As the UK grapples with the environmental impact of food waste, 2025 marks a significant shift in how businesses and local authorities are expected to handle organic waste. New 2025 food waste regulations require the separate collection of food waste from businesses, schools, hospitals, and other commercial entities placing increased responsibility on producers and waste management partners to adopt sustainable solutions.
At Keenan Recycling, we’re ready to meet this challenge head-on, supporting organisations of all sizes with compliant, reliable food waste collections services that not only meet the upcoming legislative demands but go a step further in supporting the circular economy.
Redistributing food waste is a vital first step
This week, our Head of Marketing, Vinay Jalla, visited the Company Shop in Barnsley, part of the Biffa Group, to witness food waste prevention in action. Unlike a traditional supermarket, this membership-based store offers surplus food and household goods at discounted prices, giving products a second chance before they ever become waste.
With shelves stocked full of still-perfect produce, we saw first-hand how redistribution plays a crucial role at the top of the food waste hierarchy, preventing food from entering the waste stream in the first place.
Their tagline, “Fighting food waste one trolley at a time,” is more than just a clever slogan — it reflects a growing movement to reduce edible food waste at the source. However, not all food waste is avoidable. That’s where Keenan Recycling steps in.
Where redistribution ends, responsible recycling begins
Once food reaches the end of its life whether due to spoilage, contamination, or packaging issues, it must be handled in a way that is both compliant and environmentally sound. This is especially important with the 2025 food waste regulations, which will prohibit the mixing of food waste with general waste in England, following the lead of Scotland and Wales.
At Keenan Recycling, we offer nationwide food waste collections services that are already fully aligned with these changes. Our fleet of collection vehicles operates across 27 depots in the UK, ensuring local, reliable food waste solutions for businesses of all sizes.
By partnering with anaerobic digestion facilities, we ensure that your food waste is not incinerated, but transformed into green energy and nutrient-rich compost, putting your waste to work for the planet.
What the 2025 food waste regulations mean for your business
The new legislation has made separate food waste collections mandatory for businesses. Key requirements include:
-
Segregating food waste from general waste and recyclables.
-
Using registered waste carriers (like Keenan Recycling) for collection and disposal.
-
Ensuring food waste is sent to recycling facilities, such as anaerobic digestion or in-vessel composting plants.
These new food waste regulations are designed to reduce landfill use, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and encourage more responsible waste management practices.
Non-compliance could result in fines or enforcement action.
Circular economy in action
At Keenan Recycling, we believe food waste should never be wasted. After collection, your waste is transported to state-of-the-art anaerobic digestion (AD) facilities, where it is broken down in oxygen-free environments. This process produces biogas — a clean, renewable source of electricity and heat — as well as digestate, a nutrient-rich organic fertiliser used in agriculture.
This means your food waste goes back into the economy in the form of renewable energy and natural soil enhancers, supporting both climate goals and sustainable farming.
Fighting food waste takes all of us
As we witnessed at the Company Shop, fighting food waste starts with redistribution and extends all the way through to recycling and recovery. Every business has a role to play, from choosing imperfect produce, to segregating food waste properly, to working with the right partners. We’re proud to fight food waste one bin at a time, and support UK businesses.
