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Food waste at work in England

Last reviewed 25 October 2026

When a workplace in England produces food waste, that waste is collected separately from paper, from other dry recycling, and from general waste. Preparation scraps, leftovers, tea bags and coffee grounds are food waste. The duty applies on the England date for your staff total. Other UK nations set their own food-waste thresholds.

Four England streams: food waste, paper and card, plastic metal and glass together, and general waste.
Paper and card stay separate unless a written assessment is on file.

What counts, and what stays out

Food waste is the food the workplace throws away, including kitchen prep and plate waste. It is kept in its own container and collected as food waste. It does not go into a paper bin, a bottle bin, or the general waste once the duty applies. Liquids poured away, and waste that is not food, are not this stream.

If the site does not produce food waste, record that. The food stream then does not apply. A staff room that sometimes has a few crumbs is a judgement you write down. A café kitchen is food waste. There is no SortProof rule that sets a maximum number of days you may store the food, and no rule that sets a legal number of collections a week. The schedule you agree with the collector is an arrangement. It is not, by itself, proof of each collection.

How the other nations differ

Wales separates food waste when the premises produce 5kg or more in any seven consecutive days, and bans food waste to sewer. Scotland’s food duty is for food businesses at 5kg or more a week, with a rural exemption and an exemption under 5kg. Northern Ireland’s food duty is for food businesses at 5kg or more a week, and food waste must not go to a drain or sewer.

Use the nation guide for a site outside England. The free check will not apply those thresholds for you.

In short

  1. Decide whether the site produces food waste and write that down.
  2. If it does, keep food waste out of dry recycling and general waste.
  3. Arrange a food collection and file the contract or the landlord’s confirmation.
  4. Add a collection record when a collection happens. The weekly plan alone is not that record.
  5. For a site outside England, open the Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland guide.

Questions

Are coffee grounds food waste?

Yes. Grounds, tea bags, leftovers and preparation scraps are food waste and stay in the food collection.

How many collections a week are required?

The England guidance SortProof follows does not set a legal number of lifts. Agree a frequency with the collector. A schedule is not proof that a lift happened.

Does a macerator meet the duty?

Putting food waste into a sewer is banned for workplaces in Wales and for non-household food waste in Northern Ireland. In England, food waste still needs a separate collection when the duty applies. A macerator is not that collection.

Related guides

SortProof stores the record you enter. It is guidance, not a certificate, and it is not issued by Defra or the Environment Agency.

Official sources