Simpler Recycling

As part of their commitment to improving the rate of recycling in England the Government has introduced a new approach to how businesses and other organisations need to comply with Simpler Recycling legislation for England.

It is now the legal duty of the business or organisation to ensure their waste is sorted and collected compliantly or risk receiving a compliance notice from the Environment Agency.

Phase one of the new regulation came into effect on 31st March 2025 and applies to all business and non-household premises employing 10 or more full time equivalent employees (FTEs).

The deadline for business with less than 10 FTEs is March 2027.

You need to ensure your employees and customers separate and dispose of their waste in the correct bin to avoid contamination. We will do the rest.

We offer a variety of container sizes to meet your needs, ranging from 140L wheelie bins to 8-yard FEL (front end loader) containers to suit your needs and operations on site. We can advise on the best option for your business.

We also offer a range of internal bins for different waste streams to assist with easy separation and sorting. Ask our team for more information on these.

It depends on your current services, collection frequency, and future needs. While ensuring full recycling may cost more, it is the right choice for a sustainable future.

The legislation requires food waste and recyclable materials (cardboard, paper, plastic, cans and metal, glass) to be separated out from residual (non-recyclable) waste so they can be collected by your waste management provider for recycling, reducing the waste going to landfill across the country.

Please note, as part of our sustainability commitments, Brown Recycling does not send waste to landfill.

As currently, any hazardous items (such as batteries, vapes, compressed gas cylinders, etc.) or electrical items (WEEE) need to be collected separately under different waste regulations.

If your company employs 10 or more full-time equivalent staff, you must comply with Simpler Recycling regulations that came into effect on 31 March 2025.

This requirement applies to the entire company, not individual locations. So, if one site has fewer than 10 FTEs it must still comply with Simpler Recycling if the total number of FTEs across the entire company exceeds 9.

No, it is illegal to dispose of business waste through domestic collections and this could result in a fine.

Yes, segregating waste at the point of creation is essential, as good separation is not possible after backhauling.

We can provide advice on complying with the Simpler Recycling legislation. Please speak to your Brown Recycling contact or our Customer Support team.

Please speak to your Brown Recycling contact or our Customer Support team and we will advise on how best to handle this for compliance.

Please check with your landlord, agent or whoever manages the waste for your building/location as they will be responsible for ensuring the waste collection is compliant.

We can provide recycling guides and materials aligning with Simpler Recycling requirements to help with employee engagement. This information is available on our website and on our Brown Recycling Customer Portal too.

Yes, you must ensure that all waste material is segregated and recycled correctly.

To comply with the legislation and avoid the risk of prosecution by the Environment Agency, we are unable to accept contaminated waste and bins.

Should we receive any contaminated waste all costs incurred by us for disposing of this compliantly will be chargeable.

Businesses that fail to separate their waste in line with Simpler Recycling regulations risk non-compliance and may face significant financial penalties. As of February 2026, the Environment Agency imposes an hourly time and materials charge of £118. This only applies to businesses or occupiers of relevant non-domestic premises who do not comply with the requirements.

You must show that you have contracts in place for all recycling waste streams and provisions for separating these materials within your workplace. We provide Annual Waste Transfer Notes (Duty of Care) to demonstrate this for our customers.