Hotel Waste Management, Collection & Disposal
Hotels produce tonnes of waste every day due to having a range of facilities, cleaning and replacing almost everything for new guests. These varied streams include food waste, glass, oil, cardboard, linen, sanitary waste and WEEE.
From a countryside B&B to an inner-city hostel or boutique hotel, any site that employs 10 or more full-time staff must comply with Simpler Recycling legislation. With the right environmental waste management system in place, you can reuse, reduce, and recycle as much of your hotel waste as possible.
Business Waste provides commercial hotel waste management, collection and disposal services across the UK. We’ll provide free bins, flexible collections and Duty of Care documentation for your site.
Bins collected in the last 7 days
Get a free quote
Get a fast FREE quote for your hotel waste removal
- Free quote within 1 hour
- Any type of hotel waste
- FREE bins and delivery
- We cover all of the UK
Hotel waste disposal
Simpler Recycling for Hotels
As of the 31st of March, 2025, if your business has 10 or more full-time staff, you must arrange separate collection of a number of waste streams. The streams that must be separated are:
- Food waste: set up dedicated food waste bins in kitchens, bar areas and any other place where food waste may be produced
- Glass waste: glass bins are likely to be needed in the bar and kitchen areas
- Paper and cardboard: offices and delivery areas are likely to produce large volumes of this stream
- Mixed recyclables: ensure these streams are separated from general waste throughout your hotel
The exact methods of hotel waste disposal depend on the type of waste being removed from your business. Hotel waste recycling is the best disposal method to limit your organisation’s environmental impact and avoid lots of waste going to landfill. Increasingly, the hotel industry is paving the way for an eco-friendlier stance on waste management.
Any paper, cardboard, glass, and hotel plastic waste can and should be recycled. The methods vary but often these waste types are cleaned, treated, broken down, and turned into reconstituted materials of the same kind for reuse. For successful hotel waste recycling you need to store waste types in separate bins.
Even non-recyclable hotel waste can be put to good use. Effective hotel food waste management involves it going to a facility for anaerobic digestion rather than landfill. This process converts your hotel food waste into biogas to generate renewable energy, and biofertiliser. General waste can also be incinerated and turned into refuse derived fuel.
Due to the laws on collecting commercial waste, an approved provider must collect and dispose of your waste in accordance with the relevant regulations. As accredited waste management providers, we can offer your business a comprehensive hotel waste disposal system. Disposing and recycling hotel waste correctly helps the environment, saves your hotel time, money, and resources.
Types of waste produced in hotels
Hotels produce a wide range of waste. Each stream needs dedicated containers and may require specialist collection.
-
Food waste
Often the largest stream that hotels produce. Kitchen prep, plate waste, and breakfast service waste are all produced every day. Under Simpler Recycling rules, food waste needs to be separated and stored correctly before collection.,
-
Glass waste
Bar and restaurant glass bottles, wine bottles, spirits, kitchen jars and broken glass all fall into this category. Once more, Simpler Recycling requires that glass waste is stored separately.
-
Oil waste
Used fryer oil, kitchen cooking oil, and grease trap waste require specialist collection by a licensed waste carrier.
-
Cardboard waste
Hotel supplies are often delivered in cardboard boxes, which can stack up. If your hotel produces large volumes, an on-site cardboard baler may be a viable option.
-
Sanitary waste
Waste from bathrooms, spa, and gym facilities may need specialist containers and sanitary waste disposal.
-
WEEE waste
Hotels are often kitted out TVs, kitchen appliances and IT equipment. When these break or are replaced, specialist WEEE disposal is required.
Hotel waste bins
Our professional waste management services offer your organisation a personally tailored hotel waste management plan to address the needs of your business fully. We can provide a range of different hotel bins for free. Each one is suitable for the types of waste hotels produce, with frequent collection services available to maximise space.
