New mandatory food waste laws set to come into force in England
Restaurants, cafes and takeaway businesses need to be aware that new food waste laws will come into effect in England from 31 March 2025. Introduced under the Environment Act 2021, these initiatives aim to reduce landfill waste, simplify waste management, and improve recycling rates. The goal is to eliminate food waste from landfill by 2030, which will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance food security.
How to comply with the new laws
Mandatory food waste separation under the new regulation will apply to all non-domestic properties in England that produce any form of weekly food waste. This covers restaurants, cafes, pubs, takeaways, bakeries, and butchers. Food Business Operators (FBOs) must separate all food waste from other waste using designated bins and arrange for its collection. This requirement applies to all businesses in England with 10 or more employees starting 31 March 2025. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees have until March 2027 to comply. According to Defra (Department for Environment & Rural Affairs), food waste includes any biodegradable material from food processing or preparation, such as fruit skins, bones, and tea bags. If they haven't done so already, FBOs are encouraged to conduct a waste audit to understand how much waste they produce and help them prepare for any additional collections they will need.
What is going to happen with the food waste generated under these regulations?
Defra’s food waste reduction hierarchy is a structured approach to managing food surplus and waste, prioritising actions that have the most positive environmental impact. The hierarchy consists of eight steps, listed in order of priority: preventing surplus and waste, redistributing surplus food, using surplus food as animal feed, processing into biomaterials, recycling through anaerobic digestion and composting, landspreading, energy recovery, and disposal. The goal is to minimize food waste generation, maximize the reuse of food waste in other products, and efficiently recycle remaining waste. The aim of these new regulations directed at FBOs is that food waste can enter the hierarchy rather than going into landfill.
Some companies are already ahead of the curve. For example, earlier this month, Sainsbury’s started to fuel 30 of its HGVs with its own food waste; this follows Pepsico’s initiative of using used vegetable oil to power the delivery fleet for Walkers Crisps.
EU food waste reductions
It’s not just England that is taking steps to reduce food waste. The EU generates nearly 60 million tonnes of food waste annually and has committed to legally binding food waste reduction targets by 2030. The latest EU directive on food waste was provisionally agreed upon by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament in February 2025. The directive sets the following targets:
- 10% reduction in food waste from processing and manufacturing sectors compared to the average amount generated in 2021-2023
- 30% reduction per capita in food waste from retail, restaurants, food services, and households compared to the average amount generated in 2021-2023
How Leatherhead can help
For in-depth support on regulations surrounding food waste and sustainability initiatives in the EU or in other markets, please get in touch at [email protected]. Leatherhead’s experienced team of scientists and regulatory experts can support you every step of the way.
Leatherhead Food Research members are kept up to date with changing regulations around the world through the weekly Global Legal Highlights newsletter. To learn more, get in touch with our membership team at [email protected].
