Handling and disposing of international catering waste
Source: gov.uk (2025-09-18)

How to separate, store, transport and dispose of international catering waste (ICW).

What is international catering waste (ICW)

International catering waste (ICW) is food waste and packaging from planes and boats that have arrived from outside the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

Your food waste is ICW even if you stocked up for the entire journey in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

ICW includes food waste from vehicles including:
- cruise ships and ferries
- aeroplanes
- yachts and boats (private or commercial)
- armed forces ships and submarines
ICW is classed as a high-risk category 1 animal by-product (ABP). You must follow rules on handling and disposal to prevent the spread of diseases.

Food that is still intended to be consumed does not need to be treated as ICW and does not need to be discarded (for example, food that a passenger carries off the vehicle becomes a personal import).

Examples of ICW

ICW includes all food waste, and any items that may have come into contact with food waste including:
- napkins
- food packaging like meal boxes or snack wrappers
- disposable cutlery
- milk and butter sachets
- tea or coffee cups
Travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland

Food waste from vehicles travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland must be treated as ICW.

Travelling within the UK, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man

Food waste from vehicles is classified as domestic catering waste, rather than ICW, when the vehicles either:
- operate within the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man
- travel from Northern Ireland to Great Britain
You must clean and disinfect all areas on your vessel that come into contact with food, and you may need to make a declaration. See the ‘Declaring domestic catering waste (#declaring-domestic-waste)’ section.

Food waste from submarines and fishing vessels is not ICW if you do not land or get restocked outside the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

Separating recyclable items from ICW

You must collect ICW and recyclable items in separate bags or boxes, so that recyclable materials are not contaminated by food waste.

Examples of recyclable items include:
- plastic bottles
- drink cans
- magazines and newspapers
- clean cardboard packaging
- unused drinks cups (check if your waste collector can recycle these)
Contaminated recycling

You must not recycle any items that have been in contact with any animal products. This includes milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, cream and honey, as well as meat or fish.

For example, a sandwich wrapper or a cup that has contained tea or coffee must be collected as ICW, not recycling.

If a recycling bag is contaminated with any amount of ICW, the whole bag must be treated as ICW.

Read guidance on separating aircraft waste (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/aircraft-waste-separating-recycling-and-international-catering-waste).

Storing and transporting ICW

At the airport or port, you must either:
- store ICW in a dedicated container
- have it collected by a specialist contractor that is appropriately registered or approved under animal by-product regulations
ICW containers must be:
- covered
- leak-proof
- clearly labelled ‘Category 1 Animal By-Product - for disposal only’
- cleaned and disinfected with a Defra-approved disinfectant (https://www.gov.uk/defra-approved-disinfectant-when-and-how-to-use-it) after each use
You can use a compactor to reduce the waste volume, as long as you:
- use it only for ICW
- keep it in a covered area
- control any liquid run-off
- clean and disinfect areas contaminated with liquid run-off
Many ports and airports have a dedicator container or compactor on site.

You must send ICW for disposal as quickly as possible after the vessel or aircraft has docked or landed.

Find out how to transport ABPs (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/transporting-animal-by-products) and how to label any ABPs you move (https://www.gov.uk/animal-by-product-categories-site-approval-hygiene-and-disposal#keeping-records-and-labelling).

Disposing of ICW

You can only dispose of ICW by:
- processing used cooking oil into biodiesel in an approved plant
- combusting it for use as fuel, at an approved plant, with or without prior processing
- incinerating or co-incinerating it without prior processing and following processing (methods 1-5) and permanent marking by use of glyceryl tri- heptanoate (GTH)
- disposal by pressure sterilisation and deep burial in an authorised landfill
- disposal by deep burial in an authorised landfill (no pre-treatment is required)
You must not use ICW in biogas or composting plants (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-animal-by-products-at-compost-and-biogas-sites).

You must keep records and copies of commercial documents for the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to inspect.

Find out more about incinerating ABPs (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-by-products-how-to-burn-them-at-an-incinerator-site).

Who is responsible for disposal?

The responsibility for identifying and disposing of ICW lies with either the:
- private owner of the vessel or aircraft
- company that owns the vessel or aircraft
- armed force that operates the vessel or aircraft
If you hire a company to move ICW off your boat or aircraft, you’re still responsible for making sure it’s identified and disposed of legally.

Waste disposal: shipmasters’ responsibilities

Before your merchant boat, ship or fishing vessel leaves a harbour or terminal, you must send waste to a waste reception facility, unless your vessel has enough waste storage capacity for the next leg of the journey.

You must tell the harbour authority if you’re not unloading waste due to having enough storage capacity.

Declaring waste as domestic catering waste

Any food waste produced by your vessel or aircraft while travelling within the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man will be considered domestic waste if:
- you clean and disinfect all areas on your vessel that come into contact with food (galley, store rooms)
- any restocking is done inside the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man
Vessels must complete a written declaration (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/declaration-of-the-disposal-of-catering-waste-from-international-means-of-transport) to show that all these actions have been taken.

Commercial planes do not need a declaration.

On a ship, this must be completed by the ship’s master, and handed to the port, harbour, marina, boatyard or naval yard operator for audit by APHA.

For military air bases the declaration should be kept by the base for audit by APHA.

Private plane operators should leave the declaration with the airport operator for APHA to collect, or send it to the APHA office responsible for that airport.