Containers for your Retail and Wholesale waste and recycling needs

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 generate? For example, a large grocery retailer may generate large amounts of cardboard and food waste, while a small independent retailer will likely generate small amounts of food waste, plastic and cardboard packaging. Remember to consider whether your waste volumes and the types of waste you produce changes during the year, for example increasing in the run up to Christmas, and consider whether you’ll need more containers at this time.
Where is waste being generated, and by whom? For example, your warehouse or back of store operations might generate large amounts of waste cardboard and plastic wrapping, but the staff break room would likely generate paper, packaging materials and food waste from staff breaks.

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 in office areas, in front of store areas or at kitchen prep/clearing stations.

If you operate your store or warehouse independently, setting up a recycling service will be solely your responsibility. However, if you are located within a managed location such as a shopping centre, food or market hall then waste management services might be procured by a facilities management company or by your landlord. Always contact them before considering making any changes.

If you are part of a larger organisation, chain, or franchise, then waste management services might be arranged nationally or regionally, with information and guidance provided by your head or regional office. If you want to recycle more of your waste, contact them first to find out whether this is something they are already considering.

As the majority of waste produced by the retail and wholesale sector is recyclable, e.g., cardboard and packaging wastes, implementing a recycling scheme within your store or warehouse will ensure most of your waste can be recycled rather than disposed of, and should save you money!

When thinking about your containers needs, remember that existing regulations require retailers to provide take back schemes for electrical waste and batteries. So you will also need to consider containers needed at both the front and back of store, to ensure they meet your needs and provide sufficient capacity. More information on electrical waste recycling can be found at Material Focus.

Checklist: choosing the right bins for your business

Large enough to contain waste and recycling between emptying. 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 Commercial Food Waste Collections Guide
With lids or covers to keep materials dry and stop waste 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 keep 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 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/or service provider, providing separate training where necessary
Reward good practice – this will encourage further improvements

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

Good to know
There’s no official colour-coding system for bins in workplaces. However, it’s still good practice to establish a colour-coded system for food waste, dry recycling materials and general waste, especially across multi-site businesses. Clear labelling and being consistent with waste and recycling bin colours should minimise things ending up in the wrong bin.