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The Business of Recycling Northern Ireland. WRAP Northern Ireland
Guidance for Hospitality
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Setting up recycling for your Hospitality business

Containers and storage for waste and recycling needs of Hospitality businesses

Estimated reading time: 5 min

Providing the right bins and containers for your waste and recycling, and storing them in the right location, is essential for helping your staff, customers and visitors separate waste more effectively and increase the amount your business recycles. 

In deciding what kind of waste and recycling containers and storage areas your business needs, think about these two questions:  

  • What types and quantities of waste materials does your business or organisation generate? For example, a bar, pub or restaurant would generate large amounts of waste glass, cardboard and food waste, while an office likely generates paper and a small amount of food waste, plastic packaging, glass and metals. 

  • Where in your business is waste being generated, and by whom? For example, a hotel kitchen may produce large quantities of packaging waste and food waste, but its office will likely produce mainly paper and card. 

Answering these questions will help you manage the way waste and recycling moves through your premises. For example, you can position internal containers and bins in the places where waste is generated, such as by desks, behind the bar or at kitchen prep/clearing stations. 

Checklist: choosing the right bins for your business 

  • Large enough to contain waste and recycling between emptying but not too large so that they are difficult to manoeuvre or lift. WRAP recommends that containers used internally to separate food waste, for example in a food prep setting, should be 35 litres or less and that external containers used to present food waste for collection should be no larger than 140 litres, for manual handling reasons. 

  • With lids or covers to keep materials dry and stop waste and odours escaping 

  • Store different types of waste separately so that they don’t contaminate each other – this also means you can reuse them more easily, and it’ll be easier to complete your waste transfer note correctly 

  • Label containers clearly with the waste they contain 

​​How to k​eep waste and recycling separate ​​     ​ 

It’s easiest to separate recyclable materials from general waste at the point where it’s produced. Here’s how to keep your recycling separate from other waste: 

  • Create recycling stations where waste and recycling are generated and include a container for general waste 

  • Colour-code containers consistently throughout your premises to reduce confusion  

  • Use our material-specific recycling posters to label bins – they use distinctive colours and images that are used and recognised nationally across recycling services 

  • Provide training – communicate the changes to your employees and cleaning and maintenance staff/contractor, providing separate training where necessary 

  • Reward good practice – this will encourage further improvements 

Good to know  

There is no official colour coding system for bins in hospitality and food service environments. It is good practice, however, to establish a colour system for food waste, dry recycling materials and general waste, especially across multi-site businesses. Clear labelling and consistency of colour of the waste and recycling containers should minimise materials ending up in the wrong bin.  

​You can also speak with your current cleaning or waste contractor about supplying new bins if they’re needed.