From the 31st March 2025, some important changes to UK recycling regulations are coming into force. The ‘Simpler Recycling’ legislation is a new waste management regulation that significantly changes how UK businesses handle their waste.
In this article, we explore what’s changing, who the new rules apply to, the impact this will have on businesses and how companies can lead the way in responsible waste reduction to build a more sustainable future. Let’s begin by first looking at who needs to follow the new regulations.
Who must comply with the new recycling regulations?
All non-household premises in England that have 10 or more employees will have to comply with the new waste management regulations by 31st March 2025. This includes:
- Businesses
- Schools, nurseries, colleges and universities
- Hospitals and other healthcare facilities
- Any organisation with more than 10 employees
Those with less than 10 employees have an extra two years to comply with the changes but must meet the new guidelines by 31st March 2027. At Crane Electronics Ltd, we’re committed to sustainability and have already taken several measures to reduce our waste, improve energy efficiency and comply with environmental laws.
What’s changing under the 2025 recycling regulation?
The UK government is moving towards a circular economy, where materials that would otherwise have been sent to landfills are recycled and reused. The new regulations place greater responsibility on UK businesses to manage their waste effectively and make greener decisions that will lead to a more sustainable future.
Here’s what’s changing:
- Mandatory waste separation: One of the changes will be that businesses must separate recyclable materials from general waste. They will be required to use commercial recycling services to manage the disposal of recyclable materials.
- Separate food waste: Any UK business that produces food waste will need to dispose of this in a separate bin and arrange for this to be collected on its own under the new rules. Food waste can no longer be mixed with general waste or recyclable materials, no matter the quantity of food waste produced.
- Core recyclable waste streams: Glass, metal, paper, plastic, card and food waste are considered core recyclable waste streams and, under the new regulations, must be disposed of on their own and not mixed. Businesses must partner with licensed waste carriers to ensure collections for each type of waste.
- Dry mixed recyclables (DMR): Paper and cardboard must be kept away from other DMR materials such as metal and plastic. Each waste stream will need its own bin to ensure they are compliant with the new recycling regulations.
What does this mean for UK businesses?
These stricter rules on how businesses manage recycling will mean they must take waste management more seriously. For some businesses, like Crane Electronics Ltd, many of these practices are already embedded in our daily practices, but others will need to:
- Assess their current waste management practices to identify gaps in compliance.
- Form partnerships with licensed waste carriers.
- Devise and implement practices for separating waste at the source and educating employees on the new rules.
- Review waste storage and coordinate collections to make sure there’s enough space to store the extra bins and that they are collected more efficiently.
Why are the new regulations being brought in?
There are several reasons for the UK government bringing in these new Simpler Recycling regulations. They include:
- Improve recycling rates across England
- Decrease the amount of waste sent to landfills unnecessarily
- Reduce methane emissions
- Drive sustainability goals
- Push towards a circular economy
- Make recycling practices more standardised across UK businesses
Our approach to sustainable waste management
At Crane Electronics Ltd., we take our responsibility for the environment seriously. It’s at the core of our daily practices to ensure we make smarter, greener choices each day that can prevent a significant impact on the planet in the future.
Our dedication to creating positive change to ensure a greener tomorrow for future generations includes:
- Recognised as an ISO 14000 company: This shows our commitment to being more environmentally conscious in everything we do.
- Carbon Neutral Waste certified: In July 2024, we received the Carbon Neutral Waste Certification from Envirovue, after confirming calculations of our residual emissions in accordance with ISO 14064 protocol, to offset them via gold standard verified projects.
- Producing our own energy: Since 2023, our solar panels have been generating free and green energy to power our operations and lower our demand on the grid.
- Crane is carbon-concious: Our carbon footprint and the ways we can reduce it are a priority for us. Some of the changes we’ve made include installing LED lighting in our UK office, reducing plastic in our packaging and going electric with our commercial van.
- Litter segregation: We currently segregate our rubbish with bins for paper and cardboard, mixed recycling and all other litter. Looking to the future, we will put plans in place to further segregate our rubbish, in line with the latest regulations changes.
- Planting a tree for every product sold: As of October 2024, we’ve planted over 3,500 trees so far and will continue to plant more in 2025 and beyond.
Work with businesses that care about our environment
If sustainability is important to your business and you’re looking for a torque measurement partner who shares your goals for a greener future, then please get in touch to see how we can work together to build a better tomorrow.