Containers for your food or drinks manufacturing business's waste and recycling

Estimated reading time: 5 min

Providing the right bins and containers for your waste and recycling, and storing them in the right location, is essential for helping your staff, customers and visitors separate waste more effectively and increase the amount your food or drink business recycles.

In deciding what kind of waste and recycling containers and storage areas your business needs, think about these two questions:

What types and quantities of waste materials does your business generate? For example, a large manufacturing site will likely generate large amounts of waste packaging, such as cardboard or plastic packaging from raw ingredients, and liquid and food waste from production processes.
Where in your business is waste being generated, and by whom? For example, site canteens may produce a large quantity of packaging alongside catering waste, but the site office or your office headquarters will likely produce paper and cardboard.

Answering these questions will help you manage the way waste and recycling moves through your site. For example, you can position internal containers and bins in the places where waste is generated, such as by desks, in plant areas or in canteens at kitchen prep/clearing stations.

Checklist: choosing the right bins for your business

Large enough to contain waste and recycling between emptying, but not so large that they’re difficult to manoeuvre or lift. We recommend that the indoor containers you use to separate food waste, for example in a food prep or plant/production setting, should be 35 litres or less, and that the outdoor containers you use to present food waste for collection should be no larger than 140 litres, to keep them suitable for manual handling. See the WRAP Commercial Food Waste Collections Guide
Fully enclosed, leak-proof containers, with lids or covers to keep recyclable materials such as cardboard dry, stop waste escaping, prevent access by vermin or pests and help adhere to hygiene levels in accordance with food safety guidance
Store different types of waste separately so that they don’t contaminate each other – this also means you can recycle them more easily, and it’ll be easier to complete your waste transfer note correctly. The workplace regulations require you to always separate dry recyclables, from food waste and general waste. You will also need to separate paper and card from other dry recyclables (plastics, metals and glass) unless your recycling service provider asks you to collect them together. Discuss how your dry recyclable waste will be collected with your recycling .
Label containers clearly with the waste they contain

How to keep waste and recycling separate

It’s easiest to separate from general waste at the point where it’s produced. Here’s how to keep your recycling separate from other waste:

Create recycling stations where waste and recycling are generated, such as on production lines, and always include a container for general waste
Compostable liners can be useful to help line food waste containers to keep them cleaner and mess-free. If your waste provider permits the use of compostable liners, ensure that you only use BS EN 13432:2000-compliant liners. This ensures that food waste sent for commercial composting meets necessary quality standards
Colour-code containers consistently throughout your premises to reduce confusion
Use our material-specific posters to label bins – they use distinctive colours and images that are used and recognised nationally across recycling services
Provide training – communicate the changes to your employees and cleaning and maintenance staff/contractor, providing separate training where necessary
Reward good practice – this will encourage further improvements

Good to know
There’s no official colour-coding system for bins in food environments. However, it’s good practice to establish a colour-coded system for food and drink waste, dry recycling materials and general waste, especially across multi-site businesses. Clear labelling and being consistent with waste and recycling bin colours should minimise things ending up in the wrong bin.

You can also speak with your current cleaning or waste service provider about supplying new bins if they’re needed.