Every hotel bathroom should have a sanitary waste bin in place, while it’s likely you’ll provide guests with at least one small hotel bin in each room for general waste. However, you’ll also need larger hotel waste bins to store collated rubbish and to separate different waste streams for recycling and disposal.
-
240L wheelie bin
Capable of holding purely food waste or glass recycling, but also usable for general waste and other recycling types.
-
1100L wheelie bin
The largest four-wheel bin available ideal for storing high volumes of general waste or recycling.
-
Front end loaders
A huge static bin that can hold up to 80 bags of waste including general waste and recyclable rubbish.
-
Balers & Compactors
Larger hotels, venues, and multi-site operators may also benefit from compactors or balers for bulky cardboard, packaging, and high-volume general waste.
Hotel waste collection
At Business Waste, we can provide hotel waste collections for all types of rubbish you produce. Our nationwide network means we can easily find a solution for your organisation anywhere in the UK, whether you run a B&B on the coast or a hotel in a city centre.
Hotel waste volumes can change quickly between peak season, quiet periods, events, and group bookings. Fixed collections may leave bins overflowing during busy weeks or mean you pay for unused capacity when occupancy is lower.
Business Waste Ltd can help arrange flexible hotel waste collections that fit your occupancy, food service, housekeeping, and guest turnover. You can increase or reduce bin numbers and collection frequency as your waste needs change.
Schedule hotel waste collections on a daily, weekly, or fortnightly basis to suit the amount of rubbish you generate. We understand the need for flexibility for waste management in the hotel industry due to seasonality, so offer adaptable collections. Increase or decrease the types and number of bins you need with ease.
Get a free quote for hotel waste collection with Business Waste or have any questions you may have answered by our friendly and expert team. They can assess your needs and provide the best solution. Call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online today for a fast response.
Read Our Customer Reviews
Efficient communication
We have worked alongside Business Waste for quite a few months now, and their efficiency with communication and resolving queries is great. Allie especially is a pleasure to liaise with. Great company from a B2B perspective
Flo Bolton-Smith
The real definition of service
The service received was simply outstanding. Business Waste gave good advice and a demonstration of a willingness to help and get me a solution.
Gregory Harrand
Great company
Great company to deal with, special thanks to Danielle who is always on the ball and sort any issues out instantly with proactive involvement with follow up phone calls and emails. I would recommend her to be the next PM to get things done, oh and as a company to deal with all the waste needs for your business.
Top Deals Online
Excellent service set up process
I was impressed by the speed of setting up the service. I made a single phone call to Business Waste and all the necessary paperwork was done efficiently.
Yahya Saeed
Hotel waste management plans
A hotel waste management plan helps you control waste across bedrooms, kitchens, bars, restaurants, housekeeping, maintenance areas, and outdoor spaces.
Your plan should set out the waste streams your hotel produces, the bins needed for each area, estimated volumes, collection frequencies, storage points, segregation procedures, and duty of care paperwork. Business Waste Ltd can help create a setup that keeps waste organised, reduces contamination, and supports reliable collections across your site.
How does hotel
waste collection work?
-
Select your free bins
-
Arrange delivery
-
Fill up your bin
-
Get your business waste collected
As featured in…
What is hotel waste?
Hotel waste comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes due to the different facilities and services each one offers. From food waste generated in hotel kitchens to bathroom waste and more, as such a huge industry it means hotel waste is large and extremely varied. The good news is that lots of hotel waste can be recycled with proper management.
Hotel waste is produced across bedrooms, kitchens, restaurants, bars, housekeeping teams, maintenance areas, offices, gardens, and guest facilities. This means most hotels need more than one bin type and collection schedule.
Some of the main types of waste in the hotel industry and examples include:
- Food waste – leftover meals and preparation waste from hotel restaurants.
- General waste – non-recyclables, food scraps, and more from hotel room bins.
- Glass waste – drinks bottles, jars, any broken glass shards.
- Packaging waste – from cleaning products and food packaging.
- Textile waste – bedding, towels, and toiletry waste unusable for guests or cleaning.
