FAQs – Simpler Recycling in England

Simpler Recycling legislation is being introduced in England to increase recycling rates of wastes generated by businesses, households and other non-domestic premises, such as schools and hospitals.

From 31 March 2025, most businesses and workplaces in England that generate waste that is similar in nature to household waste, will be required to separate waste for collection. Due to these legal changes, we need to change the type and number of bins (internal and external) at all Trust locations where we have bins, such as our customer service facilities, Destinations & Attractions, offices, hubs and depots.

The Trust waste contractors (Biffa and Reconomy) will provide external bins to our sites for:

• Dry mixed recycling (paper and card, plastic and metal)
• Glass
• Food waste
• General waste

The separation of glass will continue at our sites and is required because of the waste hauliers handling operations.

The new bins have been ordered, and we are waiting to hear when they will start to be delivered. For Biffa and Reconomy, this is a national distribution across a great many of their customers in a short space of time – so very complex. We will update as soon as we have definitive information and keep this FAQ updated too.

We know that clear signage, customer education, and good communication is essential to help everyone comply with the new rules. The Trust are communicating the changes internally and externally through our internal communications, Boaters' Update, website and social media.

Bins will be clearly labelled with the stickers shown below to make it clear at a glance and from a distance what each bin is intended to carry.

For more information on what can be disposed of in the different bins, please see our rubbish and recycling page. We will continue to add further guidance here. Please take the time to understand these – the rules may be different to those currently in place with council refuse collection services.

The stickers designs are provided by WRAP in A3, A4 and A5 size, available here.

These can be printed and used by boat owners or hire boat companies to mirror our signage for the different waste streams.

The waste contractors carry out a visual inspection of each container before tipping into the vehicle. If bins do not contain the correct wastes, these are 'contaminated' and the collection will be rejected. The Trust will be charged more, for each 'contaminated' bin the individual collection cost will double. Rejected collections will increase issues of overflowing bins – which are obviously unsightly and can cause a nuisance for our customers. The Trust will also face the risk of enforcement action and fines by the Environment Agency.   

We really need your help to make sure waste goes in the right bin. Working together we can keep waste costs as low as possible and ensure that money doesn’t have to be found elsewhere to cover this.

Bins that do not contain the correct wastes, or contain recyclable wastes that are not sufficiently clean and dry, will be deemed contaminated or non-compliant. Examples of 'contaminated' bins include:

• A general waste bin containing recyclable wastes, such as a clean plastic bottle. This is non-compliant as the recyclables should be in recycling bins.
• Recyclable materials in the recycling bin that are not clean. This is non-compliant as recyclable materials should be clean and dry. Contaminated items should not be placed in recycling bins. Food containers should be rinsed to avoid contamination. In cases where the food contamination is not easily removed (e.g. packaging with traces of grease on it) these should be placed in general waste bins. Placing contaminated recyclables in general waste is preferred to avoid contaminating recycling streams. Damp paper towels should be placed in general waste.

Unfortunately, our Waste Contract does not provide these bins.

We are not putting locks on all bin sites. However, in some cases we are installing new bin compounds and we will install locks on some of these where required.

Bin bags are not essential in any of the bins. Dry mixed recycling and glass are often placed into bins loose, and this is preferable where possible. However, where bin bags are used: 

• Dry mixed recycling (paper and card, plastic and metal) – clear bin bags only
• Glass – clear bin bags only
• Food waste – only compostable (plant-based) bags can be used in a food waste bin / caddy.  These can be placed in the external bins
• General waste – any bin bags, including black bin bags. However, it is preferable to use clear bin bags for general waste too. This allows waste contractors to easily check the bins are compliant and avoids accidental use of black bin bags for recyclable wastes

Internal food waste caddies can be lined with compostable bags and can be washed.

Our waste contractors will provide external food waste bins that are secure and leak proof to deter vermin. Many UK households already have food wastes collections, and this will become mandatory for all households by April 2026. Regular bin emptying helps to keep issues of vermin and smells under control so food waste will be collected weekly. Where specific site issues are noted, the Trust will consider solutions, such as pest control or lockable containers, which we do already.

Trust staff and our waste contractors servicing the sites will report overflowing sites. Customers can report issues to the Trust: Ways to contact us.

We are still waiting for DEFRA to clarify the requirements for small litter bins that the Trust provide at some sites, such as picnic areas at our destinations and attractions. It is possible that will have to change litter bins to either provide the recycling bins or remove some litter bins where this is not practicable.

The legislation aims to segregate high quality recyclable materials that are clean, empty, and free of significant contamination. Degraded or contaminated materials, often found during  litter pick activities on land and water, should not be separated and should be disposed of as general waste. 

However, there may be some situations where effort should be made to separate good quality recyclable wastes for onward recycling. For example, where many aluminium cans have been left in a community space. In these cases, Trust staff / volunteers should make effort to keep the recyclable wastes separate and deposit them in the correct recycling bin provided at Trust sites

Fly-tipping of wastes that are not similar in nature to household waste are not covered by these changes, so do not need to be separated.

There may be black bin bags of household waste dumped on Trust land. However, it is not reasonable, for Health and Safety reasons, for Trust staff or volunteers to sort waste within these bags. It is also likely that the fly-tipped waste is not free of significant contamination. Therefore, these bags should be disposed of as general waste.

The Simpler Recycling legislation does not change the current disposal methods for waste from separator toilets, for more information please see our webpage.