Morning, Monday, 15th December 2025
Online
This conference will consider the future for food waste and reporting in England.
Areas for discussion include next steps for separation and collection across workplaces and households, practicalities of transparent reporting and audits, and development of partnerships and data usage to support consistent delivery across different local contexts.
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to discuss implementation in the context of the Separation of Waste (England) Regulations 2025 and Simpler Recycling in England, alongside Defra’s Resources and waste strategy for England: monitoring and evaluation. Discussion will also be informed by the United Kingdom Food Security Report 2024 and the Climate Change Committee’s The Seventh Carbon Budget.
Planned sessions will consider the rollout timetable - including introduction of weekly household food waste collections by April 2026 - and alignment with wider reforms, such as extended producer responsibility and the deposit return scheme.
The forthcoming Circular Economy Strategy will be examined, including its proposed roadmaps for sectors, including agrifood. Delegates will consider strategic frameworks for collaboration across government, regulators, local authorities and the farming and food sectors can underpin a circular economy approach and inform the Strategy’s delivery.
Attendees will consider practical steps for workplaces and local authorities. We expect discussion on areas such as contracting with licensed food waste carriers, establishing clear internal protocols to minimise contamination, preparing staff training and signage, and setting proportionate audit and reporting processes that support accountability. Use of standardised tools and data - such as WRAP’s eTEEP tool for written assessments - will be discussed, alongside approaches to support behaviour change and efficient service models in different settings.
Further sessions look at how policy in this area can best be coordinated with wider aims for emissions reduction, resource efficiency and food security. Options will be discussed for increasing redistribution of surplus food from farms and supply chains in coordination with charities and industry. Delegates will examine ways to deter the disposal of edible food and development of consistent national metrics in tracking progress.
With the agenda currently in the drafting stage, overall areas for discussion include:
- legislative framework: timetable for bringing Waste Separation Regulations 2025 into force - regulations synching with local delivery plans - coordination with other waste and recycling rules
- tracking systems: readiness of councils and contractors to adopt the national platform - links to legacy data tools - clear protocols for recording and sharing information
- regulatory oversight: likely changes to carrier licensing conditions - requirements for proof of transfer - strategies to target non-compliance
- information use: modelling service costs and emissions savings from new data - interventions based on evidence - opportunities for transparent public reporting
- public engagement: awareness of waste reduction policies - communication strategies to encourage participation - strategies for hard-to-reach groups
- carbon budget targets: contribution of food waste measures to the CCC’s Seventh Carbon Budget - interaction with wider net-zero policy - relevance to methane-reduction pathways
- redistribution networks: new routes from farm and supply chain to recipient organisations - investment in storage and transport - partnership models with charities and social enterprises
- market levers: role of pricing or tax measures in discouraging edible waste - assessment of commercial impacts - coordination with extended producer responsibility
