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Reduce food waste at work

Reducing food waste at work is a fantastic way for any organisation to save money, engage your employees in better waste practices, and reduce those tricky consumption emissions in line with your Net Zero objectives. It is estimated that recycling food waste could save firms up to £7,000 a year. Making renewable gas out of food waste is 65 times more climate-friendly as it reduces the need to use fossil fuel energy sources (Keenan Recycling). Even the businesses that don’t have a canteen on site still contribute significantly to food waste, and you may well be paying over the odds for food waste collection.

Over half of the UK businesses say they recycle food waste to minimise costs, and around a third do it to avoid costly fines (Catering Insight). But that means many organisations aren’t taking advantage of easy wins to cut overheads and their environmental impact. With the food waste legislation that has come into effect in March 2025, businesses generating more than 5kg of food waste per week are expected to use an approved waste carrier to separate and recycle food waste – and that would include most businesses. Why not set a positive example by stepping up and start recycling food waste?

Separating food waste from other rubbish is a great - and essential - first step to safeguarding Surrey's future and providing your business with several benefits including:

  • Saving money: Reduce waste collection charges by encouraging staff to reduce food waste and/or finding on-site solutions such as hot bin composting - You could use the compost for the plants on your site.
  • Reducing carbon: Reducing food waste could be a quick way to reduce the tricky consumption (Scope 3) emissions.
  • Increasing employee awareness around your organisation's sustainability practices: This could influence employee satisfaction as sustainability is one of the core values employees increasingly look out for.