Businesses in County Durham are being reminded about new food waste legislation coming into force next month.

From Tuesday 1 April, medium-sized businesses with ten or more full-time employees will be legally required to keep food waste, dry mixed recycling and glass separate from general waste. They must also arrange for it to be collected by a licensed waste carrier.

Durham County Council will be taking these steps at its venues and is also offering a food waste collection service for businesses in the county. Beamish Hall Hotel was one of the first businesses to sign up for the council’s service, which will see collections carried out using new trucks specially designed to transport organic waste.

Businesses will be supplied with specialist kitchen caddies or separate wheeled bins by the council or whichever provider they choose. The food waste collected will be taken to digestion plants and converted into energy using the anaerobic digestion process.

Businesses which do not comply could face a fine and a non-compliance notice from the Environment Agency.

Each year, 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates food waste contributes to between eight and ten per cent of manmade greenhouse gases.

The new regulations, part of the Government’s Simpler Recycling legislation, aim to tackle this issue, helping to reduce carbon emissions and boosting national recycling rates.

James Lee, refuse and recycling manager at Durham County Council, said: “The new Simpler Recycling legislation is coming into force in just a few weeks and it’s important that eligible businesses are prepared.

“There is a lot of advice and information online, including on our website, so I would encourage businesses to look at this and make sure they have everything in place by Tuesday 1 April.”

For more information, visit www.durham.gov.uk/FoodWasteBusinesses or contact tradewaste@durham.gov.uk or 03000 262 660.

Legislation requiring local authorities to collect household food waste is due to be implemented in April 2026. Durham County Council will be providing more information to residents about this nearer the time.