The upcoming new food waste disposal rules in England have been picked up by the leading hospital food publication, Hospital Food + Service in their January/February 2023 edition.
The new rules which are part of the Environment Act 2021 which received royal assent in November 2021, mean that food waste must be collected separately for recycling or composting which in turn, means that disposing of food waste into drains using macerators and other equipment such as liquidizing digesters will no longer be allowed.
You can read the article on PAGE 12 in Hospital Food + Service Magazine here.
The article discusses the operational changes which are likely to be required as hospitals in England mainly still use macerators. The start date hasn’t been announced yet but is widely expected to be in 2023. Estates departments and waste managers are encouraged to start planning now in order to remain compliant with the law.
The legislation doesn’t just apply to hospitals but to all commercial organizations which generate food waste such as hotels and restaurants. Domestic food waste disposal is also covered by the new law in an effort to standardize the recycling of food waste, but this may not start until 2024 as it will involve many local authorities that don't recycle food waste having to purchase food waste collection vehicles.
Switching from a macerator to having food waste collected in wheelie bins will create its own problems such as:
Don’t be caught out. If your organization produces food waste you can get ahead by downloading our FREE GUIDE. It will give you useful information on what to do next such as:
It will help you start planning now to put systems in place to make sure you comply and avoid hefty fines.
For more information on the steps you can take to comply download your FREE GUIDE from here or contact us.