Care Home Waste Management
Care homes generate a high volume of waste every day. This includes food waste, general waste, recycling, clinical waste, PPE, packaging, sharps and hygiene products. With tight budgets, growing environmental expectations and strict regulations, reducing waste is one of the simplest ways to lower costs and maintain high standards.
Small improvements in staff training, separation, purchasing habits and storage can reduce the volume of waste you produce. This helps lower collection costs, maintain a safer environment for residents and staff, and support your sustainability goals.
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Why reducing care home matters
Reducing waste helps care homes:
- Lower collection and disposal costs
- Reduce contamination and overweight charges
- Improve hygiene, safety and infection control
- Support environmental and sustainability commitments
- Reduce food waste and unused stock
- Improve operational efficiency across teams
Waste rules vary across the UK. Always check any local guidance that applies in your area of England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Ways to reduce waste
in care homes
- Reduce food waste
Food waste is one of the largest waste streams in care homes. Overproduction, expired stock and uneaten meals all contribute to high disposal costs.
Practical ways to reduce food waste:
- Plan menus based on resident preferences and dietary needs
- Track plate waste to understand patterns
- Review portion sizes
- Rotate stock to avoid expired ingredients
- Store food correctly to extend shelf life
- Use leftovers safely where permitted
- Train kitchen staff on waste reduction processes
Compliance note: All food handling and donation activities must comply with relevant food safety and hygiene regulations.
- Reduce clinical and hygiene waste
Clinical waste includes dressings, swabs, PPE, sharps and hygiene products. Over-classification is common and drives up disposal costs.
How to reduce clinical waste:
- Train staff on correct segregation
- Use colour-coded containers
- Only place clinical items in clinical waste containers
- Introduce reusable PPE where safe and appropriate
- Store sharps in dedicated, sealed containers
- Review usage of single-use items
Compliance note: Always follow national NHS clinical waste guidance and local authority requirements for storage, handling and disposal.
- Improve recycling and reduce general waste
Many care homes miss recycling opportunities because bins are unclear or staff are unsure about what goes where.
Steps to reduce general waste:
- Provide clearly labelled recycling bins in staff areas
- Place general waste only where unavoidable
- Keep waste areas sheltered and clean
- Train staff during induction and refresh seasonally
- Review waste volumes regularly to identify issues
- Reduce the usage of disposable items such as cups or cutlery
- Reduce packaging and consumable waste
Care homes order large volumes of toiletries, cleaning products, PPE and supplies. Reducing packaging helps cut general waste and recycling costs.
Ways to reduce packaging waste:
- Buy in bulk where appropriate
- Switch to refillable dispensers for soap, shampoo and cleaning products
- Choose suppliers with take-back schemes
- Consolidate orders to reduce unnecessary packaging
- Use delivery crates instead of single-use plastics where possible
- Reduce WEEE and electronic waste
Electronic waste is common in care homes due to medical equipment, office devices and resident electronics.
Ways to reduce WEEE:
- Repair equipment before replacing
- Choose devices with replaceable components
- Store electronics safely indoors
- Utilise manufacturer or retailer take-back schemes
- Collect batteries separately in sealed containers
- Reduce textile and linen waste
Care homes produce large amounts of textile waste through bedding, towels, uniforms and resident clothing.
How to reduce textile waste:
- Rotate linen efficiently to avoid unnecessary disposal
- Repair or repurpose items where safe
- Choose durable materials with a longer lifespan
- Donate suitable textiles for reuse where permitted
- Train staff to separate contaminated textiles correctly
Compliance note: Contaminated textiles must be handled in line with infection prevention and control guidance.
- Reduce pharmaceutical waste
Expired or unused medication must be stored and disposed of correctly to avoid environmental and compliance risks.
Ways to reduce pharmaceutical waste:
- Improve stock rotation
- Review prescribing patterns with healthcare teams
- Store medicines securely and monitor expiry dates
- Keep waste medicines in sealed, labelled containers
Compliance note: Always follow national medicines management regulations and return unused medication through approved channels.
A final compliance reminder
The guidance on this page is practical advice to help care homes reduce waste and improve efficiency. Waste rules vary across the UK, especially for clinical waste, hazardous waste and pharmaceutical disposal. Always check national and local legislation to ensure your care home remains fully compliant.
Read more waste reduction guides
Care homes produce an abundance of waste, all of which require different disposal methods, but they’re not the only workplaces that do so. Explore more ways to reduce waste across other sectors and for specific materials in our detailed guides.
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How to reduce retail waste
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How to reduce hotel waste
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How to reduce home waste
Get a fast and free quote
Get a fast FREE quote for your care home waste collection
- Free quote within 1 hr
- Any type of waste
- FREE bins and delivery
- We cover all of the UK
Published 23rd December 2025 by Mitch Thorne.