Business rubbish and recycling
From 31 March 2025 new regulations for commercial waste come into operation. Businesses will need to set up a regular collection for general waste, food waste, and dry mixed recycling. Find out more about the new regulations and how your business can prepare.
As a business you have a legal duty to ensure that the rubbish you produce is disposed of properly. This must be carried out by a licensed waste carrier, even if it’s only a small amount.
From 31 March 2025, a nationwide legislation will require all commercial businesses with ten or more full-time employees to separate their food waste for recycling. In addition to separating food waste, businesses must also recycle dry materials, including cardboard, glass, paper, cans, and plastic containers such as pots, trays, and tubs.
Under the regulations, businesses with 10 or more full-time equivalent employees must have a collection that covers all three waste streams:
- General waste
- Food waste
- Dry mixed recycling, which includes:
- glass bottles and jars
- metal food and drinks cans
- plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays
- paper and cardboard
Find out more about the legislation and how to prepare.
We provide a competitive commercial waste, food waste and recycling service for local businesses. All our commercial waste service prices are also exempt from VAT.
To arrange to use our services or find out more use our commercial waste online enquiry form or call 020 8314 2104.
Why we're the best choice for your business
We're:
- flexible - you can change your collection plans to suit your needs
- reliable - we operate five days a week from 6am to 10pm
- competitive - we offer competitive pricing and support structures
- local - we understand the needs of businesses in Lewisham
- green - you can recycle a wide range of items, all in one container or sack
- supportive - we have a dedicated business waste team to help you with getting started and provide you with advice
- transparent - we do not have hidden costs
Sign up to Lewisham Council business waste collections
If you'd like to sign up to our commercial waste collection service, please use our commercial waste online enquiry form. We will then call you to discuss what services you need and the costs involved.
If you would like to use bins, we will visit your premises to make sure that they're suitable. We will invoice you monthly for bin hire and collection charges. Bags are charged and invoiced in full.
We can also give you practical tips and money saving advice on how to reduce waste and increase recycling.
When you join the service, we will let you know your collection days and where you should put your bins and sacks. We will only provide bins if you have enough space to store them on your property between collections. You cannot store bins permanently on the public road or pavement.
Existing customers
If you need to order more recycling or general rubbish bags email direct and we will let you know the costs.
We will send you an invoice for payment, then you can pay online or over the phone. Ways to pay are detailed on the invoice. We do not accept cheques.
Remember
- please don’t leave bins or sacks on the pavement overnight
- we will only collect rubbish contained in official Lewisham Council business waste or recycling sacks or bins
- you should tie your sacks at the top to prevent any spillages
- the lid of your bins should be closed and not overloaded, you must pack the rubbish so that it can’t fall out or blow away
- sacks should not be heavier than 12.5kg (28lbs)
- hazardous business waste is a separate service, find out more about hazardous waste collections.
Skips
If you want to put a skip on the road, you must apply for a skip permit via our highways team.