Commercial food waste collection service
From 31 March 2025 new legislation from central government comes into force which requires businesses that employ 10 or more full time equivalent (FTE) staff have a legal duty to have separate collections in place for food waste, dry recyclable materials and residual waste (rubbish).
The new legislation applies to all businesses, healthcare establishments and academic institutions but small businesses with fewer than 10 full-time employees are temporarily exempt until the 31 March 2027.
For more information on the new requirements ("Simpler recycling"), the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) have some very useful guidance, including tools to help you determine what service is best for your business, and a wide range of posters and communications to support you and your staff.
How to apply
- New customers - Request a commercial food waste collection
- Existing customers - Request to add commercial food waste collection
What happens next
- We will carry out a risk assessment
- On passing the risk assessment, we will send you a contract, direct debit and duty of care form
- As soon as we receive correctly completed documents, we will deliver your bin within 6 working days
- Your collection day will be included within your contract documents
Fees
Our bin prices are per bin per lift.
| Bin capacity (litres) |
Bin dimensions (mm) (width x depth x height) |
Cost | Collection only charge, if eligible (charity shops, LA maintained schools and academies) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 180 | 505 x 755 x 1100 | £5 | £4.75 |
| 25 (caddy) | £3.50 | £3.40 |
What to put in your food waste bin
You can use paper or compostable caddy liners in your food waste bin.
If using compostable liners, please look for the European standard BS EN 13432 or the 'seedling' logo.
We will not accept any other liner such has plastic or biodegradable bags, as these types of liners can cause micro-plastics to end up in our environment.
Herefordshire Council do not provide liners as part of the service.
We accept:
- Meat and bones
- Fruit and vegetables
- Dairy
- Eggs and eggshells
- Tea and coffee grounds
- Bread and pastries
- Fish
- Leftovers and plate scrapings
How much food waste to put in your bin
Please ensure there is 5cm of space at the top of the bin to help prevent spillage when moving and emptying the bin. Food waste in the bin up to 50kg can be safely lifted by our collection vehicles.
We cannot guarantee that we will be able to empty your bin if it exceeds the weight limit. It is your responsibility to ensure that the bin is below the weight limit.
Collection will only be made where the lid of your bin or caddy is fully closed.
Items we don't accept
- Black sacks
- Plastic bin bags or liners
- Plastic packaging
- Cooking oil/liquids
What happens to the food once it's collected
The food waste collected will be processed at a local anaerobic digestion (AD) facility. This process uses microorganisms to break down the food waste in an enclosed system, the absence of oxygen helps to break down the food waste.
The results generate a biogas which in turn is used to generate electricity. Recycling food waste means you are helping create renewable energy.
Cleaning your food waste bin
We don't provide a bin cleaning service, however, we will be able to swap your food waste bin for a clean bin for a fee of £27.02.
If you clean the bins or caddies yourself, please ensure that you are adhering to any environmental health guidelines as required. Any waste water should be disposed of into a foul water drain only.
If you want to change your rubbish collection
You may find that recycling your food waste has reduced the amount of waste your are producing and you, therefore, want to make changes to your rubbish collection.
Using our Make a change to your business waste collection service form is the most efficient way.
Visit our business waste pages for more information on the service available before making your request.