New Waste Regulations
for Schools
The Environment Act 2021 requires all schools in England to ensure
that measures for recycling waste are in place by 1st April 2025.
Sustainable
The 2025 recycling legislation marks a crucial advancement towards a more sustainable future
Responsible
Encourages and educates students and staff to be eco-conscious by promoting ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle
Simple Recycling
Creating a cleaner and healthier school environment starts with implementing effective recycling practices
Greener Future
Be a part of the solution, not part of the pollution.
The Environment Act 2021 requires all schools in England to ensure that measures for recycling waste are in place by 1st April 2025.
This Includes:
• Food waste
• Glass (bottles, jars)
• Metal (aluminium and steel tins, cans, foil)
• Plastic (bottles, tubs, trays, containers)
• Paper (envelopes, magazines, copier paper, shredded paper)
• Cardboard (cardboard boxes, corrugated cardboard)
Schools should already be segregating recyclable materials, but the new legislation specifically changes how food waste is collected and aims to stop food waste from going to landfill.
Food waste can therefore no longer be placed in general or non-recyclable waste bins or mixed with other recyclable materials and must be put into a specific food waste container for collection.
What does this mean?
This means that from 1st April 2025, all schools will need a minimum of three waste bins:
Food waste
Dry mixed recyclable waste
Other non-recyclable/general waste
To comply with the new regulations, School Business Managers should:
• Review the current process for managing waste at their school, including an assessment of how each waste stream is segregated and disposed of.
• Engage with their kitchen catering teams and consider how food waste may be reduced.
• Decommission and remove any macerators, food waste disposal units or any other items which dispose of waste down the drains.
• Ensure that there are separate food waste bins available for use in the dining areas.
• Consider selecting different coloured bins for general and food waste.
• Educate all staff and pupils around waste separation and emphasise the importance of keeping food waste separated.
• Consider the installation of signage to encourage good waste separation practice.
The Morleys team are on hand to support schools with sourcing food waste bins and recycling stations that comply with the new legislation.
We have provided a selection of popular styles below, but many more options are available.
