Finish one row for each area. A station is ready only when you have named the waste stream, copied a real sign, written the staff instruction, named who empties the internal bin, and named the external container. A removal is ready only when the instruction names the station people should use instead. If the sign is not confirmed yet, that station stays waiting. A waiting sign is not a finished removal.

This is a plan of places and words. It is not the seven-day starter waste log, not the 4–8 week invoice baseline in the waste-reduction guide, and not a buying list for bins.

Fill in the location plan

Download all three files. Save a copy of the blank plan and type into that copy. Keep the instructions file open beside it. Use the example only as a labelled pattern.

The three files are plain CSV templates. You type every cell. The spreadsheet does not check a row or choose the status. Mark a station ready only when the sign and the staff instruction are complete. Mark a removal ready only when the instruction names the destination. The instructions file lists every column, and it is enough to use the plan without this page.

Write one row per area, including a desks row when desk bins are being removed. row_purpose is station or remove_or_route. proposed_stream is residual, paper_and_card, dry_recycling, food or not_set. sign_text_source is collector_supplied, wrap_poster_selected, written_from_collector_list or not_yet. On a station, not_yet means the sign is unfinished, so the row stays waiting. row_status is ready or waiting. You type that status yourself.

Where each bin goes

Ask where the waste arises, who passes that place, and which external container the internal bin is emptied into. Put a residual container at the same station as any recycling container, so an unwanted item has somewhere to go. On a ready station, name that residual container in external_container or in the staff instruction.

WRAP’s office containers page says to position internal bins where waste is generated, to create stations that include a general-waste container, and to label containers with the waste they contain. The same page suggests indoor food containers of 35 litres or less in a food-prep setting, and outdoor food containers no larger than 140 litres, for manual handling. That is WRAP’s food-container guidance. It is not a size rule for paper or for desks.

Do not adopt a step-count rule or a seller’s bin size. colour_note may record a colour already in use. When you write a colour, include the words “not an official code”. WRAP says there is no official colour-coding system for bins in workplaces. That sentence is guidance. It is not a national colour standard.

What the sign and the instruction may say

On a station, copy sign_text from the collector, from a WRAP poster you have chosen because it matches that collector, or from a list the collector has already given. If none of those exists, set sign_text_source to not_yet, leave sign_text blank, and set row_status to waiting. That station cannot be marked ready. A waiting row records a gap. It is not permission to invent the accepted list.

On a remove_or_route row there is no sign at the removed place. sign_text_source stays not_yet and sign_text stays blank. The row can still be ready when current_container says what is removed and staff_instruction names the destination station. The blank sign is allowed only because the row removes the bin rather than opening a station. A station cannot be ready with that same blank sign.

staff_instruction is one or two short sentences. It must not say that an item is recyclable in every workplace. On a station, the instruction is required before the row can be ready. On a removal, it must name the destination station.

Worked example: a fictional office

The example is a fictional location plan for Northgate Studio. It is not a real office and not a compliant setup. collector_name is blank on every row.

Area Purpose Sign Instruction Status
Kitchen Station, food, staff tea point From the fictional collector sheet: leftovers, tea bags, coffee grounds. No compostable cups. Put food here. Put compostable cups in the residual bin at this station. Ready
Print corner Station, paper and card not_yet. Sign text blank. Blank Waiting. The fictional collector has not said whether paper travels separately.
Desks Removal of the under-desk bin not_yet. Sign text blank. Stream not_set. Take waste to the kitchen station. Do not leave a bin under the desk. Ready, because the destination and instruction are complete

The kitchen instruction sends compostable cups to the residual bin. It does not call them food waste. The colour note says “green lid already in use, not an official code”. The external container on that row is the yard food bin. The residual container is named in the instruction.

The print-corner station stays waiting. Do not treat the blank sign as a confirmed paper list. The desks row is ready because the instruction names the kitchen station, not because not_yet means ready.

Limits of a location plan

The plan records decisions about places and words. It does not weigh waste, test what is inside a bin, or decide a collector’s contract.

Defra’s workplace recycling guidance for England, last updated 3 October 2025, recommends clear signs on or near bins as one way to reduce contamination. It says that if significant contamination is found before collection, that waste should be disposed of as general waste, and that collectors typically have contractual clauses allowing them to refuse the load or charge more. Those points are reasons to keep a residual bin at the station. They are not a result this plan can prove. For the England requirements, including who they apply to and when, use the waste-reduction guide. This plan does not tell Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland what to separate.

What this page does not decide

It does not replace prevention of waste, the seven-day log, or an inspection against the collector’s acceptance rules. When the reader is ready to inspect what is in a bin, check a bin against the collector’s acceptance rules. It does not rank bin suppliers or set a colour standard. A waiting sign is not a failed inspection. Before you describe the finished plan in public as a recycling result, read the green claims code.

Sources

Accessed 8 October 2026.

  • Simpler recycling: workplace recycling in England, Defra, last updated 3 October 2025. Clear signs, significant contamination before collection, and typical collector clauses. The page applies to England. Who it applies to, and when, is covered in the waste-reduction guide.
  • Containers for your Office’s waste and recycling needs, WRAP Business of Recycling. Placement where waste is generated, a general-waste container at the station, labels, the statement that there is no official workplace colour code, and the food-container size suggestion. WRAP does not limit this page to one UK nation.