Get Ready for the Food Waste Mandate

Focus Area 2

Get Ready for the Food Waste Mandate

The NSW Government is making food waste recycling mandatory for businesses that sell or handle food, starting from July 2026.

The business food waste mandate is important because it will keep food waste out of landfill, where it would otherwise break down and release methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that has a global warming potetnial 28 times higher than carbon dioxide. By ensuring food waste is separately collected and recycled into compost or energy, the mandate helps cut emissions, return nutrients to soils, and reduce pressure on landfill space and natural resources.

The Hunter JO, in partnership with Go Circular, has created free, practical resources to help cafés, restaurants and hospitality venues understand the Business Food Waste Mandate, set up food waste separation in a way that works in real businesses, and find other ways to minimise waste. NSW Government is making food waste recycling mandatory for businesses that sell or handle food, starting from July 2026.

Free resources to help your business reduce waste

Hospitality Food Waste Reduction Toolkit

The Toolkit is a practical guide designed specifically for hospitality businesses but can be used by any business trying to measure and reduce their food waste. The Toolkit helps you to:

Understand what the Food Waste Mandate means for your business
Measure food waste and identify where it comes from
Pick a food waste solution that works for your business
Set up food waste separation systems
Avoid common mistakes and wasted time
Understand how to address other waste types

Access the Hospitality Food Waste Reduction Toolkit here.

Videos: Learn from local hospitality businesses

These short videos show how cafés and restaurants in the Hunter are reducing and recycling food waste and other waste streams, including how staff adapted, challenges they faced and how it has benefited their business.

Autumn Rooms

Equium Social

Waste reduction tips from Newcastle hospitality veteran, Bec Bowie

Case studies: Step by step examples

Read the following real-world case studies that walk through how hospitality businesses moved from planning to action, with practical lessons you can apply immediately.

How this helps with the NSW Food Waste Mandate

The NSW Business Food Waste Mandate requires many businesses to separate food waste over staged timeframes. These resources help you understand when the rules apply to you, know exactly what’s required onsite, reduce contamination risks and get ahead of compliance deadlines.

Learn more about the mandate by visiting the NSW EPA website.

Take the first step today

Start by downloading the Toolkit, watching the videos and choosing one small change to begin. Starting early makes compliance easier and can help your business waste less and save more.

The Project: Hunter Hospitality Circularity Network

The Hunter Hospitality Circularity Network project supported cafés, restaurants and other hospitality businesses across the Hunter region to reduce food waste, divert organics from landfill and prepare for the NSW EPA’s Business Food Waste Mandate.

Delivered by Hunter Joint Organisation with facilitation from Go Circular and funding from the NSW EPA, the project brought together hospitality business operators, waste service providers, councils and government agencies to build capability, unlock local solutions and accelerate the uptake of food waste separation ahead of regulation.

The project used a network-led, place‑based approach tailored to the realities of fast‑paced hospitality businesses that are often time‑ and resource‑constrained. Activities included:

Facilitating a regional hospitality circularity network, connecting businesses with waste collectors, solution providers and peers.
Delivering workshops, mini‑workshops and site visits to provide practical, face‑to‑face support.
Hosting a Circular Solutions Co‑Design Workshop that connected hospitality operators with food waste collection services, cooking oil recyclers and reusable systems – click here to watch the workshop video.
Providing on‑site coaching, signage and staff training materials to reduce contamination and embed food waste separation into daily operations.
Sharing success stories to drive peer‑to‑peer influence, encouraging uptake of waste and sustianability initiatives beyond the formal program.

By the end of the project, participation and waste reduction targets were exceeded, with strong momentum continuing beyond the reporting period.

Outcomes and impact:

165 hospitality businesses actively participated, engaging more than 600 SMEs across the region.
An estimated 506 tonnes of waste were diverted from landfill.
Food waste separation and collection services were introduced or expanded for small hospitality businesses where services had previously been limited.
Businesses reported increased confidence and motivation after seeing peers successfully implement changes.
The project demonstrated that targeted, local engagement is critical to preparing small businesses for regulatory change

Contact

For more information, contact the Hunter JO team on ce@hunterjo.nsw.gov.au.

Brought to you by the NSW Government through the NSW Environment Protection Authority.