GuidesNorthern Ireland
Business waste in Northern Ireland
Last reviewed 25 October 2026
Northern Ireland requires food businesses that produce 5kg or more of food waste a week to take reasonable steps to have that food waste collected separately. Food waste must not be put into a drain or sewer. Every workplace also has a duty of care for its waste. This is not the England stream list. The SortProof check uses the England rules.
The food-waste duty
From 1 April 2016, a person who controls a food business must take reasonable steps to secure the separate collection of the food waste that business produces. The duty does not apply when the food business produces less than 5kg of food waste a week. Food waste here means controlled waste that was food for human consumption, including waste from preparing food. It does not include drink.
The law treats the duty as met in two published cases: the food waste is recovered on the premises, or it is mixed with other bio-waste and still collected so that the amount of food waste is not substantially less than if it had been kept separate. Read the Food Waste Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 and the DAERA guide before you rely on either case. DAERA’s short guide “Food waste - are you compliant?” is written for businesses.
Drains, carriers and other recycling
From 1 April 2017, a person who produces food waste, other than a householder dealing with their own household waste, must not deposit that food waste in a drain or sewer. That ban is wider than the 5kg separation duty. A macerator that sends food waste to the sewer does not meet it.
Every workplace still has a duty of care: keep waste secure, describe it, and give it only to an authorised person. Keep the transfer note. Northern Ireland has not published an England-style list that forces paper, glass and plastic into named workplace bins. Separate those materials where your collector and council provide a service, and do not describe that local service as if it were the England regulation. Ask DAERA or your council if you are unsure which materials they collect.
In short
- Decide whether you are a food business and whether a typical week is 5kg of food waste or more.
- At 5kg or more, arrange a separate food-waste collection and keep the confirmation.
- Do not put food waste into a drain or sewer.
- Use an authorised carrier for all waste and keep the transfer note.
- For paper, card, glass, metal and plastic, use the service your collector offers and keep their list of what they take.
Questions
Does Simpler Recycling apply in Northern Ireland?
The England Simpler Recycling dates and stream list are for workplaces in England. Northern Ireland’s published business duty that this guide covers is the food-waste duty, plus the duty of care.
We produce less than 5kg of food waste a week. Can it go down the sink?
No. The separation duty has a 5kg threshold. The ban on putting food waste into a drain or sewer does not use that threshold.
Where is the official guide?
DAERA publishes “Food waste - are you compliant?” and a food-waste page. The regulations are the Food Waste Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015.
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.