skip with a lid that you lift from the back to drop in waste. It’s normally a slanting lid that you pull up while the top of the bin has a metal roof or plastic panel covering it to protect contents from rain and theft.
There are benefits to using either waste container, the right one depends on your company’s waste management needs.
The main reasons to consider a front end loader rather than a rear end loader bin are:
The main reasons to consider a rear end loader rather than a front end loader bin are:
At Business Waste we provide free bins to our customers, including front and rear end loaders. There are no rental, hire, or delivery fees – you only pay for collection. This offers a cost-effective way to store, remove, and dispose of all sorts of dry waste from your business.
Prices vary depending on the type and size of container you use, your location, and how often you want them collected and emptied. Get a free no-obligation quote for a front or rear end loader for your business – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 7th May 2024 by Graham Matthews.
Preparing to move house is an exciting but busy time. You’ll likely have a list of things to do longer than a giraffe’s neck but it’s a great opportunity to have an efficient clear out of those items you no longer need. There’s no point taking a spare Christmas tree, broken microwave, or unused bedding to your new home.
Sorting out waste before you move can save money and time too. It removes the effort of packing stuff that’s just going to be thrown out anyway and means there’ll be less for your removal firm to manage, which could lead to lower fees. Your future self will thank you for removing waste sorting from the list of jobs to do in your new house.
Hiring a skip can be tempting but it’s expensive, you need the space (and a permit if it’s not placed on private land), and often everything ends up in landfill. Instead, follow these tips to manage all your waste efficiently, cost-effectively, and in an environmentally friendly way when moving home.
The biggest items you might want to get rid of when moving house will probably be pieces of furniture. Now is the time to say goodbye to that old sofa you’ve been meaning to replace for years, a broken wardrobe, or the dining chairs and table that won’t suit your new home’s style.
Otherwise, you’ll spend money and effort carting big bits of furniture around just to take them to a different tip. That should be your last option to get rid of furniture when moving home, although it may be necessary if the furniture contains persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The greenest choice is to pass on your old items of furniture for others to use if they’re in decent condition.
Ask friends, family, or neighbours if they want anything, which prolongs the furniture’s life. Donate furniture to a nearby charity shop – some even offer free collections to save you a trip. Alternatively, sell online using sites such as Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree (you can even make collection mandatory, so you don’t have to transport the furniture).
White goods and electrical appliances are some of the other bulky items you might consider getting rid of when moving home. You’ll likely leave the oven behind anyway. If you’re organised you may have agreed to include some other appliances with the house sale, such as a washing machine.
It can be a good negotiating option and saves you the hassle of shifting a few big items. Only leave behind any white goods if it’s been agreed with the buyers. Most people take fridges, freezers, washing machines, and tumble driers with them. If you’re not leaving these items then it’s a good time to assess their future.
You may want a more energy-efficient fridge for your new home or should your washing machine be playing up it could be time for a change. Repairing any faulty electrical appliances is best to extend their life, and save resources, energy, and money. Those beyond repair should be recycled as electricals contain many valuable and hazardous elements.
Many electrical retailers are part of a distributor takeback scheme for WEEE in the UK. Check which stores near you participate and if they’ll accept your old electrical items. This offers a free way to recycle all sorts of old electronics. With small electronic items like kettles and toasters, you can take them to electrical recycling banks.
As you’re emptying your wardrobes to pack up clothes for moving you’ll probably come across items you’d forgotten about. Now is the perfect time to review garments that no longer fit, suit your style, or will be worn again. Put these to one side rather than boxing up with everything else.
Do the same with any sheets, duvet covers, and other linen you’re not going to use in the future. Clothes and bedding in decent condition can be taken to most charity shops and sold to support the cause or sent to those in need. You can also sell old clothes on second-hand sites like Vinted or recycle them in clothes banks.
Threadbare rugs and old carpet rolls might not be worth taking to your new home either. However, if you’re getting a fresh carpet fitted in your new home then contact the carpet fitter and they may remove and recycle your old rugs for you. Otherwise, visit your local household waste recycling centre (HWRC).
Your duvets and pillows may have lost their shape, become stained, or even faded and ripped after years of use. These are trickier to recycle but some retailers offer takeback schemes (such as Dunelm) to ensure responsible disposal. Alternatively, donate to an animal charity or shelter that could use it as bedding.
Before putting your home on the market you probably tidied up the garden to make it presentable. If you’ve got a garden waste bin then you can use this (as long as it’s emptied before you move out – you don’t want to leave a full bin for the new owners).
Emptying the shed can uncover lots of old tools, plant pots, and gardening equipment you no longer need, especially if you’re moving to a home without a garden. Donating to charity shops, passing on to friends and family, or selling online are all good options. You could also check if any local community groups or allotments can make use of your old gardening gear.
If you’ve got a compost bin then decide whether you’ll leave it for the new owners or take it with you. It’s unlikely you’ll want to transport it full of compost so either spread it on part of the garden that needs it or bag it up. You could also give some compost to any neighbours or nearby allotments that want it.
Sorting through the attic, cupboards, and under the bed can uncover all sorts of miscellaneous smaller items. It’s prime time to decide what’s worth keeping and what needs a new home, like you. Separate and bag or box up books, toys, games, small electrical devices, and other things you won’t take with you.
You can’t recycle books in your household recycling bin due to the glue holding the pages together. Instead, take these to a nearby charity shop or local library. Toys, games, and many working electricals should be accepted by most charity shops as well. This extends their life and prevents them from going to landfill.
After sorting through everything in your house and deciding what’s coming with you and what must find a new home elsewhere, you should do everything you can to ensure it avoids going to landfill. Whatever items and amounts you decide to throw away, there are a few ways to get rid of waste when moving home responsibly:
Leave your wheelie bins behind as they’re essentially council property and there should be wheelie bins provided for general waste and recycling at your new home. There’s no law around it but it’s good etiquette to leave the bins empty if possible for the new owners.
They’ll likely create a lot of rubbish in the first week so will need the capacity. If they’re not moving in immediately you could fill them and ask a neighbour to take them in after you’ve left. You could also ask your neighbours if you can put a bit of rubbish in their bins too.
It’s poor form to leave lots of rubbish and waste items behind for the new homeowners or tenants. This passes on the responsibility for them to dispose of it, which could cost them money. Only leave anything that’s been agreed in the terms of the house purchase – such as an oven, washing machine, or anything else.
There could be possible legal consequences if you leave anything not agreed in writing with the new homeowners and solicitors. You also don’t know how the new homeowners or tenants will get rid of these items – they could end up in landfill. Contact Business Waste and we can find a solution to help dispose of your waste away from landfill.
Published 17th April 2024 by Graham Matthews.
Starting a zero waste shop is a growing trend that can benefit the environment and local community, and turn a profit. There are around 200 zero waste shops in the UK. Many of these popped up over the past few years and have become popular, successful, and inspirational to others.
Research suggests just over two-thirds of consumers claim to be zero waste advocates, so now could be the time to fill a gap in the market. Most zero waste stores aim to eliminate or significantly reduce packaging and generate as little waste as possible through their operations. It’s all about sustainability from start to finish.
The growing trend for zero waste shops that sell all sorts of goods means now could be the prime time to open one up. There are many things to consider before opening any business and you should seek professional advice before you start. Use the following tips for a rough idea of how to start a zero waste shop.
A zero waste shop is a store that sells goods and operates sustainably. They sell loose produce to eliminate packaging with customers using their own refillable containers. Many goods are charged by weight or units. Zero waste shops don’t provide plastic bags either, so customers must bring a reusable one.
They will have a destination for excess and expired stock, so it doesn’t go to waste. This could be donating goods to a local food bank or out-of-date food to a nearby animal shelter or farm. Any zero waste shop aims to minimise waste from how the store is run and from consumer activities.
Setting up a zero waste shop is a great idea when there’s a clear opportunity. It can help reduce packaging waste, offer a more sustainable retail experience, and be a successful business. However, opening a shop of any kind is a big commitment and the same risks as starting any new shop apply.
If you’re serious about beginning a zero waste shop in your area you must think it through thoroughly. There’s no specific order you must follow but you should consider each of the following factors to assess the feasibility of setting up a zero waste shop before you begin:
Do plenty of in-depth research and if you decide your idea for a zero waste shop is feasible then it’s time to get (more) serious. If you’ve run a business in the UK before then hopefully you have a good idea of what setting one entails. Otherwise, you should seek professional business advice.
There are many steps to opening a zero waste shop, but these are some of the key ones:
There’s lots of equipment you’ll need when starting a zero waste store to ensure things run smoothly. Some items are similar to what’s required when operating any shop while others are specific to zero waste businesses. Here are some of the main things your new zero waste shop needs:
Starting a zero waste shop online follows most of the above steps. However, there’s much more competition as you’ll be entering a wider market as people can order pretty much anything online today. Think about how to differentiate your online zero waste shop from others with some genuine unique selling points (USPs).
Using sustainable suppliers and being able to demonstrate truly zero waste practices are vital. All your products should be delivered with no packaging or at least biodegradable or recyclable packaging. Again, having a transparent plan for how your business manages any waste helps build trust and demonstrates your sustainability.
Another big focus for any zero waste shop online is the website. You should still have a website if you have a physical shop, but it might be relatively small and simple, explaining what your shop sells, where it is, when it’s open, and why people should visit. With an online-only store, the website is key.
Use professional web designers and developers to build a site for your zero waste online shop that works. It needs to be attractive, easy to navigate, simple to use, and with a working payment functionality. Look at your competitors to see what works and areas for improvement to build into your site.
Published 5th April 2024 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 15th January 2025
There are more than 16,000 laboratories in the UK – from university chemistry labs to hospital, medical, research and development facilities, and even computer labs. On average they carry out around 300,000 tests every day. All these experiments, research, and tests produce lots of waste materials each year – including 5.5 million tonnes of plastic waste.
The importance of laboratory waste management can’t be underestimated. It must be stored, removed, and disposed of safely, legally, and responsibly to protect humans from exposure to potentially dangerous materials and to ensure no harm happens to the environment. There are various guidelines in place to reduce the risks when disposing of lab waste.
To help ensure your tests, experiments, and research run smoothly we’ve created this laboratory waste disposal guide. Discover how to manage and get rid of rubbish from any type or size of lab with these laboratory waste disposal guidelines for UK organisations.
Any waste produced by laboratories in industry, medicine, research, and educational facilities (such as universities) is laboratory waste. This includes solid, liquid, and gaseous waste.. Waste from laboratories can be broken down into further categories with common materials including:
Most waste in laboratories is classed as hazardous or non-hazardous waste, which determines how it should be managed and disposed of safely. Even items such as a crisp packet thrown away in a general waste bin by someone working in the lab class as laboratory waste. Find more guidance on our laboratory waste management page.
Laboratory waste disposal guidelines in the UK are governed by various laws, regulations, and legislation – there’s no single law. Before working with any materials in the lab that are potentially harmful to humans and the environment you must carry out a risk assessment. This includes when using chemicals, radioactive substances, biological agents, and animal by-products.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency are the main bodies that oversee lab waste disposal. They provide guidelines and advice around chemical waste and biological waste storage and disposal. Adhering to relevant regulations for lab waste disposal is essential, otherwise, you could face penalties including significant fines.
The main legal guidelines and legislation that cover laboratory waste disposal are:
The importance of laboratory waste management can’t be underestimated due to the potentially dangerous nature of some materials. Storing and disposing of all waste from a lab properly and responsibly is vital to minimise and eliminate associated risks, such as:
Safe storage of all waste produced in your lab is vital to reduce the risk of exposure to potentially dangerous materials that could harm human health. It’s also important to ensure your waste is accepted and removed by the licensed waste carrier who collects it. Improper storage could lead to waste being rejected and building up on your site, for reasons such as:
To dispose of any type and amount of lab waste safely and legally you should use a commercial waste collection service – such as through Business Waste. Separate and store your lab waste in relevant bins, bags, and containers within any weight limits or max fill lines. Then arrange for licensed waste carriers to remove it.
Check that the waste carriers are authorised to collect and transport your lab waste. You should receive a duty of care certificate/waste transfer note that confirms the disposal method and location of your waste as proof it was managed legally and responsibly. Some steps to dispose of lab waste safely include:
Various laboratory waste disposal methods exist with the appropriate option depending on the type and volume of waste. These include:
Arrange waste collection and disposal from your lab anywhere in the UK with Business Waste. Get a free quote for waste removal today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 19th March 2024 by Graham Matthews.
Brits are a fashion-conscious bunch, whether we realise it or not. The country has produced many fantastic designers and become renowned for everything from the flat cap and bowler hats to three-piece suits, trench coats, tweed, and tartan. But staying at the cutting edge of fashion means many people regularly throw away old garments.
According to Clothes Aid, we send 700,000 tonnes of clothing to recycling centres, textile banks, clothes collections, and charities every year in the UK. That’s enough to fill more than 450 Olympic swimming pools. But have you ever wondered what happens to clothes at recycling centres and how our old dresses, shirts, and even socks are reused?
Discover what happens to clothes at recycling centres and their possible journeys from your wardrobe to being reused and recycled.
In most places across the UK, you should not put clothes in your recycling bin at home. Check with your local council or authority to see if they accept old clothing and textiles in domestic recycling bins first though. The majority don’t though as most household recycling bins are for dry mixed recycling like paper, cardboard, plastic, metals, and packaging.
If you put clothes or textiles in a recycling bin where they’re not accepted it can cause contamination. They’ll be removed during the sorting process at the recycling facility and if it doesn’t have the means to recycle textiles they could be sent to landfill or for incineration. It’s therefore best to recycle through the proper channels.
You can take clothes to your local tip or household waste recycling centre (HWRC) in most parts of the UK. Check before you go that they’re accepted and recycled. There should be a specific clothing/textile waste container or area for recycling – don’t throw them into any general waste bins as they may end up in landfill.
Most tips/HWRCs only accept domestic clothes waste, not commercial clothing waste from businesses or other organisations such as old uniforms or stock. If you need to get rid of any type or amount of clothing/textile waste from your company then you’ll have to arrange commercial waste collection.
Many local councils and authorities also have clothing banks around the city or town. These are often found in supermarket and council car parks and other places where there are normally bottle banks and electrical waste banks. They offer a convenient option if you don’t live near a tip or have a car.
Only about 12% of clothes are recycled around the world. Many are donated, reused, or worn out, while sadly lots also end up in landfill or are incinerated. Very few clothes are recycled material-to-material (turned into new recycled clothes). The likes of cashmere can be recycled into suits.
Other old clothing can be recycled into materials used in carpets, insulation, car seats, and more. However, it takes lots of time and labour to sort and separate old clothing as today our threads are made from all sorts of fibres and materials that are tricky to recycle. These include blends of yarn, synthetic fibres, and even microplastics.
Any clothes sent for recycling go to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). These are the general steps of what happens to clothes at a recycling centre:
Clothes banks and donation bins are big metal containers used by councils and charities where you can drop off all sorts of old items. Some clothes banks may only be for specific items, such as footwear, and there may be rules (such as clothes must be clean and bagged). Check any signs before popping your old clothing into a donation bin.
The waste management company in charge of the clothes banks will come and empty, remove, or replace them on a regular schedule. It could be weekly, fortnightly, monthly, or just when the donation bin is full. This may vary depending on where the clothes bank is, how much it’s used, and who’s behind it.
All the clothes from the bank will be taken to a facility for sorting and grading. Any grade A clothing (wearable, in good condition, no marks or stains) often goes to charity shops for resale. Grade B clothing (wearable but with marks, bobbling, fading, or tears) is usually sent for use overseas by people in need.
Any clothing that’s badly damaged, in no condition to be worn, and doesn’t class as grade A or B may be sent to a recycling centre. Items like bedding and some other textiles may be resold if in decent condition. Otherwise, they can go to garages and other organisations for use as dust sheets when painting.
Check the label or sign on a clothing recycling bin and it should explain what happens to them. Normally they’re either sold for profit to help the charity, sent overseas, or used to support a local community cause. Any clothes put in a recycling bin that can’t be reused will likely end up at a recycling facility.
At Business Waste we collect a wide range of old clothes and textiles from all sorts of companies. This includes everything from unsold stock leftover at retailers to corporate workwear and uniforms. We can provide free containers to store your textile waste and recycle as much as possible thanks to our zero landfill policy.
We’re a national waste broker with great connections to recycling facilities across the country with the expertise and experience helping many organisations recycle. Get a free quote for waste clothes and textile collection anywhere in the UK today or speak to one of our friendly experts with any questions – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 26th February 2024 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
Peel back the glamorous outer layer and it reveals a few problems in the beauty industry. One of the main ones is the huge amount of waste the sector generates and what happens to it. For starters, the global beauty industry creates 120 billion bits of packaging every year, which all end up as waste.
Nail bars, hair salons, and beauty parlours all produce high volumes and wide ranges of rubbish. Then there’s the waste from makeup containers, cosmetics, and personal care items used at home. Manufacturers, beauty businesses, and consumers all need to act to improve the sustainability of looking stunning by recycling and reducing waste.
Discover all about the beauty industry’s problems with waste, how to create an effective recycling plan for your beauty business, and ways to responsibly dispose of cosmetics and their containers as a consumer in this guide.
The beauty industry relies on various products and practices to rejuvenate skin, hair, and other areas. A professional pampering or personal treatment at home creates all sorts of waste items, from makeup brushes to swabs, strips, wipes, and cosmetics containers. It’s estimated between 20 and 40% of beauty products end up as waste.
Waste is a big problem for the beauty industry due to its volume and the types of waste materials it generates:
There are other environmental problems in the beauty industry, such as the use of palm oil, a big carbon footprint from the transportation of materials and products around the world, and animal testing.
Every kind of business that operates in the beauty industry needs an effective waste management plan in place. This helps reduce your organisation’s environmental impact and save money on waste disposal costs by recycling more and requiring fewer bin collections. Use the following tips to make up an efficient recycling plan for your beauty business.
Start by reviewing your current waste management practices. This should include the types and amount of waste your business creates, where it’s stored, and the disposal method. Any aesthetics waste, chemical waste, or hazardous materials must be stored safely on your site before removal.
Review the results of your audit and the current bins you use to see if there are any areas where you’re throwing out recyclable rubbish with general waste – such as cardboard packaging or glass containers. If so, you should consider adding a dry mixed recycling or cardboard recycling bin to your waste services.
Consider any areas where you create high levels of waste and try to work out why this is. It could be poor working practices, an ordering error, or something else. There might be ways to cut this down, which may also reduce the number of bins and collections you need to lower your waste management costs.
Some types of makeup packaging are trickier to recycle than others and aren’t accepted in many domestic recycling bins. It’s mainly due to the materials and contamination risks. This includes items like plastic eyeshadow palettes, mascara/eye shadow tubes, eyeliner pens, face cream pots, and face mask packaging.
As a beauty business, you can help the environment and consumers by offering a makeup recycling program. Some retailers already provide a take-back scheme for beauty packaging. Doing so demonstrates your organisation’s eco-credentials and helps get customers through the door who may then be likelier to use your other services.
Try to use, buy, and sell products with as little packaging as possible – or items that at least come in recyclable and eco-friendly packaging. A greater focus on the issues the beauty industry faces with packaging waste means more manufacturers are working to produce products with little or recyclable packaging.
Those in packaging made from recycled materials are also more sustainable. Avoid products in plastic packaging where possible, as this is often harder to recycle. Use items in cardboard, paper, and glass packaging and buy in bulk to reduce resources. Some manufacturers may offer a recycling take-back program too.
One cause of waste for beauty businesses is products expiring before they’re used or sold. Maintain an updated inventory and rotate stock (use the first in first out process) to avoid items going out of date. This is important whether you’re looking to reduce waste in a hair salon, tattoo parlour, shop, or beauty salon.
Make sure all products are stored in appropriate places and conditions to prevent the likes of creams and cosmetics from getting too warm or cold and spoiling. If you end up with some items close to their expiry date consider selling them at a reduced price to customers. This should mean less is wasted.
Put in place a recycling policy for your beauty business. Train your employees to follow clear steps to recycle rubbish and dispose of waste properly – especially any chemical waste. Highlight the importance of recycling to help the environment and the positive impact it can have on business costs.
Inform customers if your business offers a take-back scheme to encourage them to return cosmetics packaging. If not, tell them about any other available recycling schemes where they can dispose of any products you sell or supply. Ensure signs and directions are clear to reduce the risk of contamination.
It’s not just businesses that generate waste in the beauty industry. Once products are sold or supplied to consumers the responsibility of what happens to the goods and packaging is in their smooth hands. Responsible use and disposal of cosmetics waste is essential. Use the following tips for ways to recycle beauty products you use at home.
Makeup recycling is an easy way to reduce waste, whether you’re getting rid of unwanted lipstick or an empty face cream tub. Recycling unused or used products is possible in various ways. Never pour makeup down the sink or a drain though, as the chemicals may then enter waterways and damage the environment.
These are a few ideas for ways to recycle old makeup:
There are many beauty recycling drop-off points in shops across the UK where you can recycle makeup. Various brands and retailers are working with waste management companies to provide bins in-store where customers can drop off old makeup that’s then removed and recycled. Some of the main retailers where you can recycle makeup in the UK include:
Recycling makeup containers is possible, but the right method depends on the type of material. To recycle a makeup container of any kind you must first clean it out and remove any remaining product to avoid contamination. Then you can either recycle it in your household recycling bin, take it to a household waste recycling centre (HWRC), or drop-off point.
In most cases, you can recycle makeup containers made of cardboard or some types of plastic in your domestic recycling bin. Check the plastic recycling number and symbol and whether your local authority accepts it in their collections first. For any glass makeup containers you can usually take them to a glass bottle bank as long as they’re clean and dry.
Consumers can help reduce waste in the beauty industry by recycling cosmetics and changing behaviours for a more sustainable future. Here are a few ways to buy and use beauty products in a way that will hopefully create less waste:
Find more information on our page about managing beauty salon waste.
Or explore more expert guides about reducing waste of many other materials.
Published 12th February 2024 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
As the calendar flips over into 2024, the freshest wave of baby name trends arrives – yet this one has an eco-twist! Our new research has unearthed the ‘greenest’ baby names in 2024. And it turns out that if your newborn is named David or Emma they could have a green future.
We analysed 20,000 names from our company’s internal data and looked both at the frequency of the names coming up and the type of ‘green’ request they made. This narrowed down the top 50 most sustainable customer names. Then we cross-referenced our greenest names with BabyCentre’s list of the most popular baby names in 2024.
