Guidance

Treating food waste where food is served and consumed: RPS 229

Updated 26 November 2024

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/treating-food-waste-where-the-food-was-served-and-consumed-rps-229/treating-food-waste-where-the-food-was-served-and-consumed-rps-229

This regulatory position statement (RPS) does not change your legal requirement to get an environmental permit for a waste operation when you store and treat food waste on the same premises where food is prepared and served.  

However, the Environment Agency will not normally take enforcement action against you if you do not comply with this legal requirement provided that:  

  • your activity meets the description set out in this RPS   
  • you comply with the conditions set out in this RPS  

In addition your activity must not cause (or be likely to cause) pollution of the environment or harm to human health, and must not:  

  • cause a risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals  
  • cause a nuisance through noise or odours  
  • adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest  

Activity this RPS applies to 

This RPS applies to storing and treating food waste arising from the preparation or consumption of food on the same premises where that food has been prepared and served.  

This RPS does not apply to waste produced by the food manufacturing and processing industry.  

In this RPS, a premises is a single identifiable:  

  • restaurant, cafe or takeaway  
  • building with multiple restaurants, cafes, food halls within it, for example a shopping centre, hospital or prison 

The premises must be owned or operated by, or on behalf of, a single owner or occupier.  

Conditions you must comply with 

You must 

  • only store and treat food waste with waste code 20 01 08 (biodegradable kitchen and canteen waste) 

  • only store and treat food waste arising from the preparation of food or leftover food that is not sold or consumed  

  • store and treat the waste at the premises where the food was served, for example at a restaurant, cafe or canteen, including premises that serve food prepared off-site 

  • only treat the food waste using equipment which removes non-food waste contamination and then macerates, heats, grinds, liquefies, dewaters, separates, screens, digests or composts the food waste 

  • follow the manufacturer’s instructions to operate and maintain the equipment 

  • store and treat the food waste in a secure place – one where you have taken all reasonable precautions to prevent waste escaping and where the public cannot access it 

  • store the waste in containers that are fully enclosed and leak-proof 

  • provide secondary containment for liquid waste stored outside, such as a bund or any other system that prevents waste escaping 

  • keep records for 2 years from the date of the last use of the RPS to show that you have complied with this RPS and make these records available 

You must not: 

  • treat more than 100 cubic metres of waste a day 

  • store more than 50 cubic metres of waste at any time 

  • store waste for more than 7 days – unless it is treated solid waste which is stable and sanitised, in which case you can store it for up to 30 days 

Things to note 

You may need: 

  • authorisation from the sewerage undertaker to discharge effluent from treating food waste if your equipment is connected to a foul sewer 

  • to comply with the regulations for animal by-products 

You must prioritise waste treatment processes that ensure compliance with the food and drink waste hierarchy: deal with surplus and waste. For example, food waste is treated in a manner for onward anaerobic digestion to prevent it going to landfill.  

This is not a comprehensive list of the legal requirements that you must meet. 

When you must check back 

The Environment Agency will review this RPS by 30 April 2025, following the introduction of Simpler Recycling requirements in the government response on 31 March 2025.  

The Environment Agency can withdraw or amend this regulatory position before the review date if they consider it necessary. This includes where the activity that this RPS relates to has not changed. 

You will need to check back from time to time, including at and before the review date, to see if this RPS still applies.  

You can subscribe to email updates about this RPS. These will tell you if the RPS has changed and when it has been withdrawn. 

This RPS remains in force until it is removed from GOV.UK or is otherwise identified as having been withdrawn. 

If you cannot comply with this RPS 

If you operate under this RPS but can no longer comply with it, you must:

Contact the Environment Agency

General enquiries

National Customer Contact Centre
PO Box 544
Rotherham
S60 1BY

Email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk

Telephone 03708 506 506

Telephone from outside the UK (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm GMT) +44 (0) 114 282 5312

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

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