Is Simpler Recycling a legal requirement?

Yes, Simpler Recycling is a legal requirement for workplaces in England. Since 31 March 2025, any business, charity or public body with 10 or more full-time-equivalent staff must keep three streams separate: dry recyclables (plastic, metal, glass, paper and card), food waste, and the rest as general waste. Workplaces with fewer than 10 full-time-equivalent staff have until 31 March 2027. The count is across the whole organisation, not per site. Your waste collector has to take the separated streams, and the Environment Agency enforces the rules with compliance notices. In practice it means a recycling bin or sack, a food bin if you produce food waste, and a general waste bin, each collected separately.