- WEEE waste – broken electrical equipment from bedrooms.
- Plastic waste – hotel plastic waste includes bathroom toiletries and drinks bottles.
- Cardboard recycling – used packaging and cardboard boxes.
- Paper recycling – brochures, pamphlets, non-confidential documents.
- Garden waste – any leaves, branches, cuttings from a hotel garden.
Read our reviews
We need to get rid of everything from leftover food to sanitary waste, glass recycling, and general waste on a regular basisGreg Harrand
Hedley House Hotel
Running a busy hotel in the centre of York means at Hedley House we create lots of different types of waste. While we try to operate an eco-friendly hotel and reduce the amount of rubbish we produce, plenty of waste is simply unavoidable. With 26 ensuite rooms, an onsite restaurant, spa and yoga studio, we need to get rid of everything from leftover food to sanitary waste, glass recycling, and general waste on a regular basis.
As Hedley House is a renovated large Victorian terrace in a central location, we’re also limited for space when it comes to keeping our waste onsite before collection. This means we need to store it safely, compactly, and get it removed from our premises quickly and often – especially to maintain our high hygiene standards when it comes to dealing with the likes of food waste.
Using Business Waste’s services has enabled us to create a collection schedule that works for us, with the flexibility to adapt based on the seasons. From emptying general waste bins in guests’ bedrooms to ensuring cleaning products are safely disposed of, everything’s always collected on time and recycled wherever possible. This helps our daily operations run smoothly and ensure we move further towards our goals to be an eco-friendly hotel.
Hotel waste FAQs
-
Why are hotels bad for the environment?
Hotels can be bad for the environment as they use lots of energy to power the heating, lighting, and other electrical equipment they need to operate. Generating such electricity often involves burning fuel that emits carbon emissions, greenhouse gases, and air pollutants. Hotels also produce huge amounts of waste that can end up in landfill, contributing to pollution.
However, many hotels are becoming more eco-conscious and taking steps to reduce their negative environmental impact. This includes reusing and recycling waste, using energy from renewable sources, and installing LEDs and more eco-friendly lights.
-
What are some hotel waste statistics?
Hotels produce around 289,700 tonnes of waste annually in the UK. This includes 79,000 tonnes of hotel food waste, which makes up nearly 10% of all commercial food waste. On an individual basis the average hotel guest generates around one kilogram of waste per night – some of which should be recyclable.
-
How do hotels control food waste?
There are various steps hotels can take to try and control food waste:
- Provide smaller buffet plates or portions to discourage over-ordering.
- Avoid over-ordering ingredients and food products.
- Reuse as much leftover food and ingredients where possible.
- Donate any edible food waste to local charities.
- Develop dishes and menus that have longer lifespans.
-
How much food do hotels waste?
Sadly, in the UK around 79,000 tonnes of hotel food waste is produced every year. Detailed research has found that 0.046 kg is wasted per plate in some hotels, which equates to 5.8% of its weight. Lots of hotel food waste will unfortunately end up in landfill, but with proper disposal it can go for anaerobic digestion and have a more positive environmental impact.
-
What is waste in housekeeping?
Housekeeping is an important part of running any hotel. Due to actions of both guests and staff, this can generate all sorts of waste, some of which is avoidable. Common waste in housekeeping can include:
- Towels, bathmats, and flannels
- Blankets, pillows, and bedding
- Used soap and toiletries
- Greywater and chemical waste
- Used cleaning products and plastic bottles
-
Are hotels legally required to separate food waste?
Yes. Under the current Simpler Recycling regulations, if your hotel has 10 or more full-time staff you must separate food waste from general waste and other streams.
Dedicated food waste bins with lids should be used. Collections should be organised with an EA-registered carrier.
Get a fast and free quote
Get a fast FREE quote for hotel waste collections
- Free quote within 1 hr
- Any type of hotel waste
- FREE bins and delivery
- We cover all of the UK
Published 12th April 2022 by Mark Hall. Last modified 9th July 2026