This week we welcome Ty Lawrence-Lamarca from Recorra, who has written a fantastic guest blog for us as part of Recycle Week 2025. Ty shares practical steps Brighton hospitality businesses can take to reduce waste, save money, and make a real impact
Finally: it’s Recycle Week 2025!
The 22nd to 28th of September marks Recycle Week: the nationwide campaign led by The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to inspire action. This week is all about celebrating sustainable waste management, raising awareness of waste reduction, and reflecting on the positive impact businesses can make on their communities.
Here in Brighton, being eco-conscious is a core part of our identity, and it shines through in the hospitality sector. From cafés to large restaurants, businesses are already taking significant steps to reduce their environmental impact.
So, take this opportunity to get involved: share your sustainability success stories, run in-house recycling challenges, and explore the different ways you can dispose of materials responsibly, or better, reuse!
Read on to discover simple, practical changes your business can make to deliver long-term impact.
Reduce Single-Use Plastics
Single-use plastics remain a major challenge, particularly within supply chains. Packaging is often relied upon to keep products fresh during transport, but its disposal then falls to cafés, restaurants, and hotels.
Plastic-free packaging is available locally, but it can be more costly to procure, particularly for smaller businesses. Many businesses tell me they want to make the switch, but face the burden of increased costs. Even so, lots of businesses are already making real progress: sourcing locally, reducing energy use, and minimising food waste.
A great example is Redroaster, who cut their plastic waste by switching milk deliveries from individual plastic bottles to milk pergals (eco-friendly bag-in-box packaging for milk). This simple change reduced their milk container waste from three bins per week to just one! Read the full case study here.
Another good example is the growth of reusable cup schemes in Brighton coffee shops. Customers are encouraged to bring their own cup, cutting single-use waste whilst also earning a discount: a win win!
Slash Food Waste
Food waste is another pressing issue. While some waste can be reduced, we understand that for such a fast-paced industry, it is not always avoidable. No restaurant can entirely eliminate plate waste or find a magic bullet for fluctuating demand. However, how we manage food waste matters.
Using a dedicated food waste bin ensures that food waste is sent for anaerobic digestion rather than incineration, or worse, landfill. This simple step makes a significant difference, transforming waste into renewable biogas and nutrient-rich biofertilizer.
From 31st March 2025, all businesses in England with 10 or more full-time equivalent employees must legally have food waste recycling in place. Smaller businesses (with fewer than 10 employees) must comply by the 31st of March 2027. Now is the perfect time to speak to your waste supplier and get set up. Not only will this help you stay compliant, but food waste collections are typically 25–40% cheaper than general waste collections, so there’s nothing to lose and plenty to gain.
Venues can also focus on portion control and donate surplus food where possible. Food redistribution charities, like FareShare or The Real Junk Food Project, ensure that surplus food reaches those who need it most.
For example, FareShare collects good-quality surplus food from across the industry and distributes it to over 8,000 charities and community groups, providing almost a million meals a week. The Real Junk Food Project rescues quality food and runs community kitchens offering a ‘pay as you feel’ model, ensuring access to fresh meals and reducing waste. These partnerships not only reduce waste but also strengthen connections between businesses and their communities.
Simplify Your Recycling Process
Recycling itself can feel complex and overwhelming. There are a few simple steps businesses can take to improve recycling and reduce waste, starting with your bin setup. For best results, check:
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- Signage: Is it clear, concise, and easy to understand?
- Colour coding: Does it match your bins?
- Visibility: Are signs at eye level to avoid confusion?
- Consistency: Do you have centralised stations with uniform bins?
If you don’t yet have recycling signage in place, you can download and print it for free from Recorra’s website.
Be sure to work with your staff closely and train them on what to look out for. ‘Wish-cycling’ happens when people place items in recycling bins in the hope that they’re recyclable. This is a common challenge. While well-intentioned, it can contaminate entire loads.
Common examples include greasy pizza boxes and disposable food packaging with plastic linings going into mixed recycling. Compostable coffee cups often end up in the general waste. To achieve their full environmental potential, i.e., composting, compostable items must be placed in a dedicated compostables bin, collected separately from other waste streams. Without this, their value is lost, as they are likely to be incinerated.
Training packs and on-the-go learning for new starters can make a big difference in helping your staff understand how to use your recycling bins properly.
These simple changes can save you money: the more recycling you segregate at the source, the less general waste you produce, and the lower your disposal costs will be.
Share Your Insights
Show how you’re getting it right. Your example can inspire others to follow suit.
Multiple studies show that sustainability commitments are strongly linked to customer loyalty. Businesses that stay true to their values can use this as a genuine competitive advantage. Customers increasingly choose venues whose sustainability values align with their own, especially in an area like Brighton. Demonstrating your commitment shows that your business is both forward-thinking and community-minded.
Keep it Local
Choosing local partners reduces your carbon footprint, supports small businesses, and can help you avoid unnecessary plastic packaging if you choose to work with eco-conscious suppliers.
Community partnerships are another strong win. Sourcing local charity partnerships can help you uncover new solutions and strengthen ties in your neighbourhood.
Get Involved in Recycle Week!
There are many ways to take part in Recycle Week 2025. For example, create a sustainability-themed menu item, like a zero-waste cocktail made from fruit peel or herbs that would otherwise go to waste. Most importantly, share your sustainable waste management journey and inspire change.
Get Real Recycling with Recorra
At Recorra, we partner with Brighton businesses that are committed to positive change. We provide custom commercial waste management and recycling solutions, staff training, and clear reporting to make responsible waste management simple and impactful. If you’d like to take your recycling to the next level, get in touch with us.
