As of 6 April 2024, a new recycling law mandates that all workplaces in Wales, including businesses, public sector entities, and charities, must separate their recyclable materials in the same way most households already do. This regulation applies to all waste and recycling collectors and processors who manage household-like waste from workplaces.

Waste Separation Requirements

The law specifies that the following materials must be separated for collection and collected separately:

• Food
• Paper and card
• Glass
• Metal, plastic and cartons
• Textiles
• Small waste electrical and electronic equipment (sWEEE)

These changes in law were announced in November 2023 with a relatively small window for businesses to get to grips with the challenges this would bring.

UK-wide waste contractors were expected to give guidance to customers in Wales whilst still in the process of understanding changes themselves and preparing to accommodate these new rules.

Cost, space, and contamination were some of the worries that faced business owners as the new workplace recycling law came into force across Wales, in which there could be unlimited fines or court orders for businesses found to be breaking the law.

Our Response

LSH manages numerous sites across Wales, all of which had to be assessed individually in preparation for these new laws.
The threat of unlimited fines if waste was contaminated led our team to rethink public waste bins in public spaces. On some retail sites, these bins were removed due to the uncertainty that members of the public would adhere to the new waste segregation rules. Some retailers were initially concerned about this change but our team introduced frequent litter picks on sites to prevent litter around the site causing issues. 

This had the knock-on effect in that the litter picked had to be segregated as well. This led to introducing a waste stream through either a waste contractor or the landscaping contractor responsible for the litter picking and locating space for the waste containers, all of which added costs to the service charge budget. This will be monitored across all sites to determine if these were sufficient measures taken.

Space and Bin Management

Finding suitable locations for external additional bins involved collaboration with clients and tenants alike, to ensure easy access and prevent issues like flytipping and bin theft. Internal segregation also demanded new bins and designated spaces, particularly challenging for sites unused to food or glass bins, raising hygiene concerns. Costs also had to be factored in, additional bins meant additional rental charges and lifts. This had to be built into the service charge and explained to clients/tenants who may not have been familiar with the Welsh legislation, where these extra costs lie.

Our service partners also had their share of obstacles to overcome.

B & M Waste experienced a shortage of bins, which depleted their stocks and created a backlog in manufacturing and deliveries etc. This also led to incorrect or lack of segregation on sites due to not having the correct bins available.

Nurture Landscapes, our grounds maintenance and landscaping contractor, also experienced delays in lead times for compliant litter bins on retail parks, with lead times of up to 4-6 weeks..

Due to initial confusion over what waste goes in what bin, our service account managers found themselves personally supporting sites and participating in on-site or Teams training about waste types and what containers they go in.

If segregation at source is minimal or unmanaged, this leads to the general waste volumes increasing and therefore has to go into the general waste containers.
Contaminated bins cannot be emptied by the drivers with excess waste accumulating on the sites. Contaminated bins must be emptied as general waste.

All the above was very challenging for the waste contractors.

Education and Training

We found educating property users was a key factor in succeeding to make these changes work. Prominent, effective colour-coded signage/bin labels along with tenant liaison, meetings, tenant guides, and training at site level with key staff were vital.

By working closely with our tenants and service providers, our team has managed to overcome these challenges.
We have embraced these new regulations despite initial difficulties and will certainly use Wales as a case study and learning curve to look to improve recycling rates across the rest of the UK where possible.

Moving Forward

The Welsh Government has set a national target to recycle 70% of its waste by 2025 and Wales to become a zero-waste nation by 2050. The changes are focused on improving the quality and quantity of recycling and are vital to delivering Wales’s commitments to reach zero waste and reduce carbon emissions by 2050.

Wales has ranked as 2nd in terms of recycling rate across the world, with an impressive 52.2% recycling rate. It is anticipated that the rest of the UK will follow in implementing these new laws for businesses in due course.

We, along with our service partners will use this learning process to facilitate this transition as smoothly as possible should similar waste changes be implemented across the rest of the country.