What are Defra’s Simpler Recycling Plans?

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) revealed reforms to bin collections and the UK’s waste system at the end of October 2023. These proposals have been dubbed ‘Simpler Recycling.’ They aim to increase, improve, and standardise recycling and waste collections by local authorities across the country for households and businesses.

This should get rid of the current ‘postcode lottery’ where homes in some areas of the country can recycle materials like glass in their domestic recycling bins, while others can’t. The plans also aim to crack down on waste crime, which costs England £1 billion a year, through mandatory digital waste tracking.

Businesses in England with 10 or more employees must separate dry recyclables into individual containers and arrange separate food waste collections by the end of March 2025.

For most other proposed changes there’s a deadline of the end of March 2026, so there’s plenty of time to get to grips with them. Understand what Defra’s simpler recycling plans are and how they could affect your business or household with these answers to your common questions.

Note: Simpler Recycling reforms are not currently in force and the proposed changes and timeline could change. Below is all the current information and expected dates about the plans available. You can find more information on the UK government website.

Businesses will need to arrange collections and recycling of all food waste, paper and cardboard, and dry recycling (glass, plastic, and metals) they produce by licensed waste carriers. All businesses, schools, hospitals, and other ‘non-household municipal premises in England’ must arrange collection for recycling or composting of the same recyclable waste streams as households under Defra’s new plans – excluding garden waste.

These arrangements must be in place by the end of March 2025 for businesses in England with 10 or more full-time employees. Using commercial waste collection services and licensed waste carriers should ensure compliance with the new plans. You could use separate bins for each recycling stream or dry mixed recycling bin collections to combine plastic and metals for ease. Paper and card must be collected separately from other dry recyclables.

The government plans to hold a consultation about the definition of ‘non-household municipal premises.’ Depending on the outcome of this it could mean places of worship, prisons, charity shops, and residential hostels are included and will also need to arrange recycling collections in line with the new plans.

A few key areas of the Separation of Waste (England) (No. 2) Regulations 2024 are also still under review by the government. These could affect how recyclable materials are collected and which can be mixed and the deadline for micro-businesses, which may be subject to change.

Household recycling rates in England have grown from 11% in 2001 to 42% in 2022. However, they’ve stagnated and missed the target of reaching an average of 50% by 2020. Ensuring all domestic waste collections include the seven core recycling streams should improve recycling rates towards the UK’s household waste recycling target of 65% by 2035.

Applying Defra’s simpler recycling scheme across all households and businesses will mean the same materials can be recycled at home or work anywhere in the UK. This removes the current ‘postcode lottery’ about what can be recycled where and avoids any confusion. It should encourage manufacturers to design sustainable packaging that’s recyclable anywhere in the UK, helping boost recycling rates.

Around 18% of waste in England might be managed illegally according to the Environment Agency. This can have a hugely negative impact on the environment and businesses and costs the economy in England £1 billion a year. Reforming the licensing system for waste carriers, brokers, and dealers with mandatory digital waste tracking aims to centralise reporting and reduce illegal waste activity and its negative impact.

Most of the reaction has been positive but a few concerns have been raised. An announcement was initially promised by the end of 2022. With nearly a year’s delay, it wouldn’t be a surprise if deadlines are pushed back again and could make implementation challenging due to this initial delay.

The commingling of materials was also highlighted as disappointing. However, updates to Simpler Recycling plans mean paper and card will now be collected separately to reduce cross-contamination and improve the quality of collected material. It’s hoped that simplifying the number of bins should increase recycling participation levels.