In recent years, organisations have been saddled with an ever-increasing burden of legislation relating to waste and recycling – at the last count we had identified 76 pieces of legislation applicable either to the UK as a whole or within individual countries. Not to mention the 15 EU directives which drive much of this!

Keeping up with new and amended legislation isn’t easy and the documentation available online often leans towards technical detail rather than practical advice. I have lost count of the number of clients who have told me that they just can’t keep track of it all!

For organisations with a national scope, matters are further complicated by different regimes in force across the UK. For example, Scotland leads the way in relation to food waste recycling by requiring all businesses to segregate food from other wastes for separate collection. Initially the threshold was 50kg per week, but from 1st January 2016 this was reduced to 5kg, bringing many more businesses into scope.

Across the UK, an increasing impact is also being felt from the Materials Recycling Facility Code of Practice. This governs facilities which sort mixed materials (e.g., card, paper, plastics, metal, glass) into separate sections for recycling and limits the amount of contaminants they are allowed to reject. Although this took effect in October 2014, it was a while before the impact was felt by waste producers. We are now seeing suppliers strictly limit the types of materials that can be disposed of in “Mixed Recycling” containers and enforce much tighter contamination rules.

With it has come higher pricing too. Landfill tax increased on 1st April by £1.80 per tonne and in previous years the landfill tax escalator had usually led to a greater increase for General Waste services compared with Mixed Recycling. However, this year the situation is reversed and suppliers have been seeking increases of up to 9% on Mixed Recycling collections.

On a more positive note, and in a rare reversal of the trend towards greater waste regulation, the rules relating to how businesses handle their hazardous wastes have been relaxed since 1st April. Up until now, any organisation generating more than 500kg of hazardous waste per annum in England needed to register with (and pay a fee to) the Environment Agency. As part of the Government’s drive to reduce red tape, this requirement has been removed.

Mind you, regulations for hazardous waste still differ in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.