Business waste
As a business, you have a legal duty of care to manage your waste responsibly.
All waste must be stored, handled, and disposed of safely, within the law, and without harming the environment.
You might not realise it, but even if you run a business from home, any recycling or rubbish it generates is classed as business waste – no matter how much.
Holiday lets and self-catering accommodation are classed as businesses and are therefore required to arrange a commercial waste collection. For full details see our landlord and managing agents page and The Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2012.
Simpler Recycling legislation
From 31 March 2025, all businesses in England with ten or more full-time equivalent employees must:
- Recycle dry mixed materials – including glass, metal, plastic, paper and card.
- Separate food waste from general waste – even small amounts, such as employees’ lunch leftovers, tea bags, fruit peelings, and coffee grounds.
If your business produces any food waste, even without a canteen, you are legally required to separate it for collection. Smaller businesses (with fewer than ten FTEs) will need to comply by 31 March 2027.
You can find out more about the new Simpler Recycling legislation on the GOV.UK website and the Business of Recycling in England website.
Business responsibilities and duty of care
All businesses have a legal duty of care to manage waste responsibly. This means they must:
- take all reasonable steps to reduce waste through reuse, recycling, or recovery
- segregate and store waste securely
- use only authorised collectors or handlers
- ensure waste is taken to a permitted site
- provide a waste transfer note describing all waste handed over
- recycle food waste and dry recyclables such as glass, plastic, metal, paper, and card.
For further information and advice on business waste, contact us.
Derby City Council works in partnership with Nottingham City Council to provide reliable, professional waste and recycling services to more than 1,600 businesses across Derby. More details are available on the commercial waste and recycling services page.