New legislation has come into force in England that will affect the way that waste and recycling collections are undertaken from homes and businesses in the next few years. The Separation of Waste (England) Regulations 2024 was brought into force in May 2024 and has been given the working name ‘Simpler Recycling’ by the Government, in order to publicise the details to the general public.
The aim of Simpler Recycling is to make recycling easier; so, in theory, everyone will be able to recycle the same materials across England whether at home, work, school, hospital or university etc. and will no longer need to check what is accepted for recycling in their local area. A universal standard should ensure that all households and workplaces can recycle the same core waste streams: plastic, metal, glass, paper & card and food waste, with garden waste for households upon request. The goal is to recycle 65% of municipal waste by 2035, reducing emissions from landfill and waste incineration, decreasing reliance on virgin materials, and supporting the growth of the UK recycling industry.
The new default requirement for most households and workplaces will be 4 separate containers for:
- Paper and cardboard
- Mixed recyclables (including metal items and plastics; and glass in some circumstances)
- Food waste
- Residual/general (non-recyclable) waste
Domestic garden waste collections will also be offered, and some areas may have separate facilities to collect glass or other segregated item types. Councils and other waste collectors will have the flexibility to make the best choices to suit local needs, so, for example, can decide on what container types to give to households e.g. wheelie bins, bags, caddies or stackable boxes.
Simpler Recycling legislation requires all workplaces in England with 10 or more employees to recycle the relevant waste streams by 31 March 2025. Then, by 31 March 2026, all local authorities must collect the core recyclable waste streams from all households, including weekly food waste collections, except in areas with transitional arrangements. Micro-firms (workplaces with fewer than 10 employees) have until 31 March 2027 to comply, and also by then plastic film collections from all households and workplaces must be undertaken. Waste collectors and contractors who collect, sort and process materials now have a relatively short period of time to make any necessary changes to their processes and roll these out to their clients.
The University of Reading’s situation
The University is in a very good position to meet the Simpler Recycling rules, having already got segregated waste and recycling collections in place across our campuses. In 2023/24 academic year, our recycling rate was 62% by weight for day-to-day collections (compared to around 50% nationally), and we have recently set a new target to increase this to 65% by summer 2027, which is 8 years ahead of the Government’s 65% target for the whole of England. We only send 1% of our waste to landfill; we have reduced the total amount of waste generated per person by 31% compared to 2015/16; and we prioritise re-use and repair of items. We are therefore already fulfilling the spirit of the legislation, so we just need to check that we are complying with the practical requirements set out in the Regulations.
Over the coming months, the Sustainability team will be working with the University’s Cleaning, Portering and Catering teams to determine what further enhancements should be made to our on-campus recycling facilities. In due course, we’ll give you further information about new initiatives and ways that you can help us be an efficient user of resources and minimise our impact on the environment. In the meantime, you can find lots of information at https://sites.reading.ac.uk/sustainability/recycling/ and at https://sites.reading.ac.uk/sustainability/recycling/recycle/
