Everything You Need to Know About the DEFRA Waste Legislation Changes

Confused about the new recycling laws? As of March 31st everything is changing for businesses, here's what you need to know.

DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs) has just confirmed a new Simpler Recycling initiative for England, which aims to make recycling easier for businesses and households across the country.

New planned legislation will affect businesses, schools, hospitals and all houses nationwide. The aim is to standardise waste collection across England and eliminate regional disparities to increase recycling rates. The government aims to ensure that all households will receive four designated bins for a tiered system of recycling.

Currently, there are varied regional recycling systems across the county and the aim is to have one collection system in place. There will also be new changes for businesses and non-domestic premises to comply with. Read on to find out more about what is changing, how it's going to happen and what you can do to stay organised and manage your recycling waste.

• How is Recycling Going to Change in 2025 and Beyond?

Under current plans, households across the country will gradually receive a new set of bins by 2026. But for businesses, there are more changes, with DEFRA mandating that by 31 March 2025, they must arrange for the separate collection of core recycling materials which fall into four categories:

• Residual - non-recyclable waste
• Food waste - mixed with garden waste if appropriate
• Paper and cardboard
• All other dry recyclables - plastics, metal and glass

This will apply to all businesses in England with more than 10 full time employees, but organisations smaller than this will have an extended deadline of 31st March 2027 to comply with new regulations.

• Why Are These Changes Happening?

Currently household and business recycling is different across the country with councils mandating their own schemes. The current government aims to simplify recycling by having a broad set of legislation in place put together by DEFRA, with the long term strategy of transitioning to a zero-waste economy.

Although challenging to implement first of all, the hope is that by standardizing recycling across the country this will increase rates, reduce carbon emissions, promote the use of recycled materials in products and contribute towards a broader plan of environmental sustainability.

• How We Can Help: Introducing Our Durable DURABIN ECO Recycling Bins

Scratching your head wondering how to organise your waste and not knowing where to start? That is where Durable comes in. Made from recycled plastic, our DURABIN® 60L waste bins come in a variety of different coloured lids to help you organise your waste in the workplace.

Available in white, red, yellow, green, blue and grey - these can help you organise your waste effortlessly. You can even combine your different bins with DURAFRAME® for easy labelling and to help staff get to grips with sorting their waste.

It['s worth investing in a range of new bins to help your workplace or business get to grips with the Simpler Recycling Scheme ahead of time, as non-compliance with new regulations may lead to fines and penalties.

Explore our complete range of Durable Products from bins to drawer sets and filing solutions, you're bound to find all the office supplies you ever need for the workplace from Durable, the international workplace expert with German roots.