New food waste laws for Scotland
Legal position. In Scotland any food business creating more than 50kg of food waste per week has to separate it for collection. This is part of the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 . However, in January 2016 the threshold is being moved downwards and this could see hundreds more firms needing to comply.
50kg to 5kg. The change means that firms creating just 5kg of food waste will have to sort it for separate collection. Given that this amounts to no more than a home kitchen caddy, most businesses working with food, such as restaurants, cafés and hotels, will have to comply.
Take note. Although this only applies to food businesses, this is a good time to look at what happens to the food waste at your site or office. A week’s worth of tea bags, coffee grounds and fruit peelings will easily come to 5kg or more, and the likelihood is that it’s all going in the general waste - which is the most expensive bin as it ends up in landfill.
More collections. Due to the new legislation, waste contractors and local authorities in Scotland will be offering new collection rounds for organic waste. Many will also be looking for additional sites to collect food waste from in order to make their rounds economical.
Tip. Ask your contractor about food waste collections. For the sake of an extra bin you can ensure your food waste will be sent for composting or anaerobic digestion (to create energy) rather than to landfill - and that means your bills should come down.
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