PENDLE businesses are being told they will need to separate their recycling and waste in the New Year.

New waste regulations require local councils to collect rubbish and recycling separately from its trade waste customers.

Councillor David Clegg said: “Under the changes to Waste Regulations, from January 1, 2015, we must show that we are making every effort to encourage local businesses to reduce, re-use and recycle. If we do not, we risk legal action by the Environment Agency and possibly even fined."

Of Pendle Council’s 700 trade waste customers, around 500 do not recycle their waste.

Mary Townsend, a technical officer in the council’s waste management department, will visit trade waste customers to assess their recycling needs.

She said: “I’m keen to work with businesses in Pendle to show them it doesn’t have to be hard work to separate their waste for recycling and encourage them to do more than they are at present."

Pendle Council’s trade recycling service includes separate collections for paper, envelopes and card, and plastic bottles, cans/tins and glass bottles/jars.