Café Waste Management
Cafes create waste every day, most of which is unavoidable. Food waste is the main culprit, including leftovers from customers and food prep waste. Hospitality and the food service industry account for around 12% of UK food waste, including contributions from cafes and coffee shops. This costs the sector almost £700 million every year.
There are more than 25,000 cafes and coffee shops across the UK, which all require waste collection services. At Business Waste we can arrange for licensed waste carriers to remove your café’s rubbish responsibly.
We provide free bins for cafes anywhere in the UK – you just cover the collection costs. All waste is kept away from landfill where possible too. Call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online for a free quote for waste collection and disposal from your café in the UK.
Get a fast and free quote
Get a fast FREE quote for your cafe waste collection
- Free quote within 1 hr
- Any type of cafe waste
- FREE bins and delivery
- We cover all of the UK
Types of café waste
Food waste is the most common type of café waste. This includes everything from leftovers to expired ingredients and spoiled foodstuffs. Preparation waste covers byproducts and inedible foods such as dropped and damaged items, while you might also need to get rid of cooking oil waste.
Cafes produce other common waste types that must be separated and stored in appropriate bins for recycling and responsible disposal. This includes plastic packaging from ingredients and drink bottles, empty glass jars and bottles, used aluminium drink cans, and general waste such as litter from customers and staff.
Discover more about some of the common types of café waste:
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Food waste
Plate waste, spoilage (items past their use by date), and food preparation waste
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Packaging waste
Plastic wrap for bulk-bought ingredients, cardboard delivery boxes, and plastic drink bottles
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Glass waste
Empty glass jars and bottles for ingredients and condiments, as well as any broken glassware
Café waste disposal
Responsible café waste disposal is vital to look after the environment and ensure your business operates sustainably. Using a range of bins to separate waste into streams of food waste, glass recycling, and plastic recycling helps reduce the amount sent to landfill. Put in place an effective waste management plan to reduce, reuse, and recycle your café waste where possible.
At Business Waste we have a zero landfill policy, which means we recycle, reuse, and recover café waste. This benefits the environment and helps your café save money on waste disposal costs as it reduces how much landfill tax your business pays. All glass, cardboard, and paper will be sent for recycling.
With non-recyclable rubbish from cafes such as food waste and general waste, we seek out sustainable solutions. This includes sending waste food from cafes for composting or anaerobic digestion. General waste may be incinerated and turned into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) – an alternative to fossil fuels often used in power plants.
Café bins
Using a variety of bins in your café helps separate waste into different streams and reduce the risk of contamination. This helps ensure as much waste as possible is recycled. At Business Waste we provide free bins for cafes across the UK. There are no rental or delivery fees, you just pay the collection costs.
Place food waste bins close to the point of production in your café’s kitchen, use general waste bins in the café for customers, and have glass recycling bins outside. Combine the best number, type, and size of bins with a collection schedule that’s efficient and cost-effective to avoid waste building up.
Café bin collections are available on a daily, weekly, or fortnightly basis to suit your needs. Discover some common bins for storing café waste:
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120 litre wheelie bins
This small two-wheel bin is suitable as a food waste bin or glass waste bin, as well as for recyclables and general waste.
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240 litre wheelie bins
These are the largest bins you can use for waste food or glass recycling from your café.
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660 litre wheelie bins
A four-wheel bin ideal for cafes that produce higher amounts of general waste or recyclables such as packaging and plastic.
Create a café waste
management plan
Cafes should try and reduce waste to help the environment and lower running costs. A waste management plan can improve the efficiencies of running a café and minimise waste creation. Follow these steps for a strong waste management plan for your café:
- Conduct a waste audit to identify most common waste types
- Decide on the best bins for your business needs
- Assess the best bin removal schedules for your café
- Decide who’s responsible for café waste management
- Work out ways to reduce waste
- Donate food waste to food banks or animal shelters
How does café waste
collection work?
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Select your free bins
It’s quick and easy to organise commercial waste collection for your business.
Simply start by telling us the:
- Type of waste you need removing
- Size of bins you require
- Number of bins you want
We’ll provide you with a free quote.
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Arrange delivery
When you’re happy with the type, number, and size of free bins, tell us when you need your bins delivering.
Let us know about any access issues where you want the bins delivering – such as locked gates, access codes and times. We’ll get you up and running in no time.
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Fill up your bin
After the free bins arrive at your chosen location, fill them up with the agreed waste type.
Make sure you remain within any weight limits for the specific waste type and bin size.
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Get your business waste collected
We’ll arrange waste collection at a time and frequency to suit you and the amount of waste you have.
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What happens to
café food waste?
When you arrange collection of food waste from your café anywhere in the UK we’ll organise for licensed waste carriers to remove your bins at an agreed time. They’ll transport your rubbish to a nearby waste management facility for processing and responsible disposal. You receive a free duty of care certificate confirming safe and legal waste disposal.
All food waste is disposed of away from landfill. Some food waste from cafes is taken to composting sites, where it decomposes to create a natural fertiliser on an industrial scale. Other waste food may go to an anaerobic digestion plant. Here it’s converted into energy and fertiliser.
How to run a
zero waste café
Running a completely zero waste café might be tricky but there are ways you can work towards it. As well as showing your eco-credentials it can lower your carbon impact and waste management costs. Use these ideas to move towards a zero waste café:
- Minimise disposables
- Buy goods in recyclable packaging and bulk buy to reduce packaging used
- Donate unused food and compost food leftovers
- Utilise reusable containers
- Store ingredients, food, and drinks under optimal conditions to avoid spoiling
- Improve portion sizes if there is regular excess
Read our reviews
After deciding to change our waste management provider & selecting to move to Business Waste Co Ltd, they have assisted us in every step of the process from providing the new bins quickly & sorting out collections to suit our service. Everybody involved has been extremely helpful but I would like to single out Paige Harris for particularly arranging the service to suit our particular circumstancesCheswicks Coffee Shop
Arrange café waste collection
Book waste collections from your café anywhere in the UK with Business Waste. We provide free bins of any size and type you need to store everything from food waste to glass and cardboard recycling securely. There are no rental fees or delivery charges, you just pay for collection.
Daily, weekly, and fortnightly waste collections are available to work around your schedule. Licensed waste carriers will remove your bins and dispose of your café’s rubbish responsibly, avoiding sending it to landfill where possible. You’ll receive a free duty of care certificate for added peace of mind.
Get a free quote for café waste collection with no obligation today. Call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online and speak to one of our friendly experts about all your café waste management needs. They can answer your questions and provide a fast solution for your café.
Get a fast and free quote
Get a fast FREE quote for cafe waste disposal
- Free quote within 1 hr
- Any type of cafe waste
- FREE bins and delivery
- We cover all of the UK