Commercial Food Waste Regulations

The Waste Management (Food Waste) Regulations 2009 amended by the Waste Management (Food Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 place obligations on businesses regarding any food waste that arises within their premises.

The Food Waste Regulations covers a broad range of commercial outlets, including shops, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, pubs and office canteens.

What do the Regulations mean for my business?

Each specified premises is not allowed to dispose of food waste to landfill. Instead the regulations now dictate that all food waste arising on the premises will be need to be segregated and kept separate from other waste and contamination.

Such segregated food waste will have to be either:

• Collected by an authorised collector. The waste collector should be authorised to collect catering waste under EWC code 20-01-08
• Brought by the producer to an authorised facility for treatment in an authorised compost or anaerobic digester facility.

Alternatively, a producer may have an on-site compost facility to recover their waste; however this would require a certificate of registration from Louth County Council and may require approval from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. 

Note: If a Producer composts on site or transfers food waste directly to an authorised facility, all reasonable steps shall be taken to minimise the creation of odours and nuisance.

Macerators/Sink Waste Disposal Units

The use of food waste macerators to shred or hydrate or otherwise alter the structure of food waste for the purposes of facilitating its discharge in wastewater to a service connection, drain or sewer is prohibited by the Food Waste Regulations. This provision applies irrespective of whether a discharge licence under the Water Pollution Act has been issued which allows food effluent to pass to a sewer. This is to ensure that food waste is consigned for recycling and to avoid blockages in the drainage system.

www.foodwaste.ie.