Workplace recycling in Wales

Last reviewed 25 October 2026

From 6 April 2024, occupiers of workplaces in Wales present named recyclable materials separately for collection. This includes businesses, the public sector and the third sector. The Welsh Government code of practice explains how. SortProof’s free check uses the England rules, so use this guide and the Welsh pages for a site in Wales.

Wales streams: paper and card, glass, metal plastic and cartons, food waste, small electricals, and unsold textiles. — Wales asks for these streams to be presented separately.

The streams to present separately

Present paper and card on its own, glass on its own, and metal, plastic and cartons together as one stream. Present food waste separately when the premises produce 5kg or more in any seven consecutive days. Present unsold textiles separately. The Welsh code of practice says small waste electrical equipment is its own stream. Until 5 April 2026 that electrical duty covered unsold items. From 6 April 2026 the code describes small waste electrical equipment more widely.

These are household-like materials, the sorts of materials collected from homes. Hazardous waste stays out of these streams. The same code says hospitals had a two-year exemption that ended on 6 April 2026, so hospitals are now in scope. Read the code before you apply that to a particular hospital waste.

Bans, bins and who must act

The Welsh Government also describes bans that sit beside the separation duty: food waste must not be sent to sewer, separately collected recyclable streams must not go to incineration or landfill, and wood waste must not go to landfill. An in-sink macerator must not be used to send food waste into the sewer.

The occupier of the premises presents the waste separately. In a parade or a shared building, that is often each unit, even when one contract covers the site. Collectors must keep the streams separate after collection. Keep the waste transfer note and check that it describes the separated materials. Natural Resources Wales and the Welsh Government pages are the official source, not an England checklist.

In short

Confirm the premises are in Wales and are not a home or a caravan.
Separate paper and card, glass, and metal with plastic and cartons.
If the premises produce 5kg or more of food waste in any seven days, present that food waste separately.
Keep unsold textiles, and small electrical equipment, in the streams the Welsh code describes.
File the transfer note and the collector’s confirmation. Do not rely on an England full-time-equivalent date.

Questions

Does the England 10-staff date apply in Wales?

No. Wales has required these separate workplace collections since 6 April 2024. The staff figure used in England does not set the Welsh duty.

Can paper and card share a bin with bottles?

No. In Wales, paper and card are their own stream. Glass is its own stream. Metal, plastic and cartons may be presented together.

We produce only a little food waste. What then?

The food-waste separation duty applies when the premises produce 5kg or more in any seven consecutive days. If you are under that, keep checking, because a busier week can cross it. Food waste of any amount must not go to sewer.

Related guides

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