Nearly half of all businesses (46 per cent) across the UK have ‘recycling food waste’ at the top of their priorities to reduce their organisation’s carbon footprint.

According to a sample survey of 200 UK businesses by Keenan Recycling, companies are more concerned about recycling food waste, than they are plastic and cardboard, (19 per cent), switching to electric vehicles (16 per cent) or decreasing use paper and print materials, (10 per cent).

The survey comes as updates to the Government’s Environmental Bill are set to come into force in 2023. The new legislation will introduce mandatory separate food and general waste collections across the UK, with the aim of eliminating food waste from landfill by 2030.

Perhaps surprisingly, the desire to move to a more sustainable supplier is the ambition of only 17 per cent of those surveyed, only just ahead of minimising water usage or sourcing local supplies (both14 per cent) and planting trees to offset carbon (12 per cent).

Grant Keenan, MD at Keenan Recycling, said: “Since 2016, any business that operates in Scotland and produces more than 5kg of food waste has a legal obligation to recycle by a registered waste carrier service. It would be great to see the same achievements in England as we have seen in Scotland. We hope the fast-approaching Environmental Act deadlines will help propel both business and household efforts to recycle food waste and move towards a more circular economy.”

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