Page 3 - Tidy Planet - Environment Act 2021 Legislation Guide

The Environment Act – What you need to know
What is the new Environment Act?
The UK’s new Environment Act was passed and became law in November 2021 – two years after first being introduced and the new laws come into effect in 2023.
The driving factor behind the UK’s Environment Act has always been to shift the sustainability dial in the right direction – veering away from being a single-use, ‘throwaway’ society and moving towards a more circular economy.
Under its four key areas - air quality, biodiversity, water, and waste, it aims to make resource efficiency and security a reality introducing new extended producer responsibility schemes aimed at reducing plastic use alongside a clearer labeling system, enabling consumers to easily identify what products and packaging are recyclable.
Also, while the UK Government has previously pledged to reduce food waste by 20% by 2025, the Act has further compounded this by committing to eliminating food waste from landfill by 2030.
You can read the Environment Act in full here. The ‘separate collection of industrial or commercial waste’ clause can be found in section 45AZB.
What does the Environment Act mean for food waste disposal?
Another key area of the Act surrounds separate food waste collections, and this will be a crucial area of change for all food producing companies in the public and private sectors in England.
Under the new measures that come into force in 2023, all food producing organisations across England – whether food manufacturers, cafés, hospitals, care homes, schools, fast food outlets, hotels, or simply any business that has a staff canteen – will no longer be permitted to put their food waste into general waste and send it to landfill or incineration.
They will also not be allowed to macerate or digest it or turn it to grey water and send it to foul sewer.
Instead, organisations will need to separate it for collection and send it for recycling by composting or by anaerobic digestion.
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What is the new Environment Act?