New rules come into force on 30 October that will require bakeries to reduce the amount of waste they send to landfill.
A business can comply with the Landfill Directive by either reducing the amount of waste it produces or by increasing its recycling rates. All non-hazardous waste liquids will also be banned from landfill.
Chris Dabner, parliamentary officer of the National Association of Master Bakers (NA), said: "If the amount of waste sent to landfill sites continues at current levels, then the sites will soon become full. This is why the government is putting much more emphasis on recycling."
The Environment Agency estimates that the UK produces around 330 million tonnes of waste annually.
Dabner added that bakery businesses will have to sort and recycle some of their waste, either by pre-treating their own waste or paying a contractor to do it for them.
"Ultimately," he added, "it is in our interest to recycle because the less landfill space there is, the higher the landfill taxes are likely to become."
Last Monday, the Environment Agency produced a website - [http://www.wastematters.org.uk] - giving businesses tips and hints on how to tackle waste. It also offers advice from regulators on waste legislation.
An industry source said, however, that bakers and manufactures should not panic about this legislation because the law does not specify how much waste needs to be treated. As long as they are seen to be treating some, no matter how little, then they will not be prosecuted by law.
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