Composting green waste
What you must do
Small composters
Small scale composters are commonly used to compost vegetable material from staff rooms and lunch boxes. In schools for example these can provide a valuable teaching aid for a few topics. Many offices have small composters within their grounds.
In Northern Ireland, you must register small composters with the NIEA.
In Scotland, certain composting and anaerobic digestion activities are considered low risk waste activities and do not require authorisation from SEPA, if certain conditions are met.
These activities are:
- Composting biodegradable waste or manure in open systems, and use of the compost, at the place the waste or manure was produced, e.g., at farms, liveries, schools, parks, golf courses, nature reserves
- Composting less than, or equal to, 1 tonne of waste, including Animal By-Product food waste (i.e., mixed food waste) per day in an enclosed system e.g., at a hotel, hospital, college campus, or market
- Anaerobic digestion of less than, or equal to, 1 tonne of waste including Animal By-Product food waste at any one time in an enclosed system
For more information, including conditions for the above activities see – SEPA: Low risk waste activities
Composting activities (including storage and treatment) that are not considered low risk waste activities will require an EASR authorisation.
Green waste
If contractors remove green waste material on your behalf, you must ensure that they transport and dispose of it legally.
If you carry out the work yourself, you can use the green waste to produce compost for use on your site, or carry out cutting, shredding, chipping or pulverisation of wood waste for recovery purposes. This can produce compost, chipped bark, wood shavings or sawdust for mulching and soil improvement.
In Northern Ireland, if you normally and regularly carry waste in the course of your day-to-day business or with a view to profit, and if you carry certain specific waste types, especially construction and demolition waste, you must be registered as a waste carrier with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.
In Scotland, if you normally and regularly transport waste produced by your own business, you must register with SEPA. From 1 April 2026, this will be an EASR registration.
See our guidance on waste carriers, brokers and dealers.