We’re midway through February, 44 days through the new year to be precise, but what’s more important is that we’re 44 days into the new Waste (Scotland) Regulations.

Regular readers of our blog will be aware that as of the 1st of January 2014 new regulations on how businesses dispose of waste was introduced.

As we’ve intimated on countless occasions, these new regulations WILL benefit your business in the long run, helping it become more profitable and also helping to gain a competitive advantage.

The flip side is that for those who don’t adhere to these regulations there’s the very real possibility of severe fines.

So what do these new regulations entail then?

When in the workplace, all rubbish must be separated to ensure the optimum amount of recycling can be achieved. To help achieve this your business must present metal, plastic, glass, paper, and card separately.

And for those of you running food businesses with over 50 kg of waste per week must present it for separate collection. In addition, since the turn of the year it’s been illegal to dispose of food into the public sewer. However businesses located in rural areas are exempt from the requirement for food regulations.

Food waste is actually a topic which was widely covered in the news this week. A well-known pizza restaurant was at the centre of what was a rather amusing news story albeit a potentially costly one.

Staff at this restaurant, allegedly disposed of a large quantity of raw pizza dough in their food recycling bin which in turn made a mess of not only the bin but the street too.

First-off it’s great to see businesses disposing of their food waste separately from their other waste, however it’s important that when we dispose of our waste (and not just food waste) that we do so in a safe manner.

Yes this looks pretty funny but it could have caused injury to a pedestrian.

In the run-up to the new Waste (Scotland) regulations we offered a free consultation where we explained the new regulations at length as well as ways of adhering to them safely and efficiently in the hope that instances such as this one in Edinburgh don’t happen.

We work closely with all our clients to ensure their waste is disposed of hygienically, safely, and legally to safeguard their business and help them become more profitable.

To learn how Spectrum Service Solutions can help and advise your business on waste disposal and increase its profits please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.

You can contact us through our website, via email, or by calling us on: 0141 887 5000. In addition you can direct any enquiries you may have to us via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Image courtesy of @ailsabm (Twitter).