Almost two-thirds of businesses have yet to begin preparing for waste management reforms that come into force in March, according to research.
A survey of more than 200 firms by metal-recycling specialist Ward found that 62 per cent of respondents had done nothing to get ready for the forthcoming Simpler Recycling legislation.
Ministers recently announced there would be a “default requirement” for “most households” to receive collections from four separate bins from March 2026.
They added that many businesses could have to comply with the majority of the reforms as soon as March 2025.
While seven in 10 respondents to the Ward poll knew about the Simpler Recycling legislation, and nine in 10 felt they had good knowledge of what was required, fewer than four in 10 had actually started to prepare.
Operations director Donald Ward said: “As much as there is positive intention to simplify waste streams, improve recycling effectiveness and reduce waste to landfill, there are some practical considerations to businesses to adopting these measures.
“The top concern from the survey was cost, with 60 per cent of respondents naming this as a main barrier. A further 39 per cent said space constraints and 31 per cent cited lack of time as a factor that prevented them from segregating and recycling waste.”
Ward said a waste audit could quickly assess the volume and type of material needing to be managed and allow firms to make a plan for the required container sizes and collection frequencies to achieve the best value for money.