This determined the most popular baby names for little ones most likely to become eco-warriors and enjoy an environmentally friendly life. Discover the top eco-friendly baby names in 2024 and inspiration for other nature-themed names.
David heads up the pack with a significant lead in sustainable practices, according to the latest data. Not only is it still a popular name in 2024 after trending for a few years, but it’s also the name that gets the most enquiries about recycling here at Business Waste. The name has biblical roots and means ‘beloved.’
On the girls’ side, the name most interested in sustainability with the most queries around recycling is by far Emma. It’s also the seventh top-trending name in the UK in 2024 according to BabyCentre. The name originates from the Germanic word ermen, which means ‘whole’ or ‘all-containing.’
Here are the top 20 trending baby names in 2024 that are most likely to care for the environment and lead a sustainable life:
As we navigate the era of sustainability, nature is inspiring more parents when naming their newborns. People have always chosen names that sound nice but often also have a deeper meaning. These names are both beautiful and seem to be championing the cause of a cleaner and greener tomorrow.
Adam and Maria, both biblically rooted, now sprout new meaning in the green baby name trend. These names are growing in popularity among families who cherish the earth. Zoe, a name with a zest for life and currently in favour, is fast becoming synonymous with a desire to live sustainably.
This list might be a good source of inspiration for new parents who hope their kids will be green advocates for our planet. Other nature-based names from the list that stand out include Hazel, which simply originates from the hazel tree and Oliver, which harks back to the olive tree.
Our research found the 40 greenest baby names currently in use but there are many more nature-inspired names out there. Some are still very popular, a few are subtle, and others are pretty on the nose. Find further inspiration as new parents with this list of the most beautiful nature-inspired baby names:
Many of these girls’ names also appear in the top baby names of 2024 according to BabyCentre. These include Aurora (8), Luna (10), Lily (18), Hazel (24), Violet (30), Willow (31), and Ivy (35). Far fewer nature-inspired boys’ names appear though, but there are places for Asher (12), Rowan (62), and Colton (73).
This seems to indicate that parents are more likely to choose a nature-influenced name if they have a daughter. Floral names are especially popular and lend themselves well to baby girls, like Flora, Heather, Jasmine, Lily, and Rose. Being named after seasons is also common for girls, such as Autumn and Summer.
Some of the nature-inspired boys’ names are a bit bolder and many are directly taken from animals – think Falcon, Wolfe, and Hawk. Others like Cliff and Glen are a bit more old-fashioned, but they could make a comeback. It might just be a matter of time and we’ll see more nature-influenced boys’ names in use in the future.
Published 17th January 2024 by Graham Matthews.
The Welsh Parliament (the Senedd) passed a new law in the last week of November – the Workplace Recycling Regulations. This will change how all workplaces across the country store, manage and dispose of commercial waste from the start of April 2024.
Businesses, charities, and public and third sector organisations must separate certain recyclable materials and arrange collection away from other waste. Essentially, it means workplaces will legally have to separate paper and card, glass, packaging, food, electrical, and textile waste for recycling like most households already do.
The Senedd is making this a legal requirement to improve recycling rates in Wales and move the country closer to becoming a zero-waste nation and reducing carbon emissions. Failure to comply could result in a fine for your business.
Learn all about the new Workplace Recycling Regulations and how to prepare for them with Business Waste.
The Workplace Recycling Regulations is a new law that legally requires all workplaces in Wales to separate certain waste materials and arrange collection separate from other waste. Businesses, charities, and public sector organisations will need to use bins or containers to store paper and card, glass, packaging, food, unsold small WEEE, and unsold textiles.
Workplaces will no longer be able to put all waste in a single bin if it includes any of these recyclable materials. However, you can use one bin for paper and card, and another to collect metal, plastics, and cartons (packaging) together. Glass must be collected on its own.
It also affects the disposal methods of food waste, recyclable rubbish, and waste wood. Under the new law, there’s a ban on sending:
Failure to follow these new Workplace Recycling Regulations could result in a fine for your business, charity, or third sector organisation.
The Workplace Recycling Regulations in Wales come into force from 6 April 2024. After this date, all businesses, charities, and public sector organisations anywhere in Wales must ensure relevant waste materials are collected separately and disposed of appropriately.
The only exceptions are NHS and private hospitals, which have an extra two years to comply with the regulations. Plans to reform workplace recycling in Wales were outlined over the summer, but the law was officially passed in the Senedd during the last week of November 2023.
Changes to the law around workplace recycling in Wales aim to help the country work towards becoming a zero-waste nation and reducing carbon emissions by 2050. Recycling rates for households in Wales are already high compared to most other countries. Just over 65% of materials collected by local authorities from homes are recycled.
The new Workplace Recycling Regulations aim to replicate these results for businesses and improve recycling rates in Wales across the commercial, charity, and public sectors. Separating and sorting recycling in workplaces should ensure greater volumes of high-quality recycling are produced and much less waste is sent to landfill and for incineration.
There’s also an economic boost by increasing recycling rates across Wales. It helps to keep materials in use for longer, which tackles the rising cost of materials and reduces how much landfill tax businesses pay for their waste management. Greater recycling should also create new and more job opportunities.
Under the new Workplace Recycling Regulations, certain waste materials must be collected separately. This aims to avoid contamination and increase the quantity and quality of individual recycling streams. The following waste materials must be stored and collected separately from other rubbish:
You can’t put all your waste in one bin if any of the above materials are present. For example, you can’t throw away paper, glass, and cartons in a general waste bin. This means your business in Wales could need up to six extra bins from April 2024 to comply with the new regulations, depending on what waste types you generate.
Get help with Business Waste as we can provide a wide range of recycling bins for free to separate waste types anywhere in Wales. There are no delivery or rental charges, you just pay for collection.
Any premises in Wales that create more than 5kg of food waste a week must arrange separate collection of their waste food, so it doesn’t go to landfill. This includes restaurants, cafes, takeaways, hotels, pubs, catering companies, and canteens in offices, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, and anywhere else that serves food.
The new regulations also stipulate that workplaces must not dispose of any food waste down the sink or drain or into a public drain or sewer. You must not use a macerator or similar technology like enzyme digesters or de-waterers to dispose of food waste down the sink or drain either.
Every workplace in Wales is required to follow the new Workplace Recycling Regulations. This includes businesses, charities, and public sector organisations. The occupiers of a workplace must ensure recycling is separated for collection and the new law is followed whether you own, lease, rent, or temporarily occupy the premises.
For any workplace in a shared location, the individual organisations are responsible for complying with the regulations. If a central recycling system is required then you might need an agreement in place with the landlord or facilities manager. The regulations also cover waste and recycling collectors and processors who manage household-like waste from workplaces.
The new workplace recycling law applies to all workplaces in Wales, including:
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) will be responsible for overseeing the separation requirements for recycling materials and the ban on waste going to incineration and landfill is upheld. Local Authorities in Wales will regulate the ban on food waste disposal in sewers from workplaces within their regions. Failure to comply with the new regulations could lead to a fine for your organisation.
The earlier your organisation prepares for these new regulations, the easier it will be to ensure compliance and avoid the risk of a fine. As with any commercial waste collection, only licensed waste carriers must remove and handle the rubbish your organisation produces. To ensure it’s managed responsibly you should receive a duty of care certificate.
A few key steps to prepare for the Workplace Recycling Regulations in Wales:
At Business Waste we can help organisations in Wales comply with the new law with our commercial waste services. We provide free bins to separate your recycling and ensure it’s recycled away from landfill and incineration – you only pay for collection. Licensed waste carriers will remove your waste and you receive a free duty of care certificate too.
Get a free quote for recycling and waste collection in Wales today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 8th December 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
Christmas is the season of giving. But that doesn’t mean presenting your binmen or waste collection company with gifts of extra rubbish to remove this year. It happens though, as UK homes create almost a third more waste over the festive period – and businesses aren’t much better.
For example, around 227,000 miles of wrapping paper and 270,000 tons of food are chucked out every year at Christmas. It’s enough to turn Rudolf’s nose red with anger. Check out our Christmas waste facts for more shameful stats about how much rubbish we churn out every holiday season.
There are many ways to be sustainable at Christmas and give back to the environment. Your decorations, food, and celebrations can be as green as one of Santa’s elves’ outfits with a little effort. Use these sustainable Christmas ideas to enjoy the most wonderful time of the year in an eco-friendly way.
The most sustainable Christmas trees are real ones grown locally in the UK. Once cut a new tree can be planted and grown, which is highly sustainable. Ones sourced locally require less transport, fuel, and carbon emissions too. You should check if any tree is from a sustainable forest (or FSC-certified) before you buy.
Other sustainable Christmas tree ideas include renting a real tree rather than buying one. This can be cost-effective and ensures the tree is replanted in the new year. The tree can have a positive impact on the environment and wildlife throughout the year and be used again next Christmas.
What you do after Christmas with your tree is vital for sustainability. Real trees take 10 to 12 years to grow so it’s ideal to replant them in your garden or pass them on to a certified forest. If you have an artificial one, hold onto it and reuse it in the future, as many are plastic and hard to recycle due to containing a combination of materials.
In the UK we spend more than £20 billion on Christmas presents every year. Unfortunately, plenty aren’t that sustainable due to packaging and the products themselves. Greater awareness and eco-focus mean there are more options available to buy sustainable Christmas gifts and ideas for creating your own.
Wrapping paper, tags, and bags also contribute to how sustainable any Christmas presents you give out are. Use our tips to reduce Christmas wrapping paper waste. Reusing paper from last year, sourcing recyclable wrapping paper, and using reusable bags are simple steps towards sustainability.
It’s estimated that we send around eight billion Christmas cards in the UK every year. That’s an awful lot of trees chopped down for the paper and card to make them all. Most Christmas cards are recyclable and therefore fairly sustainable, although those featuring glitter, glue, and plastic are trickier to recycle.
Recycling Christmas cards also requires energy and effort, so a more sustainable option can be to consider sending an e-card or simply don’t bother this year. Finding a cute Christmas picture and sending it to friends and family over social media, WhatsApp, or email could suffice and use zero paper and card.
The Christmas party season is a fun time that leads to plenty of excess – eating, drinking, and dancing more than usual. Often it includes creating excess waste too, with loads of leftover food, decorations thrown away, and plastic plates and cups binned. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
A little bit of preparation can create a sustainable party whether you’re planning the work Christmas do or arranging a festive get-together at home for friends and family. Considerations covering the food, decorations, activities, and recycling can help reduce how much waste your celebrations create and ensure there’s less cleaning up afterwards.
As most people only wear Christmas jumpers in December they’re not always the most sustainable clothing items. Keep yours for a few years and it can be better for the environment though. A few ways to source a sustainable Christmas jumper include to:
Tinsel is terrible for the environment as the PVC film and metallic coating can’t be separated and recycled. Thankfully, there are many eco-friendly alternatives for decorating your home or workplace in December. These include making a sustainable Christmas wreath from natural items to stringing up solar lights outside or on your Christmas tree.
Handmade decorations, sustainably sourced baubles, and table decorations – including sustainable Christmas crackers – are essential. Avoid plastic decorations and those that use a combination of materials as they’re harder to recycle. One of the most sustainable actions is to simply use the same decorations from last year and store them for many years to come.
The equivalent of around seven million bins full of waste food are produced in the UK over Christmas every year. That includes millions of mince pies, sprouts, turkeys, Christmas cakes and pudding being thrown out. Smart shopping, portion control, saving and using leftovers in other recipes can all help reduce food waste for your festive feasting.
There’s a hidden cost of advent calendars, as many include single-use plastics that are bad for the environment. Sweet and chocolate wrappers aren’t always recyclable and many end up in landfill. But advent calendars are great for getting kids (and some adults) into the Christmas spirit.
Buy or make a sustainable advent calendar that has as little packaging as possible. Plenty are made purely from cardboard that’s easy to recycle. Alternatively, create your own for a waste-free option. It’s important you recycle or reuse the advent calendar next year after the big day for a fully sustainable solution.
Looking for more ways to reduce waste and celebrate a sustainable Christmas this year? We’ve put together a range of expert guides with tips and advice about reducing waste at home and work this festive season.
Published 5th December 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 3rd October 2025
Umbrellas protect against the UK’s frequent wet and windy weather. The battering they receive from numerous storms adds up after a while though, tearing the material and sometimes snapping their spokes. If you’ve popped up a parasol for the last time or struggled as your umbrella turned inside out once too many, it’s probably time to get rid of it.
Around 1.45 million umbrellas are sold every year in the UK to help keep us dry on those all too common grey and drizzly days. Sales have also increased over the past few years with more than £14 million spent annually on new umbrellas. But what do you do when one reaches the end of its life?
Recycle an umbrella rather than chucking it in the bin where there’s a chance it could end up in landfill. There are various ways to reuse and recover the materials of a broken umbrella. Discover some great umbrella recycling ideas in this guide.
There are various types of umbrellas and each one is made from a combination of materials. These usually include a mix of metal, wood, plastic, and fabric. The different materials they contain make umbrellas tricky to recycle. Unfortunately, you can’t simply put them in your household recycling bin.
Don’t throw away a broken umbrella in your general waste bin at home or work either though, as it could end up in landfill. Instead, the best option is to break up an old umbrella into its different materials to recycle them separately at your local household waste recycling centre (HWRC). Separate and recycle each part of your old umbrella:
You’ll also need to responsibly dispose of the cover as well as the umbrella. This is often a thin piece of fabric similar to the material used for the umbrella’s canopy. Most modern umbrellas have covers made from nylon or polyester but check the material to ensure it’s recyclable.
If it’s made of a type of fabric then you should be able to recycle it with other textiles. Either find a clothing or textile bank or take it to your HWRC and recycle it in the specific textile bin. For any plastic umbrella covers check the plastic type and recycle with other plastics if possible.
Various businesses can find themselves with umbrellas they need to dispose of as well. It could be shops with excess umbrellas they can’t sell or damaged stock, umbrellas left behind after an event such as a festival, or even manufacturing firms that produce umbrellas having broken items they need to get rid of from a factory.
Umbrellas that any type of business wants to recycle or dispose of class as commercial waste. If your business has lots of old, unused, or broken umbrellas it no longer needs then you must arrange commercial waste collection. Licensed waste carriers will remove them and transport them to a waste management facility for recycling and responsible disposal.
Call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online for a free quote to collect and dispose of your commercial umbrella waste.
A broken umbrella will be as useful as a chocolate teapot when the next storm comes. Consider fixing it before throwing it away though. It’s always best to reduce waste and reuse before recycling, as it saves resources, time, and effort. How to fix a broken umbrella depends on what parts are damaged.
A few ways to fix a broken umbrella:
There are many ways you can reuse an old or broken umbrella even if it won’t keep the rain or sunshine out any more. Upcycling umbrellas helps to reduce waste, keep them out of landfill, and save on the energy and resources required for recycling. Plus, it puts them to good use in other ways.
Here are a few easy ideas for upcycling by turning your old umbrella into a:
Published 17th November 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
Rugby League legend Kevin Sinfield OBE will lace up his running trainers once again to take on another epic endurance event this December. Sinfield and his team will run an ultra marathon each day for seven days in seven cities to raise awareness and money to support people impacted by motor neurone disease (MND).
And for the second year in a row, Business Waste is proud to sponsor Sinfield with our name on the front of his jersey as he tackles his fourth fundraiser. So far he’s raised more than £8 million for the fight against MND across three endurance events. Each one has been inspired by his former Leeds Rhinos teammate Rob Burrow MBE.
This challenge is no different with the team also inspired by sporting warriors Ed Slater, Marcus Stewart, Stephen Darby, the late Doddie Weir, and the 5,000 other people living with MND in the UK today. The aim is to raise £777,777 for five charities that support and care for people affected by MND and their families and invest in research for effective treatments and a cure for the disease.
The 7 in 7 in 7 challenge is the fourth fundraising endurance event in the fight against MND by Kevin Sinfield OBE and his team. It combines elements of the three previous challenges the England Rugby Union defensive coach conquered. The challenge starts on Friday December 1st – three years to the day since Sinfield began his first 7 in 7 challenge.
In 2023 Sinfield and his team will run an ultra marathon every day for seven days in seven cities around Great Britain and Ireland. And the target is to complete each one in under four hours to really push themselves to the limit.
Every run will be a marathon with an extra mile added on – to highlight the extra mile people can go to help friends and family in tough times. Each day invited guests will join Sinfield for the extra mile event. The challenge will raise funds for five charities that provide support, care, and research into MND:
For the first time, one of Sinfield’s fundraising challenges will cover multiple cities in Great Britain and Ireland. Many of these cities were chosen due to their sporting significance and links to MND. Hopefully, this should raise even greater awareness of the condition and funds to support those living with it and fund further research into treatment and a cure.
For example, the fifth day in Dublin was inspired by former Munster Rugby Union coach Paul Darbyshire, who played Rugby League with Warrington and passed away from MND in 2011 aged just 41. The team will work with the Irish MNDA for the first time, following the incredible work done by legendary RTE broadcaster Charlie Bird who raised over €3 million with his Climb with Charlie after his own MND diagnosis.
The challenge starts at Headingley Stadium in Leeds before visiting key cities across the rest of the country, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. The days and locations for each of the 7 ultra marathons are:
There are a few easy ways to donate and support Sinfield and the fight against MND:
Once again, Business Waste wants to encourage other companies and individuals in the waste management industry to get behind Sinfield’s epic challenge and donate. It would be great for as many of our customers, suppliers, and other local and national waste management companies to support this fantastic cause as possible.
You can also support Sinfield’s efforts by buying any of the limited-edition merchandise worn by the team during the week-long challenge. There’s a different design for each day inspired by the location and a t-shirt or singlet (vest) is available for each. Order merch online.
Published 8th November 2023 by Graham Matthews.
Every 5th November the UK’s night skies light up with the colours, sounds, and smells of burning bonfires, extravagant fireworks, and sweet toffee apples. Millions of people attend public firework displays while plenty throw Bonfire Night parties in their gardens. Like most celebrations though, these create lots of extra waste.
Bonfires aren’t good for the environment, the rubbish from used fireworks isn’t recyclable, and there can be more food waste produced with discarded toffee apples and trays of parkin cake. However, we don’t want to extinguish the fun of the 5th of November.
Instead, this guide outlines ways to ensure your celebrations are as low-waste and eco-conscious as possible. Plot how to enjoy Guy Fawkes Night in a low-waste way with these environmentally friendlier Bonfire Night party ideas.
A few facts about the environmental impact and safety stats associated with Bonfire Night:
Setting off fireworks and having a bonfire in your garden is a fun way to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night but it’s not the most sustainable option. Many councils, pubs, and community clubs host their own Bonfire Night parties. There are many reasons why attending a public display is better for the environment, as it:
There are plenty of ways to reduce waste and your environmental impact if you’re planning a Bonfire Night party at home. Fireworks are the main focus of the evening, so ensuring these are as environmentally friendly as possible is vital. A greater awareness of the effect fireworks have on the environment means there are now eco-friendly options available.
Eco-friendly fireworks are made with a nitrogen-based fuel that burns cleaner and produces a lot less smoke. They’re designed to reduce atmospheric pollution caused by traditional fireworks that have charcoal and sulphur fuel. Currently, they’re not as easy to find but making the effort to source eco-friendly fireworks is worth it for a sustainable Bonfire Night.
Fireworks aren’t environmentally friendly, and they can’t be recycled whether they’re used or not. Unfortunately, paper wrapping, plastic packaging, and any wooden sticks with fireworks aren’t recyclable due to contamination. Responsible disposal is vital to avoid accidental fires. Here’s how to dispose of fireworks safely depending on their type:
Sky lanterns are a more recent addition to some Bonfire Night celebrations. They might look impressive illuminating the night sky but they’re terrible for the environment and quite dangerous. This is because sky lanterns are essentially pretty bits of rubbish on fire floating around that eventually fall to earth.
The fuel that lights and lifts off the sky lanterns isn’t great for the atmosphere but it’s when they land that the problems start. They can set fire to dry materials near where they land, choke or get caught up in any animals, and end up in our waterways. Skip the sky lanterns this Bonfire Night.
Burning rubbish might sound like a great way to avoid any non-recyclable waste ending up in landfill, but you should avoid this. Building a bonfire with household waste, plastics, wet wood, and many other materials can pollute the air, create lots of smoke, and an unpleasant smell.
Burning many waste types is also illegal with a potential fine of up to £50,000. As well as environmental concerns there are also safety risks, so fires must be held in a secure place with plenty of water nearby. If you’re planning a bonfire then here’s how to have one in the most environmentally friendly way:
Throwing an effigy of Guy Fawkes onto a bonfire is a tradition that goes back hundreds of years. The most environmentally friendly action is to not bother making a Guy as it introduces extra materials that may release toxic emissions when burnt. There are a few ways to make it a bit eco-friendlier though.
Find some old clothes, such as a shirt and trousers or a pair of pyjamas. Ideally, these should be in a state beyond reuse, such as ripped or stained. Lightweight items made from untreated natural fibres like cotton or linen are best as they should burn quickly, easily, and release fewer toxins.
Make the head from an old linen pillowcase. Avoiding plastic or synthetic materials prevents the release of harmful chemicals. Then stuff the clothes and head with old and dry paper (including newspaper). Use some string or thread to tie up the wrists, ankles, and any other gaps, and then he’s ready for the bonfire.
There are sure to be plenty of autumn treats and drinks flowing at your Bonfire Night party. Careful planning helps reduce and even eliminate any food waste and packaging waste being created. Here are a few easy ways to reduce food waste on Guy Fawkes Night:
Published 1st November 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 26th June 2024
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) revealed reforms to bin collections and the UK’s waste system at the end of October 2023. These proposals have been dubbed ‘Simpler Recycling.’ They aim to increase, improve, and standardise recycling and waste collections by local authorities across the country for households and businesses.
This should get rid of the current ‘postcode lottery’ where homes in some areas of the country can recycle materials like glass in their domestic recycling bins, while others can’t. The plans also aim to crack down on waste crime, which costs England £1 billion a year, through mandatory digital waste tracking.
Businesses in England with 10 or more employees must separate dry recyclables into individual containers and arrange separate food waste collections by the end of March 2025.
For most other proposed changes there’s a deadline of the end of March 2026, so there’s plenty of time to get to grips with them. Understand what Defra’s simpler recycling plans are and how they could affect your business or household with these answers to your common questions.
Note: Simpler Recycling reforms are not currently in force and the proposed changes and timeline could change. Below is all the current information and expected dates about the plans available. You can find more information on the UK government website.
