Phoenix Journal · Kitchens
Every commercial kitchen produces controlled waste, and the law makes you responsible for it from bin to disposal. Here is how to meet your duty of care with confidence.
Duty of care
If your kitchen makes food waste, and every kitchen does, the law holds you responsible for that waste from the moment it lands in the bin to the moment it is safely recovered or disposed of.
Waste duty of care sits in Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. It applies to anyone who produces, keeps, carries or disposes of controlled waste, which is exactly what a commercial kitchen does every single service. The duty does not end when the bin leaves your yard - you remain accountable for making sure the waste reaches an authorised person and a legitimate destination.
Since 31 March 2025, England’s Simpler Recycling rules have added a sharper edge for food businesses. Any workplace with 10 or more full-time equivalent staff must now separate food waste from general rubbish, no matter how little is produced. Smaller operations with fewer than 10 staff have until 31 March 2027. This guide walks you through what compliance actually looks like on the ground, step by step.
Duty of care is easier to meet than it sounds once you break it into a routine. Follow these steps and you will have the paperwork, the segregation and the checks that an inspector expects to see.
It is tempting to treat waste transfer notes as a formality your contractor handles. They are not. The duty of care is shared but not transferable - if your carrier tips your waste in a lane, the trail of documents is what shows whether you did your part. Two fields are missed more often than any others: the EWC code and the carrier’s registration number. Get into the habit of checking both are present and correct before you sign, because a note with gaps is not a compliant note.
The financial stakes are real. Failing to hold a valid waste transfer note can bring a fixed penalty notice of £300 from your local council, and prosecution in the courts carries an unlimited fine. Non-compliance with the separation rules brings its own consequences: from 31 March 2025 the Environment Agency can issue a compliance notice to any qualifying business that fails to separate food waste, with enforcement escalating from there.
There is an operational upside too. Once food waste is properly segregated and weighed, you can see how much you are throwing away and why. That visibility is the starting point for cutting it - our guidance on how to reduce food waste in a high-volume kitchen shows how the same bins that keep you compliant also expose over-ordering and portioning problems that quietly cost you money.
Segregation and duct hygiene also pull in the same direction. Grease-laden food waste that sits too long, or bins stored too close to extraction intakes, feeds the pest and odour problems that a clean kitchen environment is meant to prevent. Keeping waste streams tight is part of the same discipline as keeping your canopy, ductwork and filters clean - both are about controlling what builds up in a busy kitchen before it becomes a hazard.
Finally, remember that duty of care follows your waste, not your intentions. Choosing the cheapest collection without checking the carrier, or letting notes pile up unsigned, leaves you exposed even when you meant to do the right thing. A few minutes of routine - a register check, a signed note, a labelled caddy - is what turns good intentions into a defence you can actually rely on.
If you remember nothing else, remember that the paperwork is your proof. Keep it complete, keep it accurate, and keep it for long enough to matter.
Questions
Yes. Every time non-hazardous controlled waste leaves your premises, you and the collecting carrier must complete and sign a waste transfer note. It should carry a written description of the waste, the EWC code 20 01 08 for separately collected food waste, your SIC 2007 code and the carrier's registration number. You must keep it for at least two years and produce it if an officer asks.
From 31 March 2025, all workplaces in England with 10 or more full-time equivalent employees must separate food waste from general waste and dry recycling, however little they produce. Micro-firms with fewer than 10 full-time equivalent staff have until 31 March 2027. The waste must then be collected by a carrier registered with the Environment Agency.
Ask for the carrier's registration number, which takes the form CBDU followed by digits. Then search the Environment Agency's public register at environment.data.gov.uk by company name or that number, and confirm the registration shows as active. Keep a dated copy of the check with your transfer notes so you can show you did your part of the duty of care.
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