Skip to main content
www.wrap.ngo
The Business of Recycling Northern Ireland. WRAP Northern Ireland
Guidance for Transport and Storage
Back to section

Setting up recycling for your Transport and Storage business

Containers for your transport and storage waste and recycling

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, passengers, customers or 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 generate? For example, an airport would generate large amounts of waste glass, cardboard and food waste, while a coach company will likely generate small amounts of food waste, plastic and metal food and drink packaging. 

  • Where in your business is waste being generated, and by whom? For example, the office of a logistics company will likely generate paper and cardboard, but on concourses or in transport hub food courts passengers would likely generate plastic or metal packaging and food waste. 

Answering these questions will help you manage the way waste and recycling moves through your premises. For example, you can position internal containers and recycling points in the places where waste is generated, such as by desks, on concourses or in staff break or rest rooms.  

Ensuring you keep waste and recyclable materials separate and choosing the right types of containers for doing so, will provide consistency and support simpler messaging for both employees and passengers, especially in public areas. Always consider the practicalities – for example, the types of containers used on a station concourse may not be practical for use on board a train.  

Remember to consider transient or non-permanent locations and what facilities these may need to keep waste separated for recycling from every location. 

Transport businesses or workplaces located in Northern Ireland may have employees or fleets which regularly travel or cross into other UK nations including Wales, Scotland and England. As waste is a devolved matter, the rules between these countries may differ when it comes to recycling. Visit our sister sites in Wales, or England to learn more about the differences applicable there. Similar guidance for Scotland is also available. 

Checklist: choosing the right bins for your business 

  • Large enough to contain waste and recycling between emptying, but not so larger that they’re difficult to manoeuvre or lift. We recommend that the containers you use to separate food waste indoors, for example in a food prep setting, should be 35 litres or less, and that the outdoor containers you use to present food waste for collection should be no larger than 140 litres, to keep them suitable for manual handling. See the WRAP Commercial Food Waste Collections Guide. 

  • Fully enclosed, leak-proof containers, with lids or covers to keep recyclable materials such as cardboard dry, stop waste escaping, prevent access by vermin or pests and help adhere to hygiene levels in accordance with food safety guidance. 

  • 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 

  • Segregate international catering waste where applicable, subject to Animal and Plant Health Agency controls.   

  • Label containers clearly with the waste they contain.