Defra’s simpler recycling reforms will affect households, businesses, and waste carriers. It will change bin collections for households to ensure more materials are recycled and that all homes in England receive the same waste collection services. You should also be able to recycle the same materials at work as you can at home under the proposed reforms.
The main changes that Defra’s simpler recycling is set to introduce are:
Businesses will need to arrange collections and recycling of all food waste, paper and cardboard, and dry recycling (glass, plastic, and metals) they produce by licensed waste carriers. All businesses, schools, hospitals, and other ‘non-household municipal premises in England’ must arrange collection for recycling or composting of the same recyclable waste streams as households under Defra’s new plans – excluding garden waste.
These arrangements must be in place by the end of March 2025 for businesses in England with 10 or more full-time employees. Using commercial waste collection services and licensed waste carriers should ensure compliance with the new plans. You could use separate bins for each recycling stream or dry mixed recycling bin collections to combine plastic and metals for ease. Paper and card must be collected separately from other dry recyclables.
The government plans to hold a consultation about the definition of ‘non-household municipal premises.’ Depending on the outcome of this it could mean places of worship, prisons, charity shops, and residential hostels are included and will also need to arrange recycling collections in line with the new plans.
A few key areas of the Separation of Waste (England) (No. 2) Regulations 2024 are also still under review by the government. These could affect how recyclable materials are collected and which can be mixed and the deadline for micro-businesses, which may be subject to change.
Organise your Simpler Recycling bins
All businesses will need to prepare for the changes that Defra’s simpler recycling scheme is set to introduce. So will non-household premises like hospitals, schools, and prisons. However, the deadlines to comply with the new regulations depend on the size of the organisation:
The bulk of Defra’s simpler recycling plans aim to be in place by the end of March 2026. However, collections of core dry recycling materials from businesses, schools, and hospitals with more than 10 employees should be in force earlier by March 2025. Collection of plastic film is also set for later, presumably due to the difficulty of recycling such material.
The main three dates for the changes to bin collections are:
There are three main reasons why Defra is set to update the current waste system – to improve recycling rates, simplify waste management, and crack down on waste crime.
Household recycling rates in England have grown from 11% in 2001 to 42% in 2022. However, they’ve stagnated and missed the target of reaching an average of 50% by 2020. Ensuring all domestic waste collections include the seven core recycling streams should improve recycling rates towards the UK’s household waste recycling target of 65% by 2035.
Applying Defra’s simpler recycling scheme across all households and businesses will mean the same materials can be recycled at home or work anywhere in the UK. This removes the current ‘postcode lottery’ about what can be recycled where and avoids any confusion. It should encourage manufacturers to design sustainable packaging that’s recyclable anywhere in the UK, helping boost recycling rates.
Around 18% of waste in England might be managed illegally according to the Environment Agency. This can have a hugely negative impact on the environment and businesses and costs the economy in England £1 billion a year. Reforming the licensing system for waste carriers, brokers, and dealers with mandatory digital waste tracking aims to centralise reporting and reduce illegal waste activity and its negative impact.
There are plans to overhaul the system that tracks how waste is handled and the ways data is collected with mandatory waste tracking. The exact details are yet to be released but it should improve detection of waste crime by regulators. New systems will record information from the point waste is produced to when it’s disposed of.
This provides regulators with all the information and evidence required to hold waste criminals to account. An increase in background checks for organisations and individuals who move commercial waste is set to be introduced too. These should make it easier for regulators to identify rogue operators and make it harder for unlicensed waste carriers to get work.
Most of the reaction has been positive but a few concerns have been raised. An announcement was initially promised by the end of 2022. With nearly a year’s delay, it wouldn’t be a surprise if deadlines are pushed back again and could make implementation challenging due to this initial delay.
The commingling of materials was also highlighted as disappointing. However, updates to Simpler Recycling plans mean paper and card will now be collected separately to reduce cross-contamination and improve the quality of collected material. It’s hoped that simplifying the number of bins should increase recycling participation levels.
Greater detail on how simpler recycling will work with the emerging extended producer responsibility (EPR) regime for packaging is also required. And there are also worries about whether councils and local authorities will have the bins, vehicles, and systems in place in time to deal with the proposals.
You can prepare for these changes in advance and increase your commercial recycling with Business Waste. Get a free quote for any type of waste collection anywhere in the UK today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online today.
Published 27th October 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 4th August 2025
Have you experienced extra strain carrying your Halloween pumpkin to your car from the supermarket this year? The good news is that there’s nothing to be scared about and you’re not getting weaker – it’s the pumpkins that are getting bigger this year.
Farmers have commented that the wet July and August (with enough sunny intervals) has seen pumpkin crops thrive[1]. A warm September and early October helped ripen the fruits at the right time too[2]. With between 10 and 15 million pumpkins grown and harvested in the UK every year that means most pumpkins sold are bigger and heavier than usual.
You might get more pumpkin for your pound thanks to the miserable summer, but experts at Business Waste are worried it will lead to more pumpkins being wasted. Already around 24 million pumpkins are sold in the UK every year to celebrate Halloween with 18,000 tonnes of pumpkins thrown away that end up in landfill.
“More than half of Brits who buy pumpkins once a year just to make a jack-o’-lantern aren’t aware that they can eat and use the fruit,” says Mark Hall, representative for waste management company Business Waste. “Instead, they scoop out the insides and chuck it straight in the bin, meaning thousands of tonnes of edible pumpkins go to waste. It’s a real shame, especially with the millions of homes in the UK currently experiencing food insecurity.”
There are no exact figures about how much bigger pumpkins are compared to last year. However, as 18,000 tonnes of pumpkins are thrown out normally in a year, even a 1% increase in size could lead to significant amounts of extra waste:
The average pumpkin that you buy in the supermarket has a diameter of 15 to 25cm and weighs between 2 and 3kg[3]. Medium pumpkins range in size from 60 to 80cm in diameter and can weigh as much as 9kg.
The bigger the pumpkin size you normally buy, the larger it will likely be this year, and the more food waste it will create if disposed of irresponsibly. Unless more consumers eat or use the pumpkin flesh then those buying bigger pumpkins for their porch could create more avoidable food waste in the UK.
“Unfortunately, more food often leads to more waste,” adds Hall. “We encourage people to only buy the number and sizes of pumpkins they need. You should also plan how you’re going to use all of the pumpkin and manage it properly, as after carving a pumpkin it only lasts for 3 days to a week before it starts to rot.”
The good news is that last year Tesco reported ten times more people searched for pumpkin recipes on their website than the year before1. Hopefully this suggests more people will be eating the innards of their jack-o-lanterns in 2023 than ever before.
There’s also a growing awareness of the impact of food waste and many recipes and tips out there to help people make the most of their pumpkins. The current cost of living crisis could also encourage more people to think twice and consider cooking and eating them rather than heading straight for the bin. After all, pumpkins are edible fruits.
“There are loads of great ways to eat the innards and flesh of pumpkins,” concludes Hall. “These include traditional sweet and savoury recipes such as pumpkin pie and soups, as well as simply roasting the seeds or blending the flesh to create a homemade pumpkin spiced latte.”
UK businesses must follow strict packaging waste regulations that control how packaging is designed, used, recycled, and disposed of. This guide explains what the regulations are, who they apply to, and how to stay compliant.
The UK remains heavily reliant on other countries to process its recyclable waste. UK plastic waste exports increased by 84% in the first half of 2025.
Published 13th October 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 8th February 2024
Reducing waste production is a key challenge for every country to tackle pollution and climate change. Global waste generation was 2.24 billion tons in 2020, and is predicted to increase to 3.88 billion tons by 2050, according to the World Bank. Homes and businesses can play their part to cut waste production at the source, but advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) are helping across the board.
Waste management involves many processes, from production and storage to transportation, inspection, and disposal. AI is already essential for lots of data processing and behind the scenes work around waste management. It’s now being introduced for more applications that are much more visible and businesses can use to reduce waste, save time, and money.
There are many innovative ways AI benefits the waste management sector and how it can help your business reduce its waste production levels and the associated costs.
Around 17% of food produced globally is wasted according to the UN. The food service industry accounts for about 5% of this, so efforts are ongoing to reduce this amount. For example, the average restaurant in The Netherlands throws away around 10,000kg of edible food waste every year.
Trials using cameras and AI software developed by Orbisk are in place within some professional kitchens to cut down on the amount of waste food restaurants, cafes, and takeouts produce. This places cameras above food waste bins in the kitchen. They use AI image recognition technology to identify the type and amount of food waste, its level of processing (prepared, whole, or cutting waste), the time of disposal and reason for disposal.
There’s no need for extra space in the kitchen as cameras are fit to existing food waste bins. The data goes to the Cloud automatically, which restaurant managers, chefs, and other kitchen workers can later access and interpret to see where they waste food and to develop strategies to cut down on this.
Currently there’s a 24-hour turnaround for data to reach the user, but the aim is for instant turnaround as the technology advances. Orbisk claims its cameras and AI technology can help kitchens reduce their food waste by 50%, so it could have a significant impact on reducing commercial kitchen food waste.
One of the big challenges for waste management and recycling facilities is waste getting mixed up. Just one wrong piece of rubbish can contaminate an entire load and prevent recycling. AI-powered computer vision software developed by Greyparrot tracks 32 billion items of waste every year to help improve the efficiency of waste managers.
After all, as AI can recognise the complex details of human faces, surely identifying your waste should be a breeze? Unlike human faces, the likes of chocolate bar wrappers and crisp packets are pretty much all the same. The technology works as cameras assess waste on a conveyor belt and identify different waste types, faster and more accurately than the human eye.
It provides composition information and analytics about the waste, helping facilities spot waste in the wrong streams and remove it. This can eliminate errors, highlight inefficiencies when sorting waste, and ultimately boost the recycling rates at waste management facilities by ensuring as much recyclable rubbish as possible is processed properly.
Waste management companies work to determine the most efficient routes to collect garbage from homes and businesses. This saves them money on fuel, which has a positive environmental effect too, and cuts the time it takes so they can make more pickups in a day. AI offers solutions to accurately map the areas that a waste management company covers, which can use historical data and new information to develop the most efficient routes.
Research has found that using AI could reduce transportation distances by up to 36.8% for waste logistics. This could make time savings of up to 28.22%, which leads to better efficiencies and may cut costs for waste collections by up to 13.35%.
Holidays, seasonal events, and traffic regularly impact waste collections, leading to longer and slower routes. AI integration can automatically generate route plans for trucks while they’re out on the road, making changes in real time to avoid traffic jams, road closures, and avoid delays where possible.
The development of ‘intelligent’ rubbish bins uses the power of AI to inform waste management companies when bins are full. Through a variety of smart sensors and IoT technology (Internet of Things) linked up to software used by waste management firms it can improve the efficiency of collections.
Coupled with route planning technology this can optimise waste collections for homes and businesses, ensuring bins are only emptied when full. It prevents waste overflowing and keeps sites hygienic. This saves on time, fuel, and money wasted by trucks to collect and empty half-full bins, maximising the value for money homes and businesses get for their waste management.
Smart sensors inside bins can also track temperature and movements, as well as the fill level. If the temperature gets too high or there’s unexpected movement, it could be due to fire or potential theft. This adds an extra layer of defence to protect the trash and ensure it’s sent for recycling and responsible disposal.
It’s not just rubbish on planet earth that AI helps to combat, it’s now got its sights set on the stars (kind of). The European Space Agency estimates there are more than 170 million bits of debris in space larger than 1mm, which could harm an operational spacecraft. This includes natural meteoroid and human-made orbital debris, such as mission-related debris, spacecraft fragmentation, and nonfunctional spacecraft.
All this waste in space could be dangerous for astronauts navigating orbit, communication networks and weather satellites, and future missions. AI is now helping spearhead a space clean-up. The Department of Defense’s global Space Surveillance Network (SSN) uses sensors to track around 27,000 large bits of space junk, but development is ongoing to use recognition technology to identify smaller debris in space.
Start-ups are innovating to come up with solutions that go beyond just detecting waste in space too. StartRocket is working on a foam debris catcher. It delivers a small satellite into orbit that releases foam as it comes close to a cloud of debris in space, which absorbs the waste. Then it falls from orbit, destroying the debris as it burns up in the atmosphere.
Automating various processes of waste management with AI capabilities can reduce the amount of waste we create and ensure responsible disposal in many ways. Future developments and innovations could hopefully help make waste reduction even easier for homes and businesses to have a positive environmental impact.
UK businesses must follow strict packaging waste regulations that control how packaging is designed, used, recycled, and disposed of. This guide explains what the regulations are, who they apply to, and how to stay compliant.
The UK remains heavily reliant on other countries to process its recyclable waste. UK plastic waste exports increased by 84% in the first half of 2025.
Public toilets are disappearing across Great Britain. The British Toilet Association estimates only around 3,300 remain, a 25% drop since 2008.
Published 22nd September 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 17th January 2025
What to do with old candles when they’ve burnt out for the last time is important. Candles may seem like a green way to illuminate your space and add a warming atmosphere, as they don’t rely on electricity. Yet at the end of their life, you’re left with a jar, part of a wick, and some small bits of wax.
How to dispose of a candle responsibly depends on what parts of the candle you’ve got left, the condition, what materials they’re made from, and if you’re getting rid of a candle from your home or business. With the right steps, you can reuse and recycle candles in various ways.
Find out how to dispose of candles in this guide with ideas about what to do with old candle jars, leftover wax, and the wick.
To dispose of candles in the UK at home you must first separate the parts of your old candle. Start by scooping out any remnants of candle wax that remain at the bottom of the jar or candle holder. This should be put to one side for reuse or thrown away in your household general waste bin.
Most wax in domestic candles is made of paraffin, vegetable or animal fats, or oils. Recycling candle wax and recovery of this material isn’t economically viable for many local councils and authorities, so general waste is the only option for disposal in most cases. However, you can reuse the candle wax in various ways (see below).
Any remaining bits of wick should also be disposed of with your general waste as they’re not recoverable. If your old candle is in a glass jar then you should clean it out to remove any remnants of wax. Then take it to your local bottle bank or nearest household waste recycling centre (HWRC) to recycle your glass candle jar with other glass waste.
For any other types of candle holders or jars made from materials other than glass, check your local recycling collections. Many plastics can be recycled in your domestic recycling bin. A tea light can be recycled in most household recycling bins too, as they’re made from aluminium that’s highly recyclable. Ensure it’s clean and dry before recycling.
You can recycle glass candle jars with most other old glass bottles and jars. Empty out any leftover wax and wicks then take them to your local bottle bank or HWRC. Recycle glass candle jars in the mixed glass recycling bottle bank or the one for its specific colour.
To recycle glass candle jars from your business you put them in any glass bins you have and add them to your commercial glass waste collections. Again, you must remove any wax and wash out the jars before doing so. This removes contaminants and increases the chance of recycling.
Recycling glass candle jars is important as glass is fully recyclable. It can be endlessly recycled with no loss of quality and is used to create many new glass products. This saves on the energy and resources required to create fresh glass candle jars, resulting in a positive environmental impact.
Before recycling any glass candle jars or reusing the wax you need to separate the two. Using a knife and/or spoon to scoop it out sometimes works if the wax is soft and you use a bit of elbow grease (not literally). Often it’s too hard, but there are easier ways to get it out.
There are three main ways to clean out the wax from your candle jars before recycling them:
Rather than recycling candle jars when you’ve cleaned them out and emptied them, they have various other uses. This includes old candle jars made of glass, metal, plastic, or any other material. A few ideas of what to do with empty candle jars include to:
Any businesses with old candles and jars to dispose of must arrange commercial waste collection. It’s a legal requirement that only licensed waste carriers remove commercial waste from your premises, which includes old candles from shops, hotels, restaurants, and any other business. Use a professional waste management company that ensures recycling of your candles.
An easy way to dispose of candles from your business is to remove any wax and wicks, and then recycle them with your current commercial glass waste collection. Just like recycling candle jars at home, you can dispose of them responsibly at work with other waste glass bottles and jars.
This ensures all the candle jars from your business are recycled and turned into new glass products. It also saves you money on landfill tax by reducing the amount of waste you send to landfill. Arrange commercial waste collections to get rid of old candles whether it’s leftover stock, broken candles, or used ones from tables in a restaurant.
You can reuse candle wax after it’s been used in a candle. It just needs remelting and repurposing to use again as a fresh candle or for other things. If you melt it and mix it with another type of wax it can affect the smell, colour, and consistency.
Never pour candle wax down the drain, as it will cool, harden, and block your pipes. To reuse candle wax you first need to melt the wax left in your old candle jar in a bowl of boiling water or over a simmering pan. Once it’s melted there are a few ways to reuse candle wax to make a:
Small amounts of solid candle wax can be disposed of in domestic and commercial general waste bins. If you can’t or don’t want to reuse and recycle candle wax then it should be removed from the jar and thrown away. Never throw a glass jar in general waste as it’s 100% recyclable.
Ensure the wax is cool and dry – don’t throw away warm melting wax as it could stick to the bin or waste bag and pose a fire risk. Put it inside any other rubbish in the general waste bin, such as wrapping it in an empty crisp packet.
UK businesses must follow strict packaging waste regulations that control how packaging is designed, used, recycled, and disposed of. This guide explains what the regulations are, who they apply to, and how to stay compliant.
The UK remains heavily reliant on other countries to process its recyclable waste. UK plastic waste exports increased by 84% in the first half of 2025.
Public toilets are disappearing across Great Britain. The British Toilet Association estimates only around 3,300 remain, a 25% drop since 2008.
Published 8th September 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 3rd January 2024
Changes to the classification of ten waste wood items will come into play from 1 September 2023 in the UK. The new classification of these products as hazardous and potentially hazardous waste will affect both producers of waste wood (businesses) and recyclers. Understand the updated regulations to ensure the proper disposal of your wood waste.
The regulatory changes follow around five years of work and testing by the Wood Recyclers’ Association (WRA) to determine the hazardous waste content of various waste wood products. They mainly affect ‘amber’ waste wood items from the construction and demolition (C&D) sectors, though it could impact some other industries.
Learn all about these changes to wood waste regulations and what your business might need to do to ensure the safe, legal, and responsible disposal of your wood waste.
The Environment Agency (EA) is changing its regulation by withdrawing Regulatory Position Statement (RPS) 250 from 1 September 2023. It means ten wood items from buildings constructed before 2007 will now classify as types of hazardous waste. Wood recyclers won’t accept them unless they’ve undergone appropriate tests to prove they’re not hazardous.
RPS 250 was introduced in July 2021 to allow potentially hazardous ‘amber’ waste wood items from the construction and demolition waste stream to be moved and processed as non-hazardous. Under these new changes, they’ll automatically classify as hazardous waste and require specialist hazardous waste disposal.
The withdrawal of RPS 250 is happening after successful work by the WRA and UK regulators. They’ve collected evidence over five years as part of its Waste Wood Classification Project, which reduced the list of potentially hazardous C&D amber items to ten.
Ten items of waste wood from pre-2007 buildings now classify as hazardous:
There are four grades of wood waste that all classify as hazardous, non-hazardous, or potentially hazardous:
If your organisation produces any of the ten types of waste wood items from pre-2007 buildings they’ll now be treated as hazardous waste. This means you can’t dispose of the likes of external doors or roof timber from pre-2007 buildings with the rest of your wood waste.
Instead, you’ll have to book a separate hazardous waste collection for any of these ten items or arrange suitable testing. You can organise testing of your waste wood items and if it’s proven to not contain any hazardous elements then you can recycle it with the rest of your wood as normal. Confirmation of the test and results must be sent to the wood recyclers.
Research by the WRA estimates that less than 1% of waste wood from C&D activities will contain hazardous content. This represents a small amount of UK waste wood production of around 4,000 tonnes in total. The amount of these potentially hazardous waste wood items is also predicted to fall over time due to newer buildings being constructed and continued testing.
Household wood waste is regulated by RPS 249. This covers when household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) can accept domestic hazardous waste wood and store it with non-hazardous household waste wood. It was introduced on 1 August 2021 and will be withdrawn by 1 April 2024.
Testing of household wood waste is ongoing. The WRA is currently sampling and testing household waste wood types, with expectations that it may confirm hazardous content is falling and expected to disappear. If you currently have domestic wood waste to recycle, check with your local HWRC for what they accept.
The regulation changes mean most wood recyclers will update their acceptance criteria to exclude the ten types of hazardous wood waste. This is because most wood recyclers don’t have the facilities to dispose of hazardous waste. Upgrading to accept and dispose of hazardous waste properly would come at a great cost to most wood recyclers to deal with only a small amount of waste.
Wood recyclers will continue to accept most non-hazardous wood waste. They can also take and recycle any of the ten potentially hazardous wood waste items if they’ve been tested and certified as non-hazardous. Disposing of hazardous wood waste through proper channels reduces the risk of contamination and ensures safe, legal, and responsible disposal.
Book removal of any type and amount of waste wood your organisation creates anywhere in the UK with Business Waste. We can provide free bins and containers to store your waste wood securely on-site – you only pay for collection. All wood waste is diverted away from landfill where possible.
Our experts can advise on whether your wood may be potentially hazardous and work out the best solution for its disposal. Get in touch for a free quote for commercial wood waste collection today. Contact us online or call 0800 211 8390 and speak to one of our friendly team about your wood waste.
Published 31st August 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 3rd January 2024
Why spend 10p when you can nab it for free? Are we a nation of petty criminals?
In a petty crime spree that should shock the nation, a third of Britons say they steal plastic bags from the tills at supermarkets rather than pay for them.
What started in 2015 as a bid to cut down on plastic pollution, the 5p plastic bag charge has since doubled to 10p, and that’s proved too much for some customers, according to a UK waste recycling company. Some retailers charge even more, usually for more luxurious bags.
A new poll (of 1200) conducted by UK waste experts BusinessWaste.co.uk has revealed that 3 in 10 people admit to pinching carrier bags instead of paying up in a national wave of petty theft.
Company spokesman Mark Hall warns: “People may not like having to pay for them, but you definitely should not be stealing them!
“We’ve heard all sorts of reasons (or should we say ‘excuses’?) from people, and we’re shocked to the very core.”
So why are people stealing plastic bags?
Is it laziness? Forgetfulness? Staunch defiance of the rules? If you answered “all of the above”, you win a carrier bag.
Mark Hall says: “We asked the more light-fingered respondents to our poll to elaborate as to why they don’t bother paying for plastic bags, and it’s fair to say we received an *ahem* mixed bag of responses.”
“I already have millions under my kitchen sink, and there is absolutely no way any shop is seeing another penny out of me to add to the collection.”
