Walk one shop at opening or closing and write down what you can see: mixed customer bins, leftover cardboard, whether a food-waste container is present, leftover waste at close, and a waiting returns pile. A present recycling bin completes only that presence observation. It does not prove the waste was recycled. A recorded action is a plan, not completed work.

Read the sector overview for packaging EPR and claims. Triage the waiting returns pile. Record lighting and heating on the shop energy walk. Choose one prevention action after a longer waste record.

What one walk is allowed to finish

One row set is one shop, one walk date and one walk point of opening or closing. Lighting and heating stay on the shop energy walk. Eligibility for a return stays on the returns log. This walk does not register for packaging EPR.

A specific later task may be started on the 90-day tracker. The walk is not that row’s baseline and not completed work.

Fill in the walk

Download both files. Save a copy of the blank walk and type into that copy.

The files are plain CSV. You type every cell. The spreadsheet does not choose a priority and it does not calculate a recycling rate.

Columns: shop_name, walk_date, walk_point, check_id, observation, priority, action, person, action_date, row_status.

walk_point is opening or closing. The five checks are customer_bins_mixed, leftover_cardboard, food_waste_bin, returns_pile_waiting and waste_left_at_close. waste_left_at_close applies only on a closing walk. On an opening walk that check is not_applicable, and the observation must say it is a closing-only check.

priority is fix_now, schedule, ask_collector, no_action_needed or not_applicable. row_status is recorded when the observation and priority are filled and, for fix_now, schedule or ask_collector, the action, person and follow-up date are also filled. no_action_needed and a genuinely inapplicable check can finish with the observation and priority alone. Missing those follow-up fields on an actionable priority leaves the row incomplete. A recorded plan is not completed work.

Customer bins and leftover waste

customer_bins_mixed is recorded when customer or visitor bins were looked at. Mixed dry recycling, food and residual in one bin is an observation, not a completed collection. leftover_cardboard records cardboard still on the floor or behind the till. food_waste_bin records only whether a dedicated food-waste container is present in the observed area.

England workplace recycling guidance, last updated 3 October 2025, says workplaces including retail must separate dry recyclables, food waste and residual waste before collection. That duty applied from 31 March 2025. Micro-firms with fewer than 10 full-time-equivalent employees have until 31 March 2027. Customer and visitor waste is included. Compostable packaging is not food waste on that page. Those dates are England only.

A present container completes only the presence observation. It does not complete routing or that England duty. Merely seeing no food on one walk does not establish that the shop generates no food waste. not_applicable needs a stated basis that this check has nothing to observe, such as the shop does not sell or prepare food and the walk found no staff food-waste stream to inspect. That basis is limited to this walk.

Worked example: fictional Millbridge Outfitters

The example is fictional. Millbridge Outfitters is invented.

Check What was written Status
Customer bins Mixed residual and paper. Schedule. Shop manager, 14 October 2026. Recorded plan. Not a recycling rate.
Leftover cardboard Two boxes behind the till. Fix now: move boxes to the cardboard stack. Closing supervisor, 12 October 2026. Recorded plan. Not completed work.
Food-waste container Shop does not sell or prepare food; no staff food-waste stream seen. Not applicable. Limited to this walk. Recorded. Not proof the shop generates no food waste.
Returns pile Four garments waiting. Schedule a move onