New industry guidance for food waste collections

In the last few weeks, new guidance has been published that is designed for companies collecting food waste from businesses. The aim is to help them save money, manage compliance risk and provide their customers with a better service.

The aim is to help them save money, manage compliance risk and provide their customers with a better service.

The guidance has been put together by the Quality Action Plan (QAP) for Compost and Digestate, a cross-industry group which includes REA's Organics Recycling Group, and outlines the importance of having “clean” food waste (e.g. not contaminated with non-food waste material) for both the collection company and food waste producer. Cleaner food waste is cheaper to process and has less impact on the environment. The lower the costs for processing the waste, the cheaper the service can be provided.

It is also important to note that the guidance highlights the legal obligations food waste producers and collection companies have to minimise risk of contamination. It is illegal to dispose of food waste in a way that is likely to cause pollution or harm human health as set out in the Waste Duty of Care Code of Practice.

What this means for our customers

We want to encourage all customers delivering food waste to be aware of the importance of delivering clean waste. If you would like more information or would like to enquire about the types of waste that we can accept then please give our team a call on 01225 524 560.

If you want to find out more about the guidance please follow this link to the Organics Recycling Group.