“I usually bring my trusty tote bag, but on the odd occasion I forget, I don’t see the point in paying for a carrier bag. I’m not the kind of person who uses them much, so I don’t see why it’s fair when I’m already doing my bit by choosing reusable bags most of the time.”
“My dog destroys all the carrier bags he finds, so I always have to buy new ones. And I’m not being funny but this does add up.”
“I’m not made of money, and do shops really expect me to juggle my shopping? It’s ridiculous.”
“I’ll be honest, it gives me a bit of a buzz every time I build up the nerve to just take a plastic bag. Besides it’s not really stealing is it, I mean it’s only 10p here and there. No harm done.”
“I bet they don’t even cost a penny each to make, so it’s a shameless money-grabbing markup for the shops. Total scam, and it’s almost a victimless crime”
Alex from Reading pays for his plastic bags but does admit that some retailers are taking the mick by charging a small fortune for a bag for life – “I accidentally bought a reusable bag in Waitrose and it was FIVE POUNDS. I’m still furious about this. What’s worse is that I’ve since lost it.”
Well Alex, it pays to be prepared and bring one of the many carrier bags you undoubtedly have stashed away in a cupboard somewhere – but kudos for being a law-abiding citizen!
Turning your forgetfulness into a charitable donation
While 226 million plastic bags are purchased every year in the UK [1], many retailers have made the decision to scrap selling single-use carrier bags and instead only offer bags of life. That, hopefully, will mean less plastic going to landfill.
But yet again, the price of these bags for life vary depending on which retailer you go to, so see where your shop of choice ranks below[2]:
Asda – 20p
Aldi – 25p
Tesco – 30p
Sainsbury’s – 30p
Waitrose – 50p
Morrisons – 60p
So what happens to all this money collected by shops from plastic bag sales? Is it lining the pockets of some head-honcho in an office?
Actually, for the most part a lot of retailers have set up schemes where the money collected goes to charities, and around £9.2 million pounds a year goes from carrier bag sales to good causes. [3]
Some retailers donate to national causes, while others let the local branches of their stores decide which local charity will benefit which means that each bag sold can actually make a small difference to your community.
Business Waste’s Mark Hall says “While it’s always better to be prepared and reuse the bags you already have, at least it softens the blow of having to shell out for a bag if you know that the money is going to a good cause.”
“And if you are part of the 30% who have admitting to nicking one, then technically you’re stealing from charity. It is not a victimless crime.”
And you know who else you’re robbing? Mother Earth and her precious resource, that’s who. Have a think about that next time you get itchy fingers in the supermarket.
Published 31st August 2023 by Mark Hall.
MRF recycling stands for materials recovery facility (or materials recycling or reclamation facility). It’s a place where domestic and commercial waste goes for sorting and processing before it’s sent out for final recycling, reuse, or disposal. Mechanical and technical equipment separates recyclable materials into individual waste streams.
There are more than 100 MRFs in the UK, which take a total of around 4.2 million tonnes of material every year. This is mainly made up of recyclable waste paper, glass, plastic, and metals. It’s estimated that the MRF market will increase to nearly 5 million tonnes by 2030 as MRF recycling becomes even more important.
Understand more about how MRF recycling works, why it’s important, and how to dispose of your commercial waste responsibly. For a free quote for your business waste collection, which could end up at an MRF, call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
A materials recovery facility (MRF) is a specialised plant that receives, sorts, and processes dry mixed recycling materials. They accept domestic, commercial, and industrial waste and sort the waste into single recyclable material streams. Mechanical and manual processes ensure as many recyclable materials are recovered as possible to re-enter the manufacturing process.
MRFs range in size with 108 sites spread across the UK. Crayford MRF in Dartford is the largest one in the UK, which processes 330,000 tonnes of recyclable rubbish every year. MRFs are operated by local authorities, major private contractors, the community/third sector, and SMEs.
Most materials recovery facilities work in the same way as waste is sorted and processed for recycling. However, there are two different types of MRFs that affect the methods used. These are:
A clean materials recovery facility only takes materials that have already been separated from municipal solid waste. Less labour and time are needed at the clean MRF as the materials should already be sorted by type. The clean materials are processed and sorted by specifications at the MRF. However, clean MRFs have lower recovery rates as materials may be disposed of before they reach the MRF.
A dirty materials recovery facility takes waste straight from commercial or domestic bins. The waste is separated into individual streams by manual and mechanical processes to determine recoverable and recyclable materials. It’s a more costly, longer, and labour-intensive process but ensures 100% of waste is sorted, which leads to higher recovery rates. Contamination risks are higher though, and dirty MRFs cost more to operate.
Processes and methods can vary between materials recovery facilities, but each one generally follows these processes:
MRF waste management is big business in the UK with more than 4.2 million tonnes of material processed at facilities every year. Annual estimates for the outputs of MRFs in the UK are around:
MRFs are important for waste management as they provide a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution, especially for household waste. Having individual bins for each type of recyclable rubbish (glass, paper, cardboard, plastic, and metal) would be impractical. They’d take up lots of space and require more collections, which would use even more fuel.
This would lead to higher waste management costs and a negative environmental impact due to the additional transportation journeys. Instead, the importance of a material recovery facility for waste management helps keep costs down for domestic waste removal and recycling. Plus, it ensures efficient separation and high recovery rates.
There’s a great importance of MRFs for businesses too. They help companies improve their recycling rates by recovering dry mixed recycling to ensure your business has a positive environmental impact. Greater recycling means less commercial waste goes to landfill too, which can reduce how much landfill tax you pay for lower business waste management costs.
Book commercial waste collection anywhere in the UK with Business Waste and rest assured that your rubbish is disposed of responsibly. Our large national network means we work with many materials recovery facilities across the UK. Your dry mixed recycling may be taken to a nearby MRF for processing.
All waste we collect is diverted away from landfill to help protect the environment and save your company money. We can provide free bins to store your dry mixed recycling and other individual waste streams – you only pay for collection. Daily, weekly, and fortnightly collections are available.
Licensed waste carriers will remove your bins and transport them to a local MRF where appropriate. One of our experts can advise on the disposal method and you’ll receive a free duty of care certificate confirming safe and legal disposal of your waste.
Get in touch with us today for a free no obligation quote for any type and amount of waste collection and disposal. Contact us online or call 0800 211 8390 for your tailored free quote or to speak with one of our friendly experts about your commercial waste collection and disposal needs.
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Published 30th August 2023 by Mark Hall. Last modified 28th October 2025
Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and solid recovered fuel (SRF) are renewable energy sources produced from commercial and domestic waste. Not all waste types are reusable or recyclable, so converting waste into RDF or SRF provides a sustainable option for waste management. These form part of the energy from waste process.
Using waste as an energy source is a more sustainable solution compared to sending non-recyclable rubbish to landfill. The UK exports around 1.5 million tonnes of RDF every year, according to data from the Environment Agency. Of this amount England exports around 120,000 tonnes of RDF every month, so there’s a big market.
Learn what RDF is and how it works in the world of waste management in this guide. For help with your commercial waste disposal, including a free quote based on your needs, call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
RDF waste refers to any domestic, commercial, or industrial waste that’s disposed of by being converted into refuse-derived fuel (RDF). This is a process that creates energy from waste that can’t be recycled or reused. RDF waste is municipal solid waste (MSW), which includes non-hazardous, residential, industrial, commercial, construction, and demolition waste.
RDF waste examples can include all sorts of combustible and biodegradable materials. Common examples are food waste, non-recyclable plastics, paper, and cardboard (such as treated, laminated, or contaminated materials). These are processed to create a type of fuel that’s used as an alternative to fossil fuels in power plants and other systems.
SRF waste refers to mainly commercial waste that’s used to produce solid recovered fuel (SRF). This is another type of energy from waste process that converts a wide range of non-recyclable rubbish into renewable energy. SRF waste is very similar to RDF, but it goes through extra processing to create the fuel.
Examples of waste types used to produce SRF mainly include non-recyclable paper, cardboard, wood, textiles, and plastic. All SRF waste must come from non-hazardous types of waste. These are often sourced from commercial waste, rather than domestic and industrial settings that can provide the basis for RDF waste.
RDF is refuse-derived fuel. This is the actual fuel produced after processing the relevant waste types. Non-recyclable non-hazardous, residential, industrial, commercial, construction and demolition waste are shredded, treated, and compressed to form RDF. It has a high calorific value, stable combustion, low secondary pollution, and low dioxin emissions.
SRF is solid recovered fuel. It’s the fuel type created after non-recyclable commercial waste is shredded, treated, and compressed. SRF is a more refined fuel that has a high calorific value, low moisture, and low chlorine content. It’s used to generate energy but also in cement kilns and other industrial processes.
The process to produce and use RDF and SRF follows similar steps:
The main difference between RDF and SRF is the level of refinement needed to produce both fuel types. Both fuels are generally made from the same source materials (non-recyclable rubbish), although SRF is most often created from just commercial waste. It’s the refinement levels that are the main difference between the fuels.
SRF is highly refined and in many cases produced to exact specifications. These are supplied by the companies set to use the fuel to ensure it meets their needs. There’s less refinement required for RDF, so it can be used for a wide array of applications. SRF can also be used in cement kilns, unlike RDF.
RDF and SRF as waste disposal methods have many advantages when you generate rubbish that can’t be recycled or reused. The main advantages of creating RDF or SRF from your rubbish for waste management purposes are that it:
All waste we collect at Business Waste is diverted away from landfill where possible to help protect the environment and save your company money. We use a wide range of commercial waste disposal methods, depending on the type of waste you need to get rid of. This includes turning waste into energy with RDF and SRF.
Whatever type and amount of waste you’ve got for disposal we provide free bins anywhere in the UK – you just pay for collection. Daily, weekly, and fortnightly collections are available on a schedule to suit your needs. We offer a free no obligation quote based on the type and size of bins, the collection frequency, and your location.
Contact us online or call 0800 211 8390 for your free quote for waste collection and disposal today. One of our friendly experts can explain more about the disposal methods and answer your questions. You also receive a free duty of care certificate confirming the responsible disposal of any waste removed from your premises.
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Published 29th August 2023 by Mark Hall. Last modified 22nd October 2025
Converting food waste into energy is a sustainable solution that makes much better use of waste food than allowing it to decompose in a landfill site. Modern technologies and innovations mean there are various ways that food waste can be used as a renewable energy source. Research into energy from food waste is ongoing.
When waste food ends up in landfill it breaks down and releases the highly potent greenhouse gas methane. This traps heat in the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Methods of turning food waste into energy still produce methane but they capture and control the gas and use it to generate energy.
Learn why turning food waste into energy is a good option, how converting food waste into energy works, and ways your organisation can dispose of waste food responsibly.
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One of the main ways to turn food waste into energy is through anaerobic digestion. This is a process where the waste food is placed in an anaerobic digester that removes oxygen to speed up the breakdown of organic matter. It produces biofertilizer, but also biogas – that’s used to generate renewable energy.
Another method to get energy from food waste is via biomass gasification. Semi-dry food waste is placed in a biomass gasification unit where it undergoes fluidisation – the waste passes through a hot and bubbling substance to convert it to fuel gas. This converts the food waste into an energy-rich synthesis gas called syngas (a combination of hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide), which is used to generate heat and power.
Food waste can be used as biofuel when managed and processed properly. Anaerobic digestion, aerobic digestion, and microbial fermentation processes can convert waste food into biofuels. This includes bio-methane, bio-hydrogen, bio-ethanol, and bio-diesel, depending on the process and technologies used.
Most types of food waste can be used to create biofuel, including waste fruit and vegetables, fats, and cooking oil. Biofuel is simply any fuel that comes from living or organic matter, such as food waste. It can be used as fuel for vehicles or to generate heat and electricity.
Turning food waste into energy is important as it provides a sustainable disposal method. Unlike paper, glass, and cardboard, you can’t recycle waste food and turn it back into new food (unless you plant the seeds from fruit and vegetables). Changing food waste to energy benefits the environment as it:
The easiest way to turn food waste into energy is to ensure any waste food your organisation produces goes to a processing facility. Arrange collection by a professional waste management company that uses licensed waste carriers and takes your leftover food to a facility that converts it into energy.
Effective waste management is essential to turn any waste food you produce into energy. This involves storing food waste separately from other rubbish in appropriate bins and containers to avoid contaminating it before it’s collected. At Business Waste we can provide free food waste bins – you only pay for collection.
The method of converting food waste into energy will depend on the facility where it ends up. Often this will be at an anaerobic digestion plant, where it will be used to create biogas that generates electricity and/or heat. We can advise on where your waste food will be taken and explain the energy conversion process.
Get a free quote for commercial food waste collection and disposal anywhere in the UK with Business Waste. We can provide a range of free bins to store your waste food safely with the ability to book removals on a daily, weekly, or fortnightly basis to suit your schedule.
Licensed waste carriers will remove your waste food bins and transport them to a nearby facility for responsible disposal. We divert all waste food away from landfill and take it to local anaerobic digestion, food waste to energy, or industrial composting facilities. Composting is a responsible disposal method for waste food, although it won’t generate energy.
Contact us online or call 0800 211 8390 for your free tailored quote. Tell us the number and size of waste food bins you need, where you’re based, and how often you want them collected. One of our expert team can answer any questions and work to ensure your waste food is disposed of responsibly.
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Published 25th August 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th November 2025
Reuse and recycling are the primary commercial waste disposal methods. These are sustainable and environmentally friendly ways businesses can get rid of many types of waste. However, not all rubbish is recyclable or reusable. Getting energy from waste is a sustainable solution and great alternative to landfill.
Energy recovery from waste provides around 3% of the UK’s electricity needs. More plants than ever across the UK accept all sorts of waste types and use them to generate energy rather than rotting in landfill. It reduces the need to export waste too and helps power a circular economy.
At Business Waste, we divert all commercial waste away from landfill and recycle as much as possible. In some cases, your waste may be sent to an energy from waste plant. Understand what energy from waste is, how it works, and when it may be used in this guide.
Energy from waste is a technique that uses non-recyclable refuse and converts it into useful energy. There are various methods of energy recovery from waste, but most involve incineration. It can create a variety of energy sources depending on the waste type and method, such as electricity, heat, and fuels (like diesel).
Often energy from waste in the UK is used when all possible recycling processes are exhausted. The costs to separate, clean, and reuse any remaining waste are greater than the benefit, so recycling isn’t a realistic choice. There are many energy from waste plants in the UK that use various methods to create different kinds of energy from various waste types.
The main benefit of energy recovery from waste is that it avoids rubbish ending up in landfill. There are many reasons why landfill is bad, as any waste added to landfill sites can take hundreds and thousands of years to break down, contributing to increasing methane emissions. Further benefits of energy recovery from waste include:
The method to generate energy from waste may depend on the specific energy from waste plant in the UK where your rubbish ends up. The type of waste and kind of energy it creates also impacts the process. However, the general way that energy is generated from waste follows these steps:
The process to generate energy from food waste is called anaerobic digestion. Waste food is treated and heated up to speed up the process, so microorganisms (bacteria and archaea) break down the waste faster. This results in a mixture of biogas and biofertilisers that are used to generate renewable energy, heat, and fuel.
At Business Waste we provide a wide array of commercial waste disposal solutions for companies in the UK. This includes commercial recycling, as well as sending food waste for anaerobic digestion, industrial composting, and to waste from energy plants where appropriate. Our experts can advise on relevant waste disposal methods.
We divert all waste away from landfill to help protect the environment and save your business money. Recycling and energy recovery from waste reduce how much landfill tax you pay for commercial waste disposal. Get a free quote for waste collection and disposal for any type and amount of waste – contact us online or call 0800 211 8390.
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Published 22nd August 2023 by Mark Hall. Last modified 28th October 2025
Mandatory food waste reporting will not be introduced for large businesses in England after a consultation by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra). This is despite 80% of almost 4,000 respondents being in favour of new food waste legislation in the UK for waste food reporting by large and medium-sized businesses.
Currently, food waste reporting is voluntary, which is set to continue for the next few years. More than 200 businesses voluntarily reported their waste food figures in 2022 and year-on-year data shows such organisations managed to reduce their food waste. However, there are concerns about costs and inflation, which led to mandatory reporting being ruled out.
Learn all about food waste reporting, what the consultation found, the advantages and disadvantages, and what the future holds for food waste reporting.
The UK creates 9.5 million tonnes of food waste annually, with most of it produced by households. This has a total cost of around £19 billion and associated emissions of 36 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. Of this amount, businesses create more than 2.9 million tonnes of food waste every year.
The UK government has a 25-Year Environment Plan that aims to improve the environment. Food waste plays a part in this and the Resources and Waste Strategy (RWS) for England outlines the government’s approach to food waste in the country. It includes a pledge to consult on annual reporting of food surplus and waste by food businesses.
For this reason, Defra ran its food waste reporting consultation to assess the views of those across various industries and determine any actions to take. The consultation aimed to gather thoughts about:
The consultation ran from 13 June 2022 to 5 September 2022, with the summary of responses and government response published on 28 July 2023. These are some of the key results and data from the consultation about mandatory food waste reporting:
The government’s response also refers to WRAP’s Food Waste Reduction Roadmap Progress Report 2021. This uses data from businesses that voluntarily reported their food waste and found:
The main advantage of mandatory food waste reporting is that it should help businesses reduce the amount of waste food they produce. As the progress report by WRAP shows, of the 140 businesses that provided voluntary food waste reporting in 2021 they achieved an average of 17% reduction in food waste.
Another key advantage of mandatory food waste reporting is the amount of money it can also save businesses. The same WRAP report found organisations that reported their food waste managed to save a total of £365 million. And cutting food waste also helps reduce carbon emissions related to its transportation and disposal.
There’s a decent uptake of voluntary food waste reporting by businesses. Making it mandatory with new food waste legislation in the UK would ensure all relevant companies take action. This could help the country work towards its target to cut food waste by 50% by 2030 and positively impact the environment.
One of the main issues with mandatory food waste reporting and reasons why the government hasn’t yet implemented it is the costs involved. It’s estimated that the total average annual reporting costs to business would be around £5.3 million. That’s significantly more than the £0.3 million to enhance current voluntary food waste reporting agreements.
The total cost across the 12-year appraisal period is estimated to be £63.8m to require food waste measurement and reporting for large food businesses. That’s compared to £11.7m for enhancing voluntary reporting. Reporting for large food businesses works out at up to £32,362 per year for a business new to food waste reporting.
One body that opposed mandatory reporting due to such cost issues was the National Farmers Union. The voluntary approach to food waste reporting has also proved fairly successful, so continuing to encourage this without the costs and time involved to bring in new legislation is the government’s preferred route.
A voluntary approach to food waste reporting will remain in place for a few years. There will be a review sometime in mid-2025 to assess the impact and whether UK food waste legislation is required to bring in mandatory food waste reporting or not. This could involve another consultation.
Keeping a record and reporting surplus and waste food from your business is advisable whether it becomes mandatory or not. This can highlight areas where waste food is produced regularly so you can put in place solutions to reduce it as much as possible. Plus, it can ensure your business is prepared if mandatory food waste reporting is introduced.
At Business Waste, we encourage all organisations to reduce their food waste as much as possible. Our experts can advise where necessary and help you create an effective waste management plan. We also arrange collections of commercial food waste and ensure responsible disposal. It’s sent for composting or anaerobic digestion, never to landfill.
We provide a wide range of free bins to store food waste your business produces with no rental or delivery fees – you only pay for collection. Book food waste collection on a daily, weekly, or fortnightly schedule to suit your schedule. Collections are available anywhere in the UK.
Get in touch for a free quote for commercial food waste collection today – contact us online or call 0800 211 8390. One of our friendly team can answer any questions, help improve your commercial food waste management, and advise on reporting.
Published 18th August 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 26th June 2024
Wheelie bin sizes, capacities, and weight limits vary greatly. Two and four-wheel bins in all shapes and sizes can store many waste types securely before collection and disposal. The standard wheelie bin size in the UK is a 240 litre wheelie bin, but bigger and smaller ones are available.
Wheelie bin width, height, and depth (or length) are different for each wheelie bin size. However, wheelie bin dimensions in the UK are generally standardised. For example, a 240 litre wheelie bin from your local council should be the same size as a 240 litre wheelie bin provided by a private waste management company.
Using the right sizes of wheelie bins avoids waste overflowing and ensures cost-effective management. Find out everything you need to know about wheelie bin sizes to help work out which one is best for your business.
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All wheelie bin sizes are based on litres. This gives an idea of their capacity for waste storage, but the height, width, and depth of wheelie bins also vary. Wheelie bin weights are also different based on their size and material, with most wheelie bins made of polyethylene – a type of plastic.
To give a realistic idea of the capacity of each wheelie bin we provide an estimate of the maximum number of full waste bags you can fit into them. These are based on standard 65 litre bin bags. If you use larger or smaller bin bags then how many you can fit in may be different.
A 120 litre wheelie bin is the smallest size of wheelie bin available. 120 litre wheelie bin dimensions are 0.9m (height) x 0.5m (width) x 0.5m (depth). They have a capacity to hold up to 120 litres, which works out at a maximum of two to three full waste bags.
This is the standard wheelie bin size like the one you have at home for your domestic rubbish. 240 litre wheelie bin dimensions are 1.08m (height) x 0.58m (width) x 0.72 (depth). They have the capacity to store up to 240 litres, equivalent to between four and five bags of waste.
A 360 litre wheelie bin is the biggest two-wheel bin available for use at your business or home. 360 litre wheelie bin dimensions are 1.1m (height) x 0.6m (width) x 0.9m (depth). Their capacity is a maximum of 360 litres, and they can hold up to six full waste bags.
These are the smallest four-wheel bins available, but they can store significantly more waste than any two-wheel bin. 660 litre wheelie bin dimensions are 1.3m (height) x 0.7m (width) x 1.3m (depth). Their capacity is 660 litres and they’re capable of storing a maximum of 10 to 12 bags of waste.
A 1100 litre wheelie bin is the largest available wheelie bin that has four wheels. 1100 litre wheelie bin dimensions are 1.4m (height) x 1.0m (width) x 1.3m (depth). They have a large capacity of 1100 litres, which means they’re capable of holding up to 18 full waste bags.
Compare wheelie bin measurements with this simple table that includes the height, width, depth, capacity, and maximum waste bags all sizes of wheelie bins can hold. Use this wheelie bin size chart for an easy way to compare wheelie bin sizes and determine which one suits your needs:
Wheelie bin weight limits depend on the size and capacity of a wheelie bin, as well as the waste type. All wheelie bins have a general maximum weight limit but there are ones in place for specific kinds of waste. Compliance with these is vital to avoid any overweight charges.
