All workplaces in Wales are required to separate their waste for recycling and arrange for it to be collected separately. Credit: Maples Images via Shutterstock.com.

A new recycling regulation, Workplace Recycling Regulations, has come into force in Wales in a bid to reduce waste and increase recycling. 

The new regulation will minimise the volume of waste directed towards incineration and landfill sites. 

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The new law mandates all businesses, charities, and public sector organisations to sort their waste for recycling.  

Under the new regulations, workplaces are required to separate key recyclable materials, including paper and card, plastics, glass, cartons, metal, and others. 

This separation must occur at the point of collection, mirroring the recycling practices already established in Welsh households. 

The initiative is expected to improve the quality of recycled materials, making them more suitable for use by Welsh businesses and reducing the need for exporting waste.  

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Welsh Climate Change, Cabinet Secretary Huw Irranca-Davies said: “Wales is already the best in the UK for domestic recycling and third best in the world. We now want to improve the quality and quantity of recycling from workplaces. This is an important step towards reaching zero waste, reducing our carbon emissions and tackling the climate emergency. 

“We want to keep materials in use for as long as possible. With the costs of materials rising, keeping high-quality materials in use will help our economy and support our supply chains.  

“It will also improve the quality and quantity of recyclable materials collected from workplaces, which will in turn capture important materials to be fed back into the Welsh economy.” 

Meanwhile, there have been calls for the Welsh Government to consider a temporary halt to the enforcement of this new regulations.  

Tory member of the Senedd (MS) James Evans reportedly wrote to Huw Irranca-Davies to raise concerns around the speed in which the regulations have been rolled out.