Recycling regulation coming in under forecourt operators’ radar, warns ACS

Forecourt retailers are being warned they risk being unprepared for major new waste recycling regulations taking effect in England in March.

The rules – which will require businesses with 10 or more employees to split dry mixed recyclables and food waste from general waste before collection – are “coming under the radar” of many operations that will be most affected, Association of Convenience Stores communications director Chris Noice told an APEA Live event in Milton Keynes on November 14.

Although the regulations, or statutory instruments, have yet to be laid down, the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs says the Simpler Recycling initiative – introduced under the 2021 Environment Act – will standardise the collection of recyclable waste to reduce amounts reaching landfill. The definition of dry mixed recyclable waste includes glass bottles and jars, metal food and drink cans, plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, paper, and cardboard.

Businesses with fewer than 10 full-time employees will have until March 31 2027 to make the changes.

The rules will be “a massive hassle”, warns Noice, particularly as forecourts have so many bins both inside their shops and on their forecourts, and very little control over where their customers dispose of their waste.

“It is kind of coming in under the radar, particularly for forecourts who have quite a few bins on premises and those bins are being used of mixed kinds of waste,” he says.

“It is just a massive hassle and if you are not prepared for it when it comes in at the end of March, it is going to be a bit of a shock.

“Most have bins at every pump and if food waste is put in the general waste bin you will have to separate it or pay extra for the waste collector to do that.”

He says that the changes have proved potentially problematic for retailers in Wales where similar regulations have been in place since April, leading to some forecourt operators removing bins altogether.

The key will be preparation, according to Leafield Environmental, which exhibited at APEA Live with its new multi-compartment internal and external bins.

“A good place to start it says is to carry out a waste audit, and to ensure that there is clear signage for each waste type so that customers and employees use the correct bins,” says business development manager Melanie Murphy.