Overflowing bins can be too heavy to remove, which may lead to a missed waste collection. Understanding wheelie bin weight limits and having an efficient waste management plan helps avoid such issues. Use this wheelie bin weight limit chart to see the maximum allowances for common waste types depending on different sizes of wheelie bins.
Most domestic wheelie bin sizes in the UK are 240 litres. This includes those used for domestic general waste, mixed recycling, and garden waste supplied by local councils and authorities to households in their district. These can hold four to five bags of waste.
The colour and size of council wheelie bins can vary between areas. Some local authorities may provide 360 or 120 litre wheelie bins for general waste, recycling, or garden waste. The differences in council wheelie bin sizes may depend on collection frequencies, local authority policies, budgets, and other factors.
At Business Waste we provide free wheelie bins of any size to companies across the UK. There are no rental or delivery fees or any hidden charges – you only pay the collection costs for each wheelie bin. These vary depending on the number and sizes of wheelie bins, waste types, collection frequency, and your location.
Wheelie bin collections are available on a daily, weekly, or fortnightly basis to suit the amount of waste you produce. Combine the best wheelie bin sizes for each type of waste you create with a collection schedule that offers cost-effective waste management. Use different sizes and numbers of bins suited to your needs.
Get a free no obligation quote to use any number and size of wheelie bins wherever your business is in the UK. Contact us online or call 0800 211 8390 today for a free quote. One of our friendly and expert team can answer any of your questions and advise on the best wheelie bin sizes for your organisation.
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How big is a standard wheelie bin?
A standard wheelie bin is a 240 litre wheelie bin. This is the size of a wheelie bin provided by councils and local authorities to most households in the UK. Standard wheelie bin measurements are 1.08m (height) x 0.58m (width) x 0.72 (depth) and this bin can hold between four and five bags of waste.
What is the capacity of a standard wheelie bin?
The capacity of a standard wheelie bin is 240 litres. This is the equivalent of between four and five full standard bin bags (when using 65 litre bin bags). If you filled a standard wheelie bin with water it would hold 240 litres.
What is the largest wheelie bin size?
The largest wheelie bin size is a 1100 litre wheelie bin. This is a big four-wheel bin that measures 1.4m (height) x 1.0m (width) x 1.3m (depth). It can be used to store up to 18 bags of waste and hold up to 65kg of general waste.
How tall is a wheelie bin?
How tall a wheelie bin is depends on its capacity and shape. The height of wheelie bins ranges from 0.9m (120 litre wheelie bins) up to 1.4m (1100 litre wheelie bins). Check that where you store your wheelie bins has room to accommodate the height of any bins you use.
How wide is a wheelie bin?
How wide a wheelie bin is depends on the capacity and shape of the bin. The width of wheelie bins ranges from 0.9m (120 litre wheelie bins) up to 1.0m (1100 litre wheelie bins). Ensure you have enough space to fit any two- or four-wheel bins on your premises based on their width.
UK businesses must follow strict packaging waste regulations that control how packaging is designed, used, recycled, and disposed of. This guide explains what the regulations are, who they apply to, and how to stay compliant.
The UK remains heavily reliant on other countries to process its recyclable waste. UK plastic waste exports increased by 84% in the first half of 2025.
Public toilets are disappearing across Great Britain. The British Toilet Association estimates only around 3,300 remain, a 25% drop since 2008.
Published 17th August 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
When it comes to food and drink on-the-go, boy are we spoilt for choice in the UK, and we also seem to do our best to spoil our towns and countryside as we go.
Some of the biggest brands we all know and love are among the worst culprits for creating a huge amount of litter, which is costing local councils a small fortune to constantly clear up.
BusinessWaste.co.uk – the UK’s waste collection company – believe it’s time that these big chains paid extra for the rubbish their businesses create.
Fast-food litter is a broad term which covers all types of food that are consumed outside and disposed of incorrectly, which can be anything including plastic bottles, sweet wrappers, and food containers.
So while we love our ‘on-the-go’ food and drink brands because of how convenient they are, the packaging from takeaways or meal-deals is creating chaos for our waste collectors across the UK.
Just how much fast-food litter are we dealing with?
BusinessWaste.co.uk have taken a deep (bin)dive into just how loyal we Brits are to our consumable brands, and just what this means in terms of rubbish littering our country.
* On average, McDonald’s serves over 3.8 million customers a day in the UK. This means millions of wrappers, boxes, and soft drink cups are being disposed of daily.
* Coca-Cola produces 2.5 billion soft drink cans a year in the UK – including fan favourites Fanta, Sprite, Dr Pepper, and of course, Coca-Cola.
* Walkers produces over 11 million packets of crisps a day, which means over 4 billion packets being produced and consumed a year.
* More than 2 billion Nestle products are sold in the UK every year, with 97% of UK households buying their products, including popular items such as Kit-Kats, Nescafe coffee, and Buxton water.
Hall – Our love of these trusted brands is an environmental nightmare, as many of the top selling products in the UK are made out of non-sustainable packaging such as plastic and foil.
And lets not forgot about the billion rubber bands the royal mail litters each year.
The bill for litter cleaning up and down the UK currently costs local authorities around £586 million a year, which of course is money raised straight from the tax payer.
Business Waste don’t think this is fair on local councils and tax payers to have to pay when they aren’t the ones profiting from the sale of these goods, especially as consumers are often stuck for choice when it comes to making a sustainable choice when buying fast-food.
Hall: “Consumers have no choice as to what packaging their favourite products come in, so if the big brands don’t want to be eco-friendly then they should have to reach into their pockets to pay for the inevitable amount of waste their items produce.
“This could be the incentive they need to become more environmentally friendly.”
So what can we do to clamp down on the fast-food litter that is taking over our streets?
Some brands such as McDonald’s have partnered with local councils by organising daily litter picks with their staff around stores and have done for years. Some stores such as in Dagenham have agreed to up the number of litter picks to four times a day covering a half mile radius around the shop.
And the government are cracking down on fast-food litter too, by introducing new guidance for new applications made by franchises including installing more bins around takeaways to reduce the amount of rubbish. [7]
But Business Waste believe that ultimately, introducing charges for these brands is the best way to stop the amount of rubbish they create, and save local councils from having to foot the bill to clear it up.
Published 17th August 2023 by Mark Hall. Last modified 9th October 2025
The proper disposal of X-ray films is important for hospitals, dentists, healthcare centres, and other organisations. It’s essential to protect patient confidentiality and ensure X-rays are recycled and disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. You’ll also want to dispose of any personal X-rays safely when they’re no longer needed.
Medical organisations must hold onto X-rays for a pre-described period. After that time passes you’ll need to arrange professional x-ray film waste disposal to destroy the sensitive information they contain. It also saves space for your business or household, when getting rid of personal X-rays from a few years ago.
Learn how to dispose of old X-rays responsibly from your business or home in this guide. If you’ve got a question or want a free no obligation quote for the collection of any x-ray films, chemicals, or equipment, you can contact us online or call 0800 211 8390.
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Recycling X-ray film is possible. X-ray films are made from a clear plastic film, usually polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is recyclable. This is coated with a radiation-sensitive emulsion that normally contains silver halide crystals (95% silver bromide and 5% silver iodide) and gelatine. It’s this silver substance that captures an image when an X-ray is taken.
To recycle x-ray films the silver and plastic materials are separated using chemical solutions and processes. They’re then recycled and turned into new plastic products and silver bars, which can be valuable. Recycling X-ray film is only possible at specialist facilities with the appropriate machinery and processes in place.
Organisations must arrange commercial waste collection of any old X-rays and ensure licensed waste carriers take them to a relevant recycling centre. You can’t put old X-ray films at home in your domestic recycling bin – or your household general waste bin. Check with your local hospital or healthcare centre or use a professional waste management company.
X-ray recycling is important because it’s a safe way to dispose of any old X-rays and the materials they’re made from are easily recyclable and valuable. Most X-rays are made from PET plastic film, which is one of the most recyclable types of plastic. Recycling plastic is important to avoid it ending up in landfill.
Recycling and reusing the silver in X-rays is also essential. There’s only a finite amount of silver in the world, so reusing it should be done where possible. Mining silver is incredibly energy-intensive and has negative environmental effects, so recycling helps reduce these impacts and saves energy.
Improper disposal of X-rays can lead to the silver substances contaminating ground and waterways. This may kill fish and negatively affect ecosystems – even causing issues for humans if it gets into drinking water. Recycling x-ray film ensures all plastic and silver materials are removed, reused, and recycled safely, which protects the environment.
Recycling X-rays saves businesses money too, as it reduces the amount of landfill tax you’ll have to pay for its disposal. You may also receive some financial benefit based on the amount of silver extracted from your old x-rays, depending on the amount you send for recycling and the recycling company.
Businesses must arrange commercial waste collection of any obsolete X-ray films of patients, clients, or employees. Your organisation may have piles of X-rays in storage, which you can only keep for as long as necessary under GDPR principles. When it’s time to get rid of them, responsible disposal of X-ray films is vital.
Arranging x-ray destruction and recycling by professional third-party waste management experts is the best solution. Many shred the X-rays first to destroy the sensitive data before recycling the X-rays. This includes a wide range of X-ray types, such as:
Professional commercial waste management firms, such as Business Waste, will organise the collection of your old X-rays at a convenient time. Licensed waste carriers then transport them to an appropriate waste management facility. Here the X-rays will normally be checked, shredded, and recycled. Your business should receive a duty of care certificate confirming its disposal.
Failure to dispose of X-rays properly from any business can lead to confidential data being exposed and ending up in the wrong hands. Organisations can face regulatory fines, a negative reputational impact, and a loss of business. Always use licensed waste carriers to ensure the proper disposal of X-rays from any business.
The main priorities when disposing of X-rays are to ensure all sensitive information is destroyed and that the materials are recycled and reused. Recycling and destruction methods for old X-rays can vary depending on the facility where they end up. Often the process to recycle X-ray films involves the following steps:
To dispose of any X-rays, you’ve got lying around at home you should first check with your doctor how long you should keep them. There may be medical or legal reasons why you have to hang onto them for a specific amount of time. If that period has passed then there are a few disposal options.
Check whether your local hospital, radiology clinic, or healthcare centre will take your old X-rays for disposal and recycling. Most should accept them but may need proof of identity. You can rest assured that your X-rays will be disposed of properly and safely, as they’ll follow all medical privacy regulations.
You can also see if your local council has an x-ray recycling programme or accepts them at your nearby household waste recycling centre (HWRC). Otherwise, professional waste management firms like Business Waste might take your old X-rays for disposal. Check if there are any minimum amounts though.
Donating your old X-rays to local schools, universities, or medical facilities is another option. They can be used as educational resources and are greatly appreciated by some organisations. Cut or block out any sensitive details such as your name to avoid identification before donating your old X-rays.
Radiology departments, dentists, laboratories, and anywhere else that provides X-ray services might also need to dispose of X-ray phytochemicals. These should be stored, managed, collected, and disposed of separately from X-ray films. This is because they’re a type of hazardous waste.
At Business Waste we provide free bins and containers to store all sorts of waste chemicals securely on your site – you only pay for collection. Oil drums, IBC containers, and other containers are available to store waste X-ray chemicals. Licensed waste carriers can then collect your chemical waste and transport it for disposal.
Any organisation that uses X-ray machines may also need to arrange disposal when they break down, are upgraded, or are no longer needed. Generally, an X-ray scanner needs to be replaced every six to eight years, as the efficiency and image quality decrease. X-ray equipment must be disposed of in line with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations.
Due to the presence of chemicals and radiation in x-racy machinery, they must be removed and disassembled by specialists before recycling. The oil must be drained and then all metal parts can be removed and recycled. At this point the X-ray generator isn’t live, so there’s no risk of radiation exposure.
Book collection of X-ray waste from your organisation today, whether you’ve got old X-ray films, equipment, or chemicals for disposal. At Business Waste we can provide free bins and containers to store your x-ray waste – you only pay for collection. Removals are available anywhere in the UK.
Licensed waste carriers will collect your waste and transport it to an appropriate waste management facility for recycling and disposal. You receive a free duty of care certificate and certificate of destruction if relevant, confirming the legal disposal of any X-ray waste. One-off, daily, weekly, and fortnightly collections are available.
Contact us online or call 0800 211 8390 for a free no obligation quote for the collection of any X-ray waste. One of our friendly experts will provide a free quote based on your specific needs and can answer any questions or advise on the best solution to get rid of your waste X-ray materials.
Are X-rays a type of hazardous waste?
X-ray film isn’t generally considered a type of hazardous waste as the amount of silver in one is very small. X-ray chemicals do class as hazardous waste as they’re a type of chemical waste that can harm human health and the environment due to exposure. Old X-ray machines contain oil that’s hazardous waste, which is removed before disposal.
Is X-ray waste radioactive?
Old X-ray films are not radioactive and there’s no residual radiation once an X-ray machine is switched off. X-ray film isn’t a type of radioactive waste, and most equipment is a kind of WEEE waste, though it may need Cobalt 60 removed first. Cobalt 60 is a radioisotope used in radiography and medical applications that needs to be removed professionally before recycling any X-ray machinery.
Are old X-rays worth anything?
Some old X-rays might be worth something due to the silver content. However, it depends on the type of X-ray film and the amount of silver that can be extracted from it. In most cases this is negligible, and X-rays are only worth something if you have a high volume for recycling.
It also depends on the price of silver at the time when you want to recycle old X-ray films. Check with your waste management company or those responsible for disposing of your old X-rays and they might quote you with its potential worth.
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Published 16th August 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th November 2025
Recycling blister packs is important for businesses and homes to reduce the amount of packaging waste going to landfill. Blister packs are made from a combination of plastic and foil used to contain medication, which makes recycling difficult. However, there are schemes and actions that organisations and individuals can take to recycle pill and blister packs.
The NHS gets through around 150 million blister packs every year. Retailers and private healthcare providers account for more on top of that figure. It’s also estimated that every individual in the UK on average gets through 70 paracetamol tablets annually, equivalent to just over four packs. It adds up to a lot of blister pack waste.
Learn how to dispose of and recycle blister packs from your business or home in this guide. If you’ve got a question or want a free quote for the collection of waste blister packs from your organisation, contact us online or call 0800 211 8390.
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A blister pack is the packaging used to store tablets, pills, and other medication for sale or prescription. It’s a type of pre-formed packaging material that has a thermoformed plastic cavity and a pliable lid. They’re called blister packs as the product (tablet or pill) sits in a deep-drawn cavity or pocket that looks like a blister.
Blister packs are normally made of one type of plastic to hold the tablets, which are covered by a thin layer of foil. Normally the base of the packaging is made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic with an aluminium foil top. These are heat-sealed together.
The combination of materials used to make blister packs and the heat-sealing means separating them to recycle blister packs is difficult and expensive. For this reason, many councils don’t recycle pill packets as it’s too costly. There are other places and solutions for blister pack recycling for households and businesses though.
Businesses must arrange commercial waste collection of all types and amounts of waste they produce. This includes using licensed waste carriers to remove any empty blister packs or those containing expired medication. You also have a duty of care to ensure waste disposal in ways that avoid harming the environment, so recycling blister packs is essential where possible.
As blister packs and pill packets contain a few elements and are made from a combination of materials, your organisation should use different bins to recycle each part. For any blister packs that still contain medication – if it’s expired or unused – you should arrange pharmaceutical waste collection. This ensures the medication is disposed of responsibly.
Dry mixed recycling bins are also an option to recycle the cardboard packaging and paper inserts to save space on your site. Contact Business Waste for a free no obligation quote based on the number, type, and size of bins you need to recycle medicine blister packs anywhere in the UK.
Separate the blister packs and their contents and use the following bins to recycle all parts of used pill packets from your organisation responsibly:
Purple clinical waste bags are used for cytotoxic and cytostatic waste, which includes blister packs.
The outer box of most blister packs is made from cardboard that’s completely recyclable.
Remove the paper inserts and dispose of these in paper recycling bins.
You can recycle blister packs in the UK that are personal or household waste in many Superdrug pharmacies. Waste blister packs from businesses, organisations, or healthcare facilities are not accepted as they’re a type of commercial waste. You can only recycle empty blister packs and not the cardboard packaging or paper inserts.
The blister pack recycling scheme is only available in Superdrug pharmacy stores, not those without a pharmacy. Simply visit your local Superdrug pharmacy and dispose of your empty blister packets in the dedicated collection boxes. They’re collected and the packs are recycled and turned into boards for the construction industry.
The medicine packet recycling scheme runs in partnership with TerraCycle, which is responsible for recycling blister packs collected in Superdrug pharmacies. Superdrug has also teamed up with many household brands to help make the scheme a success, including Benadryl, Buscopan, Calpol, Nurofen, Imodium, Nicorette, Optrex, BuscoMint, Dulcolax, Sudafed, and Allevia.
Empty blister packs are collected and transported to appropriate waste management facilities for recycling. Here they’re broken down into their elements, which are recycled alongside materials of the same type. Tablet blister pack recycling methods can vary depending on the facility. The general method for medicine blister pack recycling follows such steps:
Any business that needs to get rid of empty blister packs or those containing expired or unused medication should seek recycling solutions. Collection by licensed waste carriers of any commercial blister pack waste is a legal requirement. Some of the main organisations that need to recycle pill packets include:
Recycling of blister packs containing regular medication for residents.
Disposal of pill packets for a wide range of medication in hospitals.
Recycle expired stock, returned packets, and other blister packs.
Most councils and local authorities don’t accept empty blister packs in household recycling bins. This means most are disposed of with domestic general waste and may end up in landfill or be sent for incineration. To protect the environment, you can recycle blister packs at home by taking them to your local Superdrug pharmacy.
Some GP surgeries and healthcare centres are also trialling blister pack recycling schemes, so check with your local facility. If you’ve got any unopened, unused, and expired medication in blister packs then return them to your local pharmacy for disposal. They should accept them even if you purchased the from a different pharmacy.
You can recycle the cardboard box and paper inserts from any blister packs at home in your domestic recycling bin. If your recycling bin is full or you’ve got lots for disposal, you should be able to recycle medicine blister packs at your nearest household waste recycling centre (HWRC) too.
Recycle medicine blister packs anywhere in the UK with Business Waste. We can provide free bins and bags to store cytotoxic and cytostatic waste including empty blister packets – you only pay for collection. Book removals on a daily, weekly, fortnightly, or ad hoc schedule to suit your needs.
Cardboard, paper, and dry mixed recycling bins can also be delivered and collected to recycle the rest of any blister packs. And we offer pharmaceutical waste collection services to help you dispose of any full packets of tablets, pills, and other medication responsibly.
Licensed waste carriers remove your old blister packs and transport them to a relevant waste management facility for recycling and disposal. Get in touch with our expert team for a free no obligation quote for blister pack collections and recycling today – contact us online or call 0800 211 8390.
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Which pharmacies recycle blister packs?
Superdrug pharmacies are currently the only pharmacies in the UK that recycle empty blister packs. This is part of a recycling scheme with TerraCycle. It could expand in the future and more pharmacies may start to recycle empty blister packs. Most pharmacies should take back expired and out-of-date blister packs containing medication.
How can my organisation set up a recycling point for blister packs?
If you run a pharmacy, shop, or community centre that wants to set up a recycling point for blister packs then we can help. Having a dedicated bin makes it easy for consumers to drop off their used tablet packs so they can be recycled. Put a dedicated bin in place and arrange regular removal for recycling.
At Business Waste we can work with our nationwide network to find a suitable solution for your business or organisation. We’ll provide a free bin of the required size that you can place anywhere on your premises to store just empty blister packs. Then we’ll arrange removal by licensed waste carriers that transport the waste to a facility where blister packs are recycled.
The easiest way to set up a dedicated recycling point for blister packs is to speak to one of our friendly experts. They can advise on your best options and provide a free quote – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online today for more information.
Can tablet foils be recycled?
Tablet foil recycling is possible. However, the foil should be recycled with the rest of the blister pack at a pharmacy or through commercial waste collections. The process of tablet blister pack recycling involves the separation of the foil from the plastic packaging. It’s then melted down and reused as recycled metals.
Recycling foil pill packets is not possible in your household waste bin or with other metal waste collections. The foil from pill packets must be recycled with the rest of a blister pack.
Why do pharmacies use blister packs?
Pharmacies use blister packs as they reduce contamination risks and highlight any tampering. The seals prevent exposure to contamination and lengthen the shelf life of the medication by preventing moisture from getting into the pack. The seal must be broken to remove the medication, which shows evidence of any tampering and helps people remember if they took a previous dose or not.
Published 15th August 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
Could chants of “we recycle more than you!”, “you’re unsustainable, and you know you are!”, and “who’s the ****** not recycling!” be bellowed from the terraces this season? If so, don’t expect to hear many in a Scouse or Brummie accent. That’s according to a revised Premier League table based on recycling rates in the areas of each stadium.
At Business Waste we used the latest data for household waste recycling rates across England to predict how this season’s Premier League could pan out. Rather than focusing on wins, draws, and losses, the rankings use the recycling rates of the local authority that covers every stadium’s location.
Data covering recycling rates for individual constituencies isn’t available, which means Everton and Liverpool are tied, as are Chelsea and Fulham. These teams are placed in alphabetical order (and given their positions, there aren’t any worries about bragging rights). To make things fair all data is from 2021/22, as government data for 2022/23 is yet to be released.
“Awarding points for the teams that win the most is all well and good, but it gets a bit boring when Man City lift the Premier League trophy at the end of the season again,” says Business Waste representative Mark Hall.
“To make things interesting this year and to highlight the differences between recycling in places across England and the work to be done, we thought it a good time to bring recycling rates into the equation.”
“Erik ten Hag will be hoping Trafford Council’s great work boosting recycling rates across the borough is replicated on the pitch if Manchester United are to topple their title-winning rivals across the city. And new Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola would be working miracles should their position here comes to fruition in the proper Premier League table,” adds Hall.
“At the other end it might be another season of struggle for Everton and Forest, which won’t surprise many of their fans. Liverpool and Villa supporters are more likely to be up in arms if their local authority’s poor recycling rates are reflected in their results this season.”
The table shows there’s still plenty of work for most areas in England to reach the government’s target of recycling 50% of all household waste. While Premier League clubs can’t have a direct impact, they can all play their part to encourage increased recycling and sustainability for their clubs and fans.
