New recycling rules for all households in England after government announcement

New recycling rules for all households in England have been announced, as well as new measures which have come into effect for workplaces starting today (31 March).

The government's Simpler Recycling plan will impact all homeowners in the hopes of reducing overall waste.

As things stand, there is still a lot of waste that can be recycled, which goes to landfill sites or energy-from-waste (EfW) plants which burns waste to generate electricity and heat.

But the Simpler Recycling plan developed by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) will ensure that every house in England has the same recycling rules in place.

The DEFRA say that core recyclable waste, like food, plastics, paper, and cardboard will need to be collected from all households.

The government’s Simpler Recycling plan is already taking shape in the workplace (Getty Stock Images)

When will the Simpler Recycling plan start?

So, eventually, the average house will have a total of five recycling bins to help enforce the new collection rules, which are set to be in place by 31 March 2027.

With all those bins, every household in England will have to recycle the following:

• Glass bottles & jars

• Metal (tins, cans, and foil)

• Plastic (bottles, tubs, trays, and film)

• Paper & cardboard

• Food waste

New rules for recycling in workplaces

New recycling rules for all households in England have been announced (Getty Stock Images)

From today, workplaces with 10 or more members of staff will have to arrange for the collection of dry recyclable materials, such as plastic, metal, glass, paper, food waste, and non-recyclable waste.

"We are committed to ending the throwaway society, boosting recycling rates which have stalled for too long, and driving growth through the Government’s Plan for Change," Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh said.

"Simplifying the rules for workplaces will make recycling easier, maximising environmental benefits, delivering cost savings and stimulating growth.

"We’ll continue to work hand-in-hand with businesses to deliver our reforms to drive up recycling rates and ensure there’s more recycled content in the products we buy."

Steve Molyneux, the deputy director of waste and resources regulation at the Environment Agency, believes that the new collection rules will be 'a huge step forward'.

"We are committed to supporting businesses with their new duties. We will take a pragmatic approach to implementation and will work with stakeholders to support them in overcoming any difficulties they might face in relation to compliance," he added.

"Simpler Recycling in England is estimated to deliver greenhouse gas emissions savings equivalent to £11.8 billion and make a significant contribution towards meeting the ambition to recycle 65 percent of municipal waste by 2035," the government said.