Many teams are working towards a greener future. The Premier League Sustainability Rankings considers what clubs themselves are doing to improve their climate credentials. Last season Spurs and Liverpool came out on top, showing that while their local authorities may be falling behind they take sustainability more seriously. And unlike the recycling rate table, Bournemouth find themselves down at the bottom of the sustainability rankings.
Hall adds: “Given the huge amount of money floating around in football it’s about time more teams invested in sustainable waste solutions inside and outside their stadiums. Running a football club that’s as green as its pristine pitch should be the goal for every top-tier team in England.”
Run a football club, rugby team, tennis courts, or any other sporting organisation? Boost your recycling efforts with the help of Business Waste. We offer everything from waste audits and waste management plans to collections of any type and amount of recycling rubbish anywhere in the UK.
We can provide free bins for your recycling, so you only pay for collection. This helps separate your commercial waste and ensure as much as possible is recycled, benefiting the environment and your sports club. Get a free no obligation quote for waste collection in the UK today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
[1] https://www.trafford.gov.uk/residents/environment/recycling-rubbish-and-waste/Recycling-rate-%E2%80%93-how-well-are-we-doing.aspx
[2] https://www.letsrecycle.com/councils/league-tables/2021-22-overall-performance/
[3] https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/household-waste-recycling-rates-borough
[4] https://www.newcastleworld.com/your-newcastle/newcastle-upon-tyne/thousands-of-tonnes-of-waste-from-newcastle-households-rejected-from-recycling-centres-4104245
[5] https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/liverpools-woeful-recycling-rates-will-23398569
[6] https://birminghameastside.com/birmingham-at-the-bottom-of-the-recycling-table-and-no-change-in-sight/
UK businesses must follow strict packaging waste regulations that control how packaging is designed, used, recycled, and disposed of. This guide explains what the regulations are, who they apply to, and how to stay compliant.
The UK remains heavily reliant on other countries to process its recyclable waste. UK plastic waste exports increased by 84% in the first half of 2025.
Published 10th August 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 26th September 2023
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a new UK regulation that aims to increase the responsibility of businesses that supply or import packaging. It’s a reform to the current Packaging Waste Regulations that will change the management and funding of packaging waste. The costs of managing packaging once it becomes waste will shift to the producers rather than the consumers.
Any organisation in the UK that produces, supplies, or imports packaging will need to report packaging data and ensure EPR compliance when it comes into effect. In July 2023 it was announced that the full introduction of the UK EPR scheme will be pushed back by a year. Businesses should still start preparing for the scheme though.
Getting to grips with extended producer responsibility can seem complex before it’s enforced. Understand what EPR is and whether your business will be affected and need to make any changes with our detailed guide.
EPR is an environmental policy where the producer’s responsibility for a product extends to the post-consumer stage. In the UK, EPR refers to the new extended producer responsibility scheme for packaging waste. This means companies that produce, supply, and import packaging will be responsible for the costs of managing it once it becomes waste.
The new EPR scheme will move the cost to dispose of packaging waste from taxpayers to the producers. Organisations may need to:
The idea of EPR for packaging is that if the products created add to pollution, then the producer rather than the user should cover the costs of its impact on the environment and human health. EPR is set to build on and replace existing packaging waste regulations.
The UK produces more than 10 million tonnes of packaging waste every year. Around two-thirds of this are recyclable or reusable, yet vast amounts make their way to landfill sites across the country. By placing the responsibility and costs for packaging disposal on the producers, EPR aims to encourage businesses to develop more sustainable and recyclable packaging.
An increase in costs for packaging producers should kickstart an improvement in creating and using formats and materials that are recyclable. This should have a positive effect on the environment and reduce the associated costs for businesses, as recycling is more cost-effective than sending waste to landfill and other disposal methods.
Introducing EPR for packaging also helps the UK government make small steps towards its various environmental targets. This includes eliminating all avoidable waste by 2050 and reducing residual waste production per capita by 50% by 2042. The government is also following the example of other countries that have introduced EPR for packaging waste.
Research by The Recycling Partnership in the USA found a positive impact of EPR on packaging and paper when introduced in seven other regions. It found EPR increased the collection and recycling of target materials to more than 75% in British Columbia, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, and South Korea. In Portugal and Quebec, it was over 60%.
The EPR scheme applies to any organisation in the UK that supplies or imports packaging. Normally EPR applies to a brand owner or importer. This includes any business that:
If your business does any of the above then it will need to collect and report its packaging data. EPR regulations apply to any UK organisation that:
For example, imagine you run a food company with branded packaging for your goods. You supply supermarkets and other food retailers with your products that are sold to consumers in the UK. Here the food company must comply with EPR regulations. But if the food items were sold under the supermarket’s branded packaging then the supermarket would be responsible.
You do not have to act under EPR in the UK if you import goods in packaging that’s:
Extended producer responsibility requires all eligible companies to comply with the scheme. This involves submitting packaging data on time and covering the net cost of packaging waste management and disposal for their own products. Extended producer responsibility works by businesses following these general steps:
The Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (England) Regulations 2023 came into effect on 28 February 2023. This means producers of packaging should already be collecting and reporting data about the amount and type of packaging they place on the market in England. Large organisations should have registered for the EPR packaging online service by April 2023, while for smaller companies it opens in 2024.
Large organisations in the UK must submit packaging data between 1 January 2024 and 1 April 2024 (this is to cover the period of 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2023). Small organisations should work to the same dates but for data from 1 March 2023 to 31 December 2023.
The introduction of EPR legislation is phased though. In July 2023 the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced a delay for payments for extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging by a year, pushing it back to October 2025. Defra claims the delay is to help efforts to drive down inflation
From October 2025 onwards producers will pay fees based on the recyclability/sustainability of their packaging. The exact charges will depend on how widely recycled the material is and other factors. More detailed data on packaging materials will be necessary at this point compared to what’s reported in the current system.
The exact cost of the new EPR tax is yet to be announced by the UK government. However, it will likely vary between businesses and depend on the amount and type of packaging supplied or imported. There may also be differences across nations and further measures and changes may apply to the EPR tax.
Under the new EPR scheme, 30% of plastic packaging must contain recycled content that’s placed on the UK market by a producer. A charge of £200 per tonne will apply to any plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled material.
One advantage of the delay to extended producer responsibility regulations is that businesses have an extra year to prepare for them. Understanding whether EPR legislation will affect your organisation and what you need to do is vital to comply with these new regulations. Important ways to prepare for EPR as a business include to:
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) aims to have a positive environmental impact and transfer waste management costs to the producers. In the long run, it should benefit businesses, councils, and households, but there are still some concerns for the short term. There are various advantages and disadvantages of extended producer responsibility:
At Business Waste we have a team of experts who can help with any questions you’ve got about managing your packaging waste. We can provide free bins for all types and amounts of packaging waste with no delivery or hire fees – you only pay for collection. Regular and one-off removals are available.
Call 0800 211 8390 to speak to one of our experts about your packaging waste or contact us online with your query or to arrange a callback. We can also provide a free no obligation quote for packaging waste collection from your business anywhere in the UK.
Published 4th August 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 1st July 2024
Bins overflowing can cause a real headache for businesses and households. There’s nothing more annoying than taking a bag of general waste to your wheelie bin outside or some old cardboard boxes to the workplace recycling bins only to find them overflowing. It’s even worse if the next collection isn’t due for a few days or a week.
A good waste management plan should help businesses avoid bins overflowing. However, things can crop up that means your organisation or home ends up with some surprising excess waste. A change in your collection schedule may also lead to an overflowing bin, but there are things you can do to tackle the problem.
Find out how to prevent a bin from overflowing and what to do with any that are already teeming with rubbish.
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Dealing with an overflowing rubbish bin isn’t a pleasant experience. In most cases, you’ll have to get your hands dirty and remove any waste bags or items that won’t fit in the bin. This is because most local authorities and waste management companies won’t empty or remove your bin if it’s overfull.
Any bags of waste left next to or on top of a wheelie bin are unlikely to be removed. Some waste removal firms, or local councils, may also refuse to empty or take away an overflowing bin as they’ll have to pay overweight charges at the waste management site. These may then be passed down to you, depending on the situation.
Any overflowing rubbish bin is also unhygienic, creating a breeding ground for bacteria, disease, and maggots. Excess rubbish spilling out of the bin can attract bigger pests such as rats into the vicinity of your home or business. It can be off-putting for customers and clients visiting your premises, giving off a poor impression, and negatively affecting your neighbours.
When you’ve got a wheelie bin overflowing in your backyard, on the drive, or the curb outside your house it can quickly entice pests. Soon a bad smell may also develop that makes walking in and out of your home highly unpleasant. And if you’ve got nosy neighbours it won’t be long before they kick up a fuss.
Most local councils or authorities won’t collect any excess waste left on or next to your household bins. Some may refuse to empty overflowing domestic bins, which can make the problem worse. If you’ve got too much rubbish for a wheelie bin at home – whether your general waste, recycling, or garden waste bin – there are a few things you can do:
An overflowing wheelie bin isn’t a good look for your business, even if it’s an overflowing recycling bin. It can signal to clients, customers, and visitors that your organisation isn’t in control of its waste, which gives off a poor impression. Plus, waste bags and rubbish that won’t fit in your bins can attract pests.
Knowing what to do with excess rubbish is important to help your business get its waste management back on track and to avoid any potential overweight charges for your bin collections. If your business has one or more overflowing bins then there are a few options to tackle this excess waste responsibly:
There are many solutions to deal with an overflowing rubbish bin efficiently, but it’s more cost-effective and easier to prevent the situation in the first place. Good planning and waste control measures can ensure your bins never overflow again. These are a few ways to avoid overflowing bins at your home or business:
Eliminate the risk of overflowing wheelie bins with Business Waste. We provide free bins to organisations anywhere in the UK with no delivery or wheelie bin hire fees – you only pay for collection. A wide range of bins are available in various sizes to store all sorts of rubbish before disposal and recycling.
Arrange bin collection on a schedule to suit your needs and avoid your bins overflowing, with daily, weekly, and fortnightly removals available. Our experts can also conduct a waste audit and help develop an effective waste management plan to ensure all your commercial waste is controlled effectively.
Get a free no obligation quote for wheelie bins and commercial waste collection in the UK today – contact us online or call 0800 211 8390. Speak to one of our friendly experts and they can answer your questions and find a fast solution to deal with any overflowing bins.
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UK businesses must follow strict packaging waste regulations that control how packaging is designed, used, recycled, and disposed of. This guide explains what the regulations are, who they apply to, and how to stay compliant.
The UK remains heavily reliant on other countries to process its recyclable waste. UK plastic waste exports increased by 84% in the first half of 2025.
Published 2nd August 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
POPs is an acronym for persistent organic pollutants. These are chemical substances that don’t break down and can be harmful to humans and the environment. They also spread easily via air, water, and wildlife. The main types of POPs waste include upholstered domestic seating (armchairs, sofas, and office chairs) and electrical devices and components.
The Environment Agency introduced new regulations on 1 January 2023 covering the storage and disposal of POPs waste. Homes and businesses must ensure any waste they have that contains any persistent organic pollutants is managed, removed, and disposed of safely and in line with this legislation. POPs waste cannot be disposed of in landfill sites.
Learn all you need to know about what POPs waste is, common examples of POPs waste, and how to dispose of it properly.
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are toxic chemical substances that are harmful to human health and the environment. They don’t break down and remain in the environment for a long time, negatively affecting any wildlife and humans they encounter. POPs can transfer by air, and water, and pass from one species to another through the food chain.
This means the impact of POPs can spread far from where they’re produced, used, and released into the environment. Some of the most common examples of persistent organic pollutants are synthetic chemicals used for pest and disease control, crop production, and industrial purposes. These can be produced intentionally or unintentionally (such as byproducts of combustion and industrial processes).
Common persistent organic pollutants examples include:
POPs waste doesn’t just affect industries and organisations that produce chemical waste. Various items of furniture and old electrical and electronic devices and products could contain persistent organic pollutants found in homes and businesses. These must be identified, managed, and disposed of responsibly.
Some of the most common examples of POPs waste found in homes and businesses include upholstered domestic seating. POPs may be present in any parts that contain or are made of leather, synthetic leather, fabric, or foam. Often they’re in the back of the covers and in the foam, which may contaminate any lining and wadding in contact with it.
Common examples of upholstered seating that may contain POPs are:
The other main types of waste that may contain POPs are electrical items. PCBs were widely used in electrical equipment, while circuit boards that are present in various items can also include certain types of persistent organic pollutants. Examples of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) that may contain POPs include:
The manufacture, sale, and use of products containing POPs are now banned. Many items of upholstered domestic seating that class as POPs waste contain decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE). This is a flame-retardant chemical, but its use has been banned since 2019. Therefore, any upholstered seating made after 2019 shouldn’t contain POPs (though you should still check).
Other types of domestic seating that may not contain POPs and should be exempt from regulation include:
The Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulations 2007 requires the destruction of POPs in any waste to protect the environment and impacts on the food chain. It means any waste containing POPs must be incinerated and never reused, recycled, or landfilled. The regulation also makes production and placing on the market any POPs an offence.
The waste management of POPs is covered by this regulation. Any producer or holder of POPs waste who fails to dispose of or recover it in compliance with these regulations commits an offence. Anyone breaching these regulations could face potential penalties of a fine or imprisonment.
In the UK, the Environment Agency brought new legislation into effect from 1 January 2023 for the storage and disposal of POPs waste. These new compliance procedures mean local authorities are now legally required to change their processes for dealing with potential POPs waste. Essentially, any upholstered domestic seating waste must be incinerated.
All POPs waste should be stored separately away from other waste types to prevent contamination. If any non-POP waste becomes mixed up with them then the entire load must be treated as POPs waste. This is because the chemicals can spread and contaminate the other waste, meaning it’s now a type of POPs waste.
To determine whether your waste contains persistent organic pollutants you should check any paperwork that came with the item or device. This should list the materials and chemical components, including any POPs. If you can’t find the paperwork or are still unsure, you could:
Domestic upholstered seating or mixed waste containing POPs must be disposed of through incineration. This destroys the chemicals, preventing their release into the environment. Any municipal or hazardous waste incinerator (or cement kiln) used must be authorised to accept POPs waste. Recycling, reuse, and other treatment methods are not acceptable to dispose of POPs waste.
For any POPs waste you’ve got at home you should check if your local household waste recycling centre (HWRC) accepts upholstered domestic seating. Most HWRCs do, just ensure you keep it separate from other waste and dispose of your POPs waste in the correct container at the site. Your local authority can advise on the process.
Businesses must arrange commercial waste collection by licensed waste carriers for any waste containing POPs. At Business Waste we can provide a free no obligation quote to remove and dispose of any kind and amount of POPs waste from companies anywhere in the UK. One-off collections and disposal of domestic POPs waste is also available.
Licensed waste carriers remove your waste and ensure responsible disposal (incineration) with a free duty of care certificate provided for added peace of mind. Contact us online or call 0800 211 8390 for a free quote for collection of any type and amount of waste that may contain persistent organic pollutants from your home or business today.
Published 28th July 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 17th January 2025
Wheelie bin hire is a common choice for many businesses to ensure their waste management runs smoothly. It could be renting extra bins to cover busy periods when your company produces more waste or to simply store daily rubbish before it’s collected. Some households also use wheelie bins for hire to take care of extra waste at certain times.
Wheelie bin rental often sounds like an affordable option. However, before you hire wheelie bins for your business or home it’s important you think about why you need these bins, how much and what types of waste you produce, and if it’s cost-effective to rent a wheelie bin or to consider another option.
Work out whether commercial wheelie bin hire is right for your business and what other options are available for cost-effective and efficient waste management.
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Hiring wheelie bins often seems like a more affordable and sensible option compared to buying them. This may especially be the case if you only need some extra wheelie bins for a busy period – such as to store excess waste created around Christmas. If you hire a couple of wheelie bins it may soon get your waste management back on track.
Businesses that find their bins constantly overflowing or overweight, leading to overweight charges, might also consider hiring wheelie bins as a longer-term solution. Some households may turn to wheelie bin rental if they experience reduced bin collections by their local authority to ensure they have enough capacity to store waste safely.
Often wheelie bin hire provides a flexible and cost-effective option for homes and businesses that only need a few extra bins for a set period. Collections can normally be tailored to your needs, and it can improve your recycling by diversifying the types of bins you have available.
Two and four-wheel bins are available for hire in a range of sizes to meet all sorts of waste management needs. Most households will only want to hire two-wheel bins like the ones you already have, while businesses can benefit from large wheelie bin hire with four-wheel options. Explore the range of sizes of wheelie bins for hire.
Small wheelie bin hire options cover three types of two-wheel bins. This includes those that are the same size as your household wheelie bins provided by your local authority, as well as ones slightly smaller and larger. They’re easy to move and require limited storage space. Discover the main options for small wheelie bin hire:
Large wheelie bin hire options include a range of four-wheel bins. These are the type you’ll see outside the back of supermarkets, takeaways, and other businesses. They’re easy to manoeuvre and offer a cost-effective choice as they can store more waste at once, requiring fewer collections. Discover the main options for large wheelie bin hire:
The costs for commercial wheelie bin hire depend on the size and number of bins you need, how often you want them collected, your location, and where you rent the bins. For example, hiring a few small wheelie bins that are only emptied once a week will often be cheaper than renting large wheelie bins with daily collections.
Other costs that can affect wheelie bin hire prices include if there are any delivery fees or admin charges applied. Some organisations will require a fixed-term contract, while others are more flexible. Prices vary between companies that offer wheelie bin hire, so it’s worth comparing the options available in your area.
At Business Waste, for example, we provide free wheelie bins with no delivery or hire charges for organisations anywhere in the UK – you only pay for the collection. This is more cost-effective than hiring or buying wheelie bins for your business.
The size of the wheelie bin you hire affects what types of waste you can put in it. General waste, dry mixed recycling, and most individual recycling streams can go in most two and four-wheel bins. Glass and food waste can only be put in a 120 or 240 litre wheelie bin.
Weight restrictions apply and are based on the specific waste type and bin size you use. Check these and adhere to them to avoid facing any overweight charges. Common waste types you can put in rented wheelie bins include:
Arrange commercial wheelie bin hire with Business Waste with no rental or delivery fees. We offer a wide range of wheelie bins to businesses across the UK in various sizes and you only pay for collection – there are zero hire or hidden fees. Enjoy affordable and effective waste management.
120 to 1100 litre wheelie bins are available to use to store your general waste and recycling. Book collections on a daily, weekly, or fortnightly schedule and tailor them to your needs for a cost-effective solution. We can provide a free no obligation quote for the wheelie bins and collection service you need.
Costs are based on the number and size of wheelie bins you need, what waste types they’re used for, how often you want them collected, and where your business is based in the UK. Contact us online or call 0800 211 8390 today for a free quote.
Get a fast FREE quote for your wheelie bins
UK businesses must follow strict packaging waste regulations that control how packaging is designed, used, recycled, and disposed of. This guide explains what the regulations are, who they apply to, and how to stay compliant.
The UK remains heavily reliant on other countries to process its recyclable waste. UK plastic waste exports increased by 84% in the first half of 2025.
Public toilets are disappearing across Great Britain. The British Toilet Association estimates only around 3,300 remain, a 25% drop since 2008.
Published 26th July 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
Wet, windy, and wild weather causes chaos for wheelie bins. It can blow them over, strewing waste across the street that might pollute the local environment, while damaging the bin itself. That’s why it’s important you try to secure your wheelie bins when there’s a storm, hurricane, or tornado on its way.
Wheelie bins are convenient for homes and businesses to store all sorts of waste and easily move them around. Most are built from solid plastic, which makes them sturdy and waterproof. Heavy rains, strong gusts of wind, and hail provide a real challenge that can blow over wheelie bins in a storm.
Rubbish escaping from a bin can end up in local waterways, contaminate land, and block drains. Even if it blows out of your bin accidentally, it’s your responsibility to reduce the risk by preparing your bin properly. Discover how to secure wheelie bins in a storm at home or work with these steps.
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If a wheelie bin falls over in a storm or tornado there’s a chance that all the waste it contains could blow away, littering the local environment. Your household or business is responsible for any wheelie bins you use so should take steps to avoid this happening. It ensures all your waste will be disposed of and recycled responsibly.
There are many things you can do to secure your wheelie bins to stop them from blowing over in a storm:
As well as the wind from a storm blowing over wheelie bins, any rain, hail, and snow can damage the bin and the waste it contains. Rainwater will contaminate recyclable waste, such as cardboard and paper, if it gets into your bin. This can prevent it from being recycled and reused, so protecting wheelie bins from rain is vital.
There are a few things you can do to safeguard your wheelie bins against rain, hail, and snow:
A cold snap, snow storms, and icy temperatures can cause wheelie bins to freeze. This makes moving them less fun than usual and may cause the lid to seize shut and the waste to freeze. Some waste collectors may not empty your bins if the rubbish is frozen as it may stay stuck inside or damage the bin.
Do not pour hot water on or in your bin as it may refreeze and make the problem worse. Also avoid using excessive force as frozen plastic may snap easily. Instead, there are a few things you can try to stop a wheelie bin lid and the contents from freezing:
Homes and businesses must move their wheelie bins to the agreed pickup point ahead of the collection time. This is often at the curbside for households, on your premises or outside the main gate for businesses. Wind and rain can make moving two and four-wheel bins a lot more challenging.
Normally it’s best to put your wheelie bins out well in advance to ensure they’re emptied and collected. However, in a storm try to take them out as close to the pickup time as possible to minimise the risk of it blowing over. You could place a few bricks near the wheels for extra security.
Locking a wheelie bin helps prevent theft, damage, and illegal waste dumping. You can also use a wheelie bin lock to secure it to a wall or post. This makes it hard to remove from its location, fighting against theft, and makes it less likely to blow away during a storm.
Any business that disposes of confidential waste should consider locking wheelie bins to avoid the theft of sensitive documents. If your bins are stored in a n exposed area then locks can help reduce the risk of them blowing away. You can buy wheelie bin locks in the UK from specialist online bin shops.
Here’s how to lock a wheelie bin:
At Business Waste we provide a wide range of free wheelie bins – you only pay for collection. This includes everything from 120 to 1100 litre wheelie bins to store general waste, recyclable rubbish, and other types of commercial waste. Wheelie bins are available anywhere in the UK with no rental charges.
We can provide lockable wheelie bins for extra safety and security to reduce the risk of theft and damage. Daily, weekly, and fortnightly bin collections are possible to ensure regular removal of your commercial waste. Get a free no obligation quote for wheelie bins and commercial waste collection in the UK today – contact us online or call 0800 211 8390.
Get a fast FREE quote for your wheelie bins
UK businesses must follow strict packaging waste regulations that control how packaging is designed, used, recycled, and disposed of. This guide explains what the regulations are, who they apply to, and how to stay compliant.
The UK remains heavily reliant on other countries to process its recyclable waste. UK plastic waste exports increased by 84% in the first half of 2025.
Published 25th July 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
Getting rid of maggots in a wheelie bin is a common challenge for homeowners and businesses. Seeing these little white worm-like creatures isn’t fun when filling your bin or for those emptying it. It’s best to take steps to prevent maggots appearing in your wheelie bins but if they’ve already made it their home there are ways to get rid of them.
Maggots are fly larvae with the most common species those from houseflies or bluebottles. They’re small, white, cream, or light brown, and look like little worms. While maggots are harmless and there’s no evidence that they pose a health risk to humans, they can spread disease and it’s not pleasant to open a bin full of maggots wriggling around.
Find out why maggots might be in your bins, how to get rid of maggots in your wheelie bin, and ways to prevent them from coming back with our help.
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Rotting food and waste is a beacon for flies. If just one fly gets into your bin, feasts on the waste, and lays its eggs, this can introduce many maggots into the bin once the eggs hatch. The average female fly lays around 1,000 eggs in its lifetime, so you can soon have an infestation in your bin.
Places that offer the best chances of survival for maggots attract flies as a good location to lay their eggs. Large clusters of food sources, like decomposing organic matter found in most general waste and food waste bins are ideal. Maggots feed on this for a few days before turning into flies and laying their own eggs.
It can be a repetitive cycle if you don’t take action to remove maggots from your wheelie bin – as each maggot feasts, pupates, lays eggs, and the cycle repeats. When it’s warmer waste rots faster in the heat, which attracts more flies as the conditions for survival and feasting are even better.
It doesn’t take long for maggots to appear in a wheelie bin, as the eggs can hatch within 24 hours and the maggots come out. The maggots then spend about five days eating (feasting on the waste in your bin), preparing to pupate. This is the process when they develop a hard shell and turn into a fly.
If you don’t check your bin regularly then an infestation of maggots can soon appear. Maggots start eating from the minute their eggs hatch. As flies can lay many eggs at the same time that’s why you often find huge numbers of maggots in the same place all feasting together.
Killing maggots in a bin is the most effective way to get rid of them and reduce the chance of more appearing. There are various options to kill maggots in a wheelie bin that don’t require special equipment. Some of the best ways to kill maggots in a bin include to:
After getting rid of maggots from a bin you won’t want them to return and have to go through the whole killing process again. Or if you’re lucky enough to never have had these little larvae visitors in your wheelie bin you’ll want to keep it that way. Preventative action can help.
These are a few ways how to keep maggots out of a bin:
Reduce the chance of maggots in your wheelie bins with Business Waste. We provide free wheelie bins to separate and store many waste types – from general waste and food waste to recyclables such as glass, plastic, paper, cardboard, and dry mixed recycling. There are no rental charges for the bins, you only pay for collection.
Wheelie bin collections are available anywhere in the UK on a daily, weekly, or fortnightly schedule. Various sizes are available and licensed waste carriers remove them to ensure responsible recycling and disposal, avoiding any waste going to landfill. We provide clean wheelie bins that should minimise the chance of maggots making them their home.
Get a free no obligation quote for wheelie bins and commercial waste collection in the UK today – contact us online or call 0800 211 8390.
Get a fast FREE quote for your wheelie bins
UK businesses must follow strict packaging waste regulations that control how packaging is designed, used, recycled, and disposed of. This guide explains what the regulations are, who they apply to, and how to stay compliant.
The UK remains heavily reliant on other countries to process its recyclable waste. UK plastic waste exports increased by 84% in the first half of 2025.
Published 24th July 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
Single use plastic cutlery, plates, and cups are cheap and convenient, but their disposal is problematic. They don’t break down and can leach chemicals, adding to pollution if they end up in landfill. Even though most single use plastics are recyclable only 10% of single use plastic items are recycled.
To reduce this negative environmental impact the UK government is introducing a single use plastic ban in England from October 2023. This follows on from the existing plastic ban on microbeads in 2018 and single use plastic straws in 2020. And there’s already a single use plastic ban in Scotland that came into force in June 2022.
If your business in England relies on single use plastic products in any form you should be adapting to comply with the ban. To help your organisation prepare for the ban on single use plastic we’ve answered the most important questions about it and provided some useful tips to remove single use plastics from your operations.
Single use plastics – also known as disposable plastics – are items made from plastic designed to be used once and then thrown away. They’re made from a variety of fossil fuel-based chemicals (petrochemicals) depending on the product. Common examples of single use plastics include disposable plastic cutlery, plates, and straws.
Up to 50% of plastic products are single use plastics around the world. This reflects the disposable lifestyle and culture that’s developed globally, and many industries rely on. While many single use plastics are recyclable lots end up in general waste, landfill, and as litter due to their throwaway nature.
Single use plastics aren’t biodegradable but will break down eventually. However, as they degrade it releases toxic chemicals from the additives used to create the plastic products. These can leach into the ground, water, and air, which adds to pollution levels and harms human health, wildlife, and the environment.
The single use plastics ban in England has the official legislative title of ‘The Environmental Protection (Plastic Plates etc. and Polystyrene Containers etc.) (England) Regulations 2023’. When it comes into force it will make it an offence for businesses to supply, sell, or offer specific single use plastic items and products in England.
The ban covers single use plastic:
There are a few exemptions to the England single use plastics ban for specific items:
There are no exemptions for supplying single use plastic cutlery and balloon sticks.
Local authorities will have the power to carry out inspections and ensure the new rules of the plastic ban are followed by all businesses. This includes the right to visit a shop or store, make test purchases, speak to staff, and ask to see records. Any business breaching the single use plastic ban may be issued with a fine.
The size of the fine may vary and cover the investigation costs. Complaints of breaking the law can be made to Trading Standards. The business should receive a letter detailing the offence and fine and the next steps, including the option to appeal within 28 days. Failure to comply with the notice may lead to criminal proceedings.
The single use plastic ban in the UK is being introduced across different dates for England, Scotland, and Wales:
The main reason the UK government is banning single use plastics is to boost efforts to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042. Currently, in England, around 2.7 billion single-use cutlery items (mostly plastic) and 721 million single-use plates are thrown away every year. This ban aims to wipe out such waste.
Plastic cutlery was in the top 15 most littered items in the UK by count in 2020. And according to the European Commission, the 10 most common single-use plastic products found on European beaches account for 70% of all marine litter in the EU (alongside fishing gear).
Banning single use plastics means businesses will need to use and offer sustainable alternatives. Many single use plastics are tricky to recycle, so these alternatives should be reusable, compostable, or easier to recycle. The ban should hopefully reduce the amount of plastic waste disposed of improperly (such as in landfill and littering).
This may have a positive knock-on effect to help reduce pollution levels and carbon emissions related to such plastic waste disposal and recycling. The UK government has seen successes with previous bans and restrictions, like the carrier bag charge cutting sales by more than 97% in major supermarkets and hopes to replicate such results with this new plastic ban.
The single use plastic ban affects any business that sells or supplies disposable plastic items covered by the new ban. This includes selling and supplying any of the banned single use plastics online and over the counter (including items from new and existing stock). The food services, retail, and hospitality industries will be particularly impacted.
Some of the main businesses the government ban on single use plastic will affect include:
Such a big change and the potential penalties for breaching the plastic ban in the UK means businesses need to be ready for the new rules. Companies in every industry must be compliant with the rules, whether you only provide a few disposable plastic spoons to customers in an ice cream café or regularly use polystyrene food containers.
There are a few things your business should do to prepare for the ban on single use plastic properly:
The ban on single use plastic will benefit the environment, but many businesses and homes continue to create plastic waste. Your organisation must play its part with a strong plastic recycling program in place. At Business Waste we provide free plastic recycling bins – you only pay for collection.
This helps companies across all industries separate plastic waste from other rubbish to ensure as much as possible is recycled and reused. Bin deliveries and collections are available anywhere in the UK. Get your free quote for plastic waste collection today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 21st July 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
A clean wheelie bin keeps pests, germs, and bad smells away. It also makes filling and emptying it much more pleasant – nobody likes opening the lid of a smelly bin. Cleaning rubbish bins isn’t the most glamorous job, and Kim Kardashian’s probably never tried it, but it needs doing now and then at home and work.
It’s advisable to clean a wheelie bin every two months. Realistically most homes and businesses do it much less often. That’s why you must give your wheelie bin a thorough wash to remove as much dirt as possible. Doing it regularly can make it quick and easy – much faster than washing your car.
Pop some music or your favourite podcast on and rope in a helper and cleaning a wheelie bin becomes (almost) fun. At Business Waste we’re experts in wheelie bins and know what it takes to freshen them up. Discover the best way to clean a wheelie bin and keep it in good condition with these tips.
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First, you’ll have to gather your wheelie bin cleaning products. The items you need depend on how dirty and pongy the wheelie bin is. If it’s cleaned regularly then just a bucket of warm water, a cloth, and some washing-up liquid should do the job. For filthier ones, you’ll need a few extra items.
Antibacterial or bleach sprays are necessary to destroy germs, but there are eco-conscious options to stay green when you clean. A homemade recipe of water, white vinegar, and lemon juice works just as well. Then throw down a bit of baking soda as the finishing touch to dry it off and keep bad odours at bay.
Use these wheelie bin cleaning products to wash your bin:
Put on some old clothes, slip into your marigold gloves, and psyche yourself up to transform your dirty bin into a shining beacon of the street or business park. You can clean a wheelie bin in any order but tackling the inside first feels like the more sensible option.
Move your wheelie bin into a clear space outside and ensure it’s empty of any waste bags, debris, and other bits of rubbish. Prepare and gather your wheelie bin cleaning products, turn on some motivational music (whether it’s Binyoncé or Kanye Waste) and get to work cleaning the inside of your wheelie bin:
The state of your wheelie bin’s exterior is what your neighbours will judge you by – whether it’s your neighbours at home or the business next door. Keeping the outside of wheelie bins clean isn’t just for aesthetic purposes though. It can also give off a nasty smell if it stays dirty for a while and any local seagulls or pigeons use it as target practice.
Use these steps for the best way to clean a wheelie bin’s exterior:
Cleaning rubbish bins effectively is still possible if you don’t have a hose or pressure washer at home or work. It can be a bit more labour-intensive, and gloves are necessary, but you’ll still achieve sparkling results. This is how to clean a wheelie bin without a hose:
Once you’ve got a clean rubbish bin you won’t want it to get dirty and smelly again, no matter how much fun you had washing it. To keep your wheelie bin fresh, you must regularly give it a good scrub and look after it properly. These are a few things to do to keep your wheelie bin clean:
Not keen on the idea of cleaning wheelie bins? Save time, effort, and money with free wheelie bins for your commercial waste management. At Business Waste we can deliver a range of wheelie bin sizes to companies anywhere in the UK – you only pay for collection.
Choose from 120 litre to 1100 litre wheelie bins and use a variety to store everything from general waste to glass recycling, paper, cardboard, and food waste. There’s no need to clean them as our licensed waste carriers remove and replace your wheelie bins so they’re always looking fresh.
Get a free no obligation quote for wheelie bins and commercial waste collection in the UK today – contact us online or call 0800 211 8390.
Get a fast FREE quote for your wheelie bins
UK businesses must follow strict packaging waste regulations that control how packaging is designed, used, recycled, and disposed of. This guide explains what the regulations are, who they apply to, and how to stay compliant.
The UK remains heavily reliant on other countries to process its recyclable waste. UK plastic waste exports increased by 84% in the first half of 2025.
Public toilets are disappearing across Great Britain. The British Toilet Association estimates only around 3,300 remain, a 25% drop since 2008.
Published 20th July 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
Buying a wheelie bin may seem like a sensible solution to store waste safely at your business or home. Working out the best price for a wheelie bin can be tricky though. There’s no single wheelie bin price and they vary greatly in cost across different suppliers and manufacturers.
How much a wheelie bin is usually depends on its size and quality (the material it’s manufactured from and any standards it meets). The price of wheelie bins for sale currently ranges from £30 to more than £200 based on the size and the seller. Buying a wheelie bin isn’t always the most cost-effective option though.
Avoid the cost and hassle of buying a wheelie bin with Business Waste. Get free wheelie bins delivered to your organisation anywhere in the UK – you only pay for collection. Call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online for a free no obligation quote tailored to the specific type, size, and number of wheelie bins you need.
The cost of wheelie bins varies greatly. How much a wheelie bin costs mainly depends on the size, quality, seller, and number of bins you buy (as some places offer discounts for bulk buying). Generally, you can expect to pay anywhere from as little as £30 if you buy a few of the smallest bins together to upwards of £250 for a standalone four-wheel bin.
One of the main things that impact the price of wheelie bins is their size. The manufacturer, supplier, and seller may adapt the price, but the general costs of wheelie bins based on their size are:
This is just a rough pricing guide as the cost of wheelie bins can vary greatly across suppliers and depending on whether you buy in bulk or just purchase a single wheelie bin.
Some waste management companies may charge rental or hire fees to use their wheelie bins to store your commercial waste. Renting should be cheaper than buying a wheelie bin. Hire costs for wheelie bins often depend on their size, waste type, collection frequency, how long you need to use them, and where your business is based.
Rental prices for wheelie bins vary greatly from as little as £1 or £2 a day to £60 a week. The supplier and number of wheelie bins you rent at a time can all impact the price. It should still work out cheaper than renting a skip for your commercial waste.
At Business Waste we provide free wheelie bins for your company to use – you only pay for collection. There are no rental charges or costs to hire or purchase any wheelie bin, whatever the size, type, and number of wheelie bins you need and wherever your business is based in the UK.
Buying a wheelie bin is unlikely to be the biggest purchase your business makes, but you still want to ensure every penny you spend returns some kind of value. It’s important to consider whether buying one or more wheelie bins is the most cost-effective way for your organisation to manage its commercial waste.
Before you start looking at buying a wheelie bin online and comparing prices from suppliers, ask yourself a few important questions:
Councils have a legal obligation to collect household waste but will only do so if it’s in an appropriate bin that they provide. This is because the bin must fit the mechanical lifting equipment of their waste trucks. If you buy your own domestic bin and it’s the wrong size or type they may not collect your waste.
In many cases, you can buy a wheelie bin from the council in your area. Often you’ll need to do this if your old bin was stolen or damaged, you move into a new home without a bin, or you want an extra bin for your home. Not all councils allow additional household bins though, so check with your local authority first.
The cost of a replacement wheelie bin from the council is normally free, but there’s often an admin and delivery fee. A wheelie bin replacement cost can vary depending on the size and type of bin and your specific local council and their fees. Generally, the cost of a replacement wheelie bin is anywhere from £40 to £50.
At Business Waste we’re proud to provide free wheelie bins to businesses anywhere in the UK across all sectors. There are no rental, hire, or purchase fees to help keep your waste management costs as competitive and affordable as possible. You only pay for the collection, which is the way we believe it should be.
A wide range of wheelie bins are available in various sizes to help you separate your waste types easily and increase the amount of waste you recycle. To get started we can offer a free no obligation quote tailored to your exact needs. This considers the number, sizes, and types of wheelie bins you need, how often you want them collected, and where from.
Get your free bespoke quote for wheelie bins today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
Published 14th July 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th October 2023
Businesses and homes build up stacks of documents containing sensitive information that eventually need destroying. It could be old bank statements, invoices, CVs, and anything else with personal data. They must be disposed of responsibly to protect the individuals and businesses whose private information they contain – they can’t be recycled with paper.
Shredding confidential papers is an easy and efficient way to destroy sensitive documents and data. However, not every business and household owns a shredder. You might not have the space, money, or need to use a shredder regularly enough to justify buying one. There are other ways to destroy important documents without a shredder though.
Find out how to get rid of confidential papers without a shredder in your business or at home with this guide.
Shredding documents helps protect the information printed on the paper, prevents fraud and identity theft, and ensures businesses uphold their GDPR obligations. Shredding isn’t the only way to destroy documents safely and effectively, but it may impact what happens to the waste created. There are various ways to destroy documents without a shredder, such as:
Soaking paper documents in water for one or two days and mixing it around is an effective way to make them unreadable. This dissolves the paper into a pulp that you can break up by hand. However, you’ll need the space and patience to leave your documents in buckets of water in a secure place.
You can speed up the paper pulping process by adding bleach to the water. Ensure you use a container that can withstand bleach and wear protective gloves. The bleach destroys the colourants within the ink to leave little traces behind. Then drain the water and bleach safely to avoid it affecting the environment.
Leave the pulp to dry in the sun before disposing of it with your general waste, as unfortunately, it won’t be recyclable. If you only used water and no bleach then the wet pup could be used as mulch on a garden and possibly sent for composting.
Incinerating paper isn’t advised as it releases dangerous fumes that add to air pollution and are toxic for humans and animals to inhale. However, it’s a possible solution to destroy sensitive documents without a shredder when done in a controlled and responsible manner. Using a proper paper incinerator bin is best.
First, check that fires are allowed in the area where you intend to burn your confidential papers. Tear each paper into smaller pieces first to avoid large bits flying away. Feed the paper into the fire a little bit at a time to keep it under control, with water nearby for safety.
Once all the private papers are burned put the fire out carefully. Break up the ashes safely and check no readable bits of information remain. When the ashes are dry you should dispose of them in your general waste bin.
Cutting up confidential documents with scissors or tearing them by hand is a cheap and easy way to destroy important papers without a shredder. You can also use a hole punch to make printed words and numbers unreadable, such as bank account numbers and addresses. Depending on the size, you might be able to recycle this paper too.
However, it’s a time-consuming task depending on how many documents you need to destroy and the size of your team. It’s not always the most secure way to get rid of confidential data either, as if the papers aren’t torn or cut up small enough then potential thieves could stick them back together.
Many professional shredding services can destroy confidential documents safely and securely for your business. At Business Waste, we can collect all types and amounts of confidential waste anywhere in the UK. We can then arrange on-site or off-site confidential waste destruction.
This way your sensitive paper documents are shredded and disposed of in an environmentally friendly way that also protects the information they contain. You receive a Certificate of Destruction for added peace of mind.
If you want to shred your confidential documents but don’t own a shredder there are various alternatives. Shredding important papers into smaller pieces can make it harder for any information or data from them to be stolen. It’s also much more environmentally friendly than burning paper or using chemicals such as bleach to destroy them.
Consider an alternative to a paper shredder with these methods:
Using scissors, tearing, and soaking sensitive paper documents are simple methods of domestic confidential waste disposal. As well as the strategies mentioned above, you can also dispose of household confidential waste in a few other ways, including some alternatives to shredding paper waste. Consider these options for household confidential waste disposal:
You can destroy paper documents in a washing machine. Water turns paper into a pulp and the added spins and force of the machine make the writing unreadable. However, you should put the paper documents in a laundry bag or stocking and tie the top tightly to avoid ending up with a mess.
Once the spin cycle is over just open the bag to check the documents are destroyed and dispose of them with your general waste. You can only destroy regular paper documents in a washing machine, it won’t work for laminated paper or some types of glossy paper.
For a quick, easy, and cost-effective way to destroy your confidential documents use Business Waste. We can collect shredded sensitive documents or arrange on or offsite shredding. All confidential waste is disposed of securely, responsibly, and in an eco-friendly way.
Call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online for your tailored free quote for confidential waste collection and disposal anywhere in the UK today.
Published 10th July 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 31st July 2025
There are six main categories of plastic waste and anything else that doesn’t fit into these falls under code 7. Where possible, recycling code 7 plastic is vital to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. However, because code 7 includes a wide array of plastic waste types, not everything is recyclable.
Separating recyclable plastics from non-recyclable and biodegradable plastic waste is ideal to ensure as much as possible is reused. This isn’t always realistic though, which is why lots of unallocated and miscellaneous plastic waste is classed as code 7. Sending your code 7 plastic waste for recycling is still responsible as it will be checked, sorted, and recycled where possible.
Find out everything you need to know about code 7 recycling on this page – or call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online today for a free quote for plastic waste collection.
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Code 7 recycling is a catch-all term used to cover all the types of plastic that don’t fall under any of the other six categories. Products that include the code 7 recycling logo may be made of multiple types of plastic or one single material that doesn’t fall under any of the other six codes.
Some common plastic types that fall under code 7 include:
As code 7 includes a variety of plastic types, there are all sorts of items stamped with this logo made from one or more plastic materials. Examples of products categorised as code 7 include:
Recycling type 7 plastic is tricky as it doesn’t refer to one specific waste material. Some of the waste that falls under plastic recycling code 7 is made from multiple plastic types that are hard or impossible to separate and recycle. Other items are simply made from plastic materials that aren’t currently recyclable.
However, some types of code 7 plastic are recyclable – such as polycarbonate. Therefore, it’s always worth sending code 7 plastic for recycling, as they should be sorted and separated at the recycling centre. This helps any recyclable materials be picked out and reused, while everything else should be disposed of responsibly.
Recycling code 7 plastics at home is difficult. Most local authorities and councils don’t accept waste items with the code 7 logo as sorting, processing, and recycling can be too time-consuming and expensive. You could see if your local household waste recycling centre (HWRC) accepts it.
As code 7 includes a variety of plastics, there isn’t one single method for their recycling. And some plastic waste with the code 7 label can’t be recycled. The general process for recycling some types of code 7 waste includes these steps:
Some types of code 7 plastics don’t need recycling as they’re biodegradable. For example, bio-based plastic items like cornstarch-based and bamboo or wheat-infused plastic products are marked PLA and can be composted. This saves on the energy required for recycling.
Recycling code 7 products is important as these plastics are sometimes neglected and disposed of with general waste. This may result in such plastic waste ending up in landfill, which contributes to pollution and takes up space when it could be reused. Plastics in landfill also leach chemicals that further damage the local environment.
It can take hundreds of years for products made from polycarbonate, acrylic, and other miscellaneous plastics to break down. Recycling saves valuable resources and energy and protects the environment. Not all code 7 products are recyclable but those that are will be separated and repurposed, while the rest should be disposed of responsibly.
Code 7 recycling also lowers your commercial waste disposal costs. It reduces how much landfill tax you pay by ensuring none of your company’s plastic waste ends up at a landfill site. It’s also easy for businesses to recycle code 7 plastic as you can place it in the same recycling bins as all other types of plastic waste you produce.
Arrange commercial waste collection to dispose of any code 7 plastic waste from your business responsibly. You can store all types of code 7 materials and products in plastic waste bins alongside other kinds of plastic waste, as they’ll be sorted at the recycling centre. Dispose of code 7 plastic easily with these steps:
Disposing of code 7 plastic types at home can be trickier as it’s a combination of plastic materials. Check if your local authority accepts used products with the plastic code 7 recycling logo in domestic recycling bins. Unfortunately, most currently don’t due to the difficulties of recycling this waste type.
You can also check if your nearby household waste recycling centre (HWRC) accepts code 7 plastic waste for recycling. If not, contact us at Business Waste and we’ll find a solution to help recycle your code 7 plastic waste.
All organisations that create any amount and type of code 7 plastic should send it for recycling. This helps protect the environment and saves you money on disposal costs. It’s easy and cost-effective as you can store code 7 products with the rest of your plastic waste in a single bin.
Some of the main industries that produce plastic waste that classes as code 7 include:
Recycle a wide range of car parts made from various plastic types
Responsibly dispose of CDs, sunglasses, baby bottles, and more
Recycle food containers, plastic dishes and drinkware, and more
Get a free no obligation quote for plastic waste collection – including your code 7 plastic waste. We can deliver free bins and arrange collections anywhere in the UK, you only pay for the collection. Tell us the sizes and number of bins you need, your location, and how often you want the bins collected for a tailored quote.
Plastic waste collections are possible on a daily, weekly, or fortnightly basis to suit your needs. Licensed waste carriers remove your bins, and we provide a free duty of care certificate for added peace of mind. Call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online for your free quote today and speak to our experts for any advice.
What is resin identification code 7?
Resin identification code 7 is the same as plastic recycling code 7. It means the packaging is made from a type of plastic outside of the main six categories or from a blend of one or more plastics. Resin identification code 7 includes bioplastics, composite plastics (such as crisp packets), plastic-coated wrapping paper, and polycarbonate.
What is polycarbonate?
Polycarbonate (PC) is a naturally transparent amorphous thermoplastic. It’s a strong and tough type of plastic that can be available in various colours and levels of translucency. PC is therefore used often when impact resistance and/or transparency are required for a plastic product, such as plastic lenses in eyewear, exterior light fittings, and water dispensers.
Is polycarbonate recyclable?
Polycarbonate is fully recyclable. At the end of its life, any product made from PC can be completely recycled. Old polycarbonate plastic is shredded and then granulated before it’s turned into new products. Sometimes PC is blended with ABS, which can make it harder to recycle when the plastic types need separating.
Is number 7 plastic biodegradable?
Most number 7 plastic types are not biodegradable or compostable, so they should be sent for recycling where possible. However, as number 7 plastics include all plastic types not covered in the main six categories, some kinds of code 7 plastics are biodegradable. These include:
Is ABS 7 plastic recyclable?
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) is fully recyclable. This thermoplastic polymer can be melted and reshaped many times and won’t lose its properties. ABS is commonly used in toys, appliances, and car parts that can be recycled at the end of their lives.
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Published 4th July 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
The government plans to introduce mandatory digital waste tracking across the UK by 2024. It aims to provide a comprehensive way to see what happens to the more than 200 million tonnes of waste the UK produces annually. This should show where and how waste is created, who handles it, what happens to it, and where it ends up.
Currently, there’s no single way of tracking all waste created in the UK. Legislation around waste transport, management and descriptions have been introduced separately over the last few decades. Data about waste is collected by both private contractors and the government across different IT and even paper systems. Mandatory digital waste tracking aims to centralise this.
We’ve answered some key questions about the service to help you understand what mandatory digital waste tracking is, why it’s being introduced, how it could work, and what it might mean for your business.
The UK, Scottish, and Welsh governments, and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland, ran a joint consultation on the introduction of mandatory digital waste tracking from 21 January 2022 to 15 April 2022. Waste policy is a devolved issue but all four agreed to develop a UK-wide waste tracking service.
The consultation received 713 responses. These were mainly from waste producers, waste transportation companies or carriers, waste site operators, local authorities, waste brokers, business representative organisations or trade bodies. Some of the key findings from the consultation were:
Read the full responses to the Introduction of Mandatory Digital Waste Tracking
Under the proposed mandatory digital waste tracking service all waste types will be tracked. This includes hazardous and non-hazardous waste, green waste, extractive waste (from quarries), and all other types of commercial and industrial waste. Therefore, every business will be affected by the new tracking service whatever types and amounts of commercial waste they produce.
The UK government has been vague about when mandatory digital waste tracking will come into force. Currently, there’s a general target date of 2023 or 2024 to launch the digital waste tracking service – depending on IT development progress and transition requirements of businesses.
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Environment Agency set out commitments in the ‘Resources and waste strategy for England’ published in 2018. This is a strategy to minimise waste, promote resource efficiency and move towards a circular economy to preserve material resources.
Mandatory digital waste tracking aims to work towards these commitments and:
The exact details of how the UK government’s mandatory waste tracking service will work are yet to be released. However, based on existing digital waste tracking systems it will involve submitting information about the waste type, quantity, waste carrier, destination, disposal method, and other details. These will likely be submitted for every waste load that leaves your business.
Who will be responsible for entering this tracking information is also unclear currently. As a business that produces waste, it could be down to you, or it may be the responsibility of the waste carrier, broker, or management company that collects your waste. There may also be a cost for digital waste tracking when it is enforced, but no details have been released yet.
Expect digital records to replace all paper documents you use to track your waste. Once the mandatory digital waste tracking service is operational you’ll likely have to register and possibly pay for the service. To avoid any mistakes and potential penalties it’s important you collate as much information as possible about your waste in advance.
Work with your waste management partners and/or carriers to determine the types and amounts of waste you produce, how often, and where they go. This can provide a good idea of the information you’ll need to use when the tracking service is live. Ensure you know who is responsible for entering the data when mandatory digital waste tracking goes live.
Keep an eye out for further developments about mandatory digital waste tracking and any communication from your current waste provider to ensure everything runs smoothly.
At Business Waste, we’re experts in the world of commercial waste management. We’re keeping a keen eye on the progress of mandatory digital waste tracking and are here to help if you’ve got any questions about it. Call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online with any queries or a free quote tailored to your waste collection needs.
Published 29th June 2023 by Graham Matthews.
The vaping market is one of the UK’s largest growing consumer goods sectors, currently valued at around £1 billion. Vaping shops and the many varieties of e-cigarettes they sell are everywhere. However, there are still many unknowns and some growing concerns around vaping as it’s a relatively recent innovation.
These range from health effects to advertising rules and the environmental impact of old vapes. We’re not medical professionals or advertising gurus, but we are waste management experts who can advise on how to dispose of vapes. The materials they’re made from, how they’re made, and what people and businesses do with them can have a significant environmental effect.
Correct vape disposal depends on various factors, including the type, brand, and whether it’s a consumer or business getting rid of an old one. Discover how and where to dispose of vapes safely and in an eco-friendly way with this guide.
Responsible vape disposal is important to protect the environment, reduce waste going to landfill, and avoid contamination risks. Check out these vape disposal facts for an idea of how much waste old vapes create:
There were some earlier developments but the first type of e-cigarette (or vape) on the market arrived in 2004, according to the National Library of Medicine. Since then, the vaping market has boomed and there are a few different types of vapes available:
Many brands are bringing out new vapes all the time and should include proper disposal instructions with their products. Generally, the best way to dispose of a vape depends on whether it’s a reusable or disposable vape.
The easiest way to dispose of a single reusable vape is to return it to one of the thousands of shops that accept old electricals for recycling. Many have a legal responsibility to take back very small WEEE, which includes vapes. They’ll ensure your old vape is recycled responsibly to save you time, effort, and money.
Retailers and distributors have a responsibility to take back ‘waste electrical and electronic equipment that is less than 25cm on their longest side’ – such as vapes. This only applies to stores where the electrical and electronic equipment sales area is greater than 400 square metres (including aisle, display, and shelf space).
The likes of Totally Wicked have introduced vape disposal bins in 150 of their stores across the UK. Customers can return any brand of vape bought from any retailer in these bins for free. They’re then stored responsibly before being taken away for recycling.
Another responsible way to dispose of a reusable vape is to dismantle it and recycle its parts separately.
Vape recycling is possible for reusable and refillable devices. The most sustainable option is to keep refilling and reusing the same vape where possible. However, if the vape becomes badly damaged, the battery completely dies, or you need to upgrade then recycling the vape is your next best option.
You can recycle vapes by dismantling them and separating their parts to recycle them alongside the same materials:
Disposable vapes are single-use, so once they’re empty they need to be disposed of responsibly. You should never throw away a disposable vape with your general waste. Any vapes in landfill can leach battery acid, nicotine, and chemicals from the plastic into the environment. Plus, the lithium-ion batteries pose a fire risk.
The safest and easiest way to dispose of a disposable vape is to put it in a vape disposal bin or return it to a retailer. Many electrical and electronic shops accept used disposable vapes and will ensure they’re recycled. You can also dispose of disposable vapes at most HWRCs with other WEEE items.
If you can easily remove the battery then you could separate it and take it to a local battery recycling point (found in many supermarkets). However, the way disposable vapes are made means it’s difficult to separate the battery and materials in many single-use vapes. Disposing of them through the proper channels is advised.
Businesses that sell vapes must legally provide an option for customers to dispose of them in line with the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) regulations. You must take back waste vapes in your store or have an alternative collection point in place. Learn more on the government website.
Signing up to a compliance scheme is a safe way to ensure this. Contact us at Business Waste for more information. Failure to comply could lead to a fine of up to £5,000. To ensure you’re compliant you must also:
Disposable vapes contain the same components and materials as reusable vapes. They often have a smaller tank and battery, a cheaper plastic exterior, and parts that aren’t normally removable. What’s in a disposable vape is a:
You can recycle disposable vapes. Place them in a vape disposal bin, return them to an electrical retailer, or recycle them with WEEE items at your local HWRC. They’ll be transported to a recycling facility where the vapes are dismantled and separated into their components.
These components are checked, sorted, cleaned, and recycled alongside the same materials. The only element of a vape that can’t be recycled is the cotton wick, as it will be heavily contaminated and may even be burnt. Learn more about how each part of a vape is recycled based on its material in our comprehensive guides:
There are three main places where you can dispose of disposable vapes responsibly:
Businesses must arrange commercial waste collection of any old vapes they produce. This could be through customer returns, staff getting rid of old vapes, or any other means. Removal by licensed waste carriers and recycling is vital and a legal requirement. The easiest way to do this is with WEEE bins and collections.
At Business Waste, we can provide free WEEE bins in a range of sizes to store old vapes safely on your premises. Then arrange collection on a schedule that suits you – either a one-off removal or regular collections. Licensed waste carriers remove your WEEE bins and ensure it’s recycled and disposed of responsibly.
Call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online for a free quote for WEEE collections anywhere in the UK.
Published 15th June 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 13th November 2025
Festival waste has been a big challenge for decades. Photos of abandoned tents, trampled food waste, empty beer cans and plastic bottles littering muddy fields follow each instance of Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds festivals, and Parklife every year. The amount of waste created isn’t the worrying thing though – it’s what happens to it.
A shocking 68% of waste ends up in landfill that’s produced at UK music festivals annually. Effective festival waste management could significantly reduce that and ensure as much as possible is recycled and reused. And it’s not just the big festivals, the likes of local beer festivals, summer fairs, and street carnivals all need strong waste management plans.
Understand how to overcome the challenges of festival waste whatever size, type, and length of festival you’re holding. Use the following top tips for successful, smooth, and stress-free festival waste management.
We’ve pulled together some important festival waste statistics to provide a good idea of how much waste festivals produce and the amount that’s disposed of improperly:
Avoid adding to these statistics by using the following tips to manage your festival waste effectively.
Putting together a festival waste management plan is essential before running any event. It means you can assess your festival, identify potential problem areas, and take a proactive approach to minimise waste-related risks. This vital document should cover everything you need to ensure smooth waste management.
A good place to start is to ask existing and successful festivals of a similar size, type, and location if you can see their waste management plan. You can use this as a blueprint and at the same time ask if they’ve got any advice or useful information about managing waste from their experiences.
Otherwise, you can create your festival waste management plan from scratch. Use information such as ticket sales, the maximum capacity, the number of vendors and staff, details of the site, and any data from previous events to inform your plan where possible.
Your festival waste management plan should cover:
Outline the types of waste you expect your festival will create to ensure the correct bins and containers are in place to separate them at the point of production. Identify those that are recyclable to help set up recycling stations across your festival. Depending on the expected volume you might use dry mixed recycling bins to combine recyclable rubbish.
Common types of festival waste you should provide individual bins for to separate and reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill include:
Having a range of recycling bins onsite is the first step to reducing your festival waste. These need clearly labelling with the specific recyclable rubbish they’re designed to hold. Use different coloured bins for each waste type to reduce the risk of cross-contamination and encourage segregation.
Place clear signs around the site directing towards recycling bins and add the recycling station to any site maps. For all vendors, you should also have a recycling policy in place outlining their responsibilities. Provide enough recycling bins for each vendor and stall so they also recycle as much as possible.
The best way to encourage recycling at a festival is to lead by example too. Serve drinks in recyclable or compostable plastic or paper cups, use recyclable or biodegradable cutlery and plates, and eliminate all single-use plastic. Requiring vendors to follow such guidelines can significantly increase recycling rates across your festival.
Make recycling and waste disposal as easy as possible for festival goers and vendors to manage rubbish effectively. Placing food waste, general waste, and mixed recycling bins close to food and drinks stalls makes sense, as it’s where plenty of rubbish is produced. Festivals with camping facilities should also ensure bins are near enough tents (but not too close!).
Any litter can easily be picked up by the wind and drift offsite, polluting local water, ground, and air – as well as affecting wildlife. The more bins you have, and the less work/walking required for people to dispose of rubbish, the reduced risk of waste negatively impacting the environment.
Also, consider access when choosing bin locations. They need to be placed somewhere that waste removal trucks can reach easily or with access to a clear path or road, so any wheelie bins can be moved down to the pickup point conveniently.
Unfortunately, there’ll always be some people who don’t use the right bins (or any bins at all!), no matter how hard you try to control consumer waste at your festival. This can result in empty plastic cups, food packaging, paper plates, and more being littered across the site.
Assemble a team dedicated to festival waste management to combat those rogue festivalgoers. Include litter pickers to reduce the amount of rubbish that could fly off the site and negatively impact the local environment. Also, have professionals overseeing the wider waste operations – ensuring bins don’t overflow, access routes are clear, and collections happen on time.
Most festivals either pay their dedicated waste management team or enlist the help of volunteers by providing free tickets. Have a rota to ensure staff aren’t overworked and have enough time to enjoy the festivities. The best option depends on the size, type, popularity, and budget for your festival.
Secure bins, bags, and containers are essential to prevent waste from blowing out in the wind, getting wet from the rain, or experiencing any other damage. You also need to store all festival waste in sensible locations before collection. Placing them under a canopy and on solid ground can reduce any adverse weather effects.
You’ll need to place wheelie bins onsite for festivalgoers to use. However, it could be safer and more cost-efficient to have larger bins backstage that these are emptied into regularly. This reduces the amount of waste attendees are exposed to, means you can arrange less frequent collections, and the bins are likely to be opened and exposed less often.
Common bins to secure festival waste securely include:
Ensure you book delivery of all bins, bags, and containers well in advance of your festival, so they can be placed on site in good time. Waste collections should be arranged with as little disruption to festival goers and vendors as possible. If you’re running a one-day event, it makes sense to do this the following day.
For multi-day festivals, you might need waste collection across the weekend. Arrange these at the quietest times when access routes should be clear. This avoids delaying the removal of your festival waste, reduces the risk of accidents, and empties bins before they become too full (which can be a health hazard and result in overweight charges).
Hopefully, you now have a better idea of how to manage your festival waste effectively. For further expert help and advice about festival waste management – and a free no obligation quote – speak to one of our team. Call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online today or find out more about event waste management.
Published 7th June 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 11th June 2025
Radioactive and nuclear waste are some of the most serious types of hazardous materials. Strict regulations and procedures must be followed when handling and disposing of such waste to protect human health and the environment from harm. These apply whether you’re disposing of used nuclear fuel or clothing contaminated with radioactive materials.
Generating nuclear power is the main process that creates radioactive waste, which must be stored, transported, and disposed of safely. Contaminated items also class as radioactive and nuclear waste. This means any organisation that works with nuclear and radioactive materials may produce such types of hazardous waste that require proper management.
Call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online today for a free quote for radioactive and nuclear waste removal. Get in touch with our expert team for further help and advice about nuclear and radioactive waste disposal anywhere in the UK.
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Radioactive and nuclear waste can be either solid or liquid waste. There are generally three different categories of radioactive and nuclear waste:
Businesses and organisations that produce nuclear waste should know the radioactivity levels and type to inform the proper storage and disposal procedure. This is essential to avoid exposing humans to radioactivity and causing pollution. Some of the main examples of radioactive and nuclear waste that fit into all three categories include:
Radioactive waste emits radioactive particles that pose a severe risk to human health and the environment when exposed. Nuclear waste also takes anywhere from a few hours to hundreds of thousands of years to break down, depending on the exact elements. For example, plutonium can remain radioactive for thousands of years.
These factors make the disposal of nuclear waste challenging. There are various disposal methods for radioactive and nuclear waste. The most appropriate disposal will depend on the type of nuclear waste and the facility, but each one is designed to prevent radioactive exposure to humans or the environment. A few common methods of radioactive waste disposal include:
The type of nuclear waste you produce will affect the safest and most efficient disposal method. We can advise on how your nuclear and radioactive waste will be disposed of – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online for expert help and advice.
It’s not just nuclear power plants that create radioactive and nuclear waste that needs removing and disposing of safely. Many other organisations produce various types and volumes of radioactive waste that must be stored, removed, and disposed of properly. Some places that may need radioactive waste disposal include:
Start by contacting us about the type and amount of radioactive and nuclear waste you need removed and disposed of – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online. We’ll need details about the type of radioactive waste you have, how much, where and what it’s stored in, where in the UK you are, and when you want it removed.
Based on this information (and any other details requested), we can provide a free no-obligation quote for the collection and removal of your nuclear waste. This includes the delivery of free containers to store the waste if required. If you’re happy with the quote then we can book a time and date for our experts to remove your nuclear waste.
We’ll arrange for the required vehicles and specialist equipment to come out to your premises, with all vehicles driven by licensed waste carriers. Proper procedures will be followed to remove and load the radioactive waste into the vehicle. Protective clothing will be worn, and steps taken to avoid the risk of exposure and contamination.
Once the nuclear waste is safely in the vehicle it will be transported to a nearby facility that manages nuclear and radioactive waste disposal. The process for disposing of nuclear waste will depend on the type and amount you’re getting rid of. Our team can advise on this, and you’ll receive a free duty of care certificate and relevant documentation.
The Radioactive Substances Act 1993 covers the legal measures required for the use and disposal of radioactive waste in the UK. This includes the registration, authorisation, enforcement, and offences. The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 replaced some of the act.
These regulations cover when permits are required for radioactive substance activities including storage and disposal of radioactive waste. The Environment Agency grants permits for any such activities. The UK government has also published radioactive substances regulation (RSR) guidance to help businesses understand the permitting and other requirements specific to RSR.
Find out more with the UK government’s nuclear waste services.
Specially engineered containers are normally used for safe storage and transportation of nuclear and radioactive waste. The best container depends on the type and volume of nuclear waste produced, including whether it’s solid or liquid. We can arrange delivery of radioactive and nuclear waste containers to your premises for safe and legal storage.
Steel barrels are often used to store LLW, while IBC containers can contain certain types of liquid radioactive waste. Speak to our expert team about the type of nuclear and radioactive waste you have for advice on the best containers for storage before disposal. Or find out more about some common containers we can provide:
Get a free no obligation quote for nuclear waste collection and disposal anywhere in the UK with Business Waste. Provide key details about the type and volume of nuclear waste you have, your current storage facilities, where you’re based, and when you need it removed. Our experts can advise on the next steps.
We can arrange delivery of special containers to store any type and amount of radioactive and nuclear waste. If your nuclear waste is already stored safely then we can help arrange removal and disposal. You’ll receive a free duty of care certificate and all relevant documentation confirming the safe and legal disposal of your nuclear waste.
Call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online for a free quote and any help and advice you need about radioactive and nuclear waste management and disposal.
What is nuclear waste?
Nuclear waste is any type of waste that has nuclear or radioactive elements and properties. It’s a type of hazardous waste containing highly poisonous chemicals such as plutonium and uranium. Often nuclear waste is a by-product of nuclear reactors, fuel processing plants, hospitals, and research facilities.
Nuclear and radioactive waste are essentially the same, as most nuclear waste is radioactive. The levels of radioactivity of nuclear waste vary, which affects how long it takes to break down and the best disposal method.
Can nuclear waste be recycled?
Some nuclear waste can be recycled. Used nuclear fuel can be recycled to form fresh fuel and by-products in some cases. The UK government is committed to recycling at least 50% of nuclear waste from decommissioning. However, nuclear waste recycling doesn’t happen in all countries as the process is expensive and dangerous.
What is the biggest problem with radioactive waste?
The biggest problem is that improper radioactive waste management poses a risk to human health and the environment. This is because radioactive waste is incredibly hazardous as it emits radioactive particles. These can harm human health, add to pollution, and contaminate other waste.
Radioactive contamination can spread quickly and pollute land, water, and air. If it spreads into ecosystems then humans, animals, and plants can experience health damage of varying degrees of severity. Cleaning up radioactive waste is an expensive and time-consuming task as well.
How much nuclear waste is stored in the UK?
In total, the UK currently has a reported volume of around 4,580,000m³ of radioactive waste stored. Of this about 94% is low and very low-level waste. Almost three-quarters of all nuclear waste is also currently stored at Sellafield in the UK. The volume and mass of nuclear waste are expected to increase in the UK.
Can you destroy nuclear waste?
Technically, there is currently no way to destroy nuclear waste. No known chemical or mechanical process can destroy its radioactive elements (radionuclides). However, radio-decay and nuclear transmutation can reduce the length of their radioactivity. As radioactive waste can take thousands of years to break down, methods of nuclear waste disposal don’t destroy it.
Instead, nuclear waste management is about ensuring such waste is handled and disposed of safely. This could involve speeding up its breakdown or simply ensuring it poses no harm to humans or the environment through its disposal method.
Get a fast FREE quote for radioactive waste removal
Published 16th May 2023 by Graham Matthews. Last modified 12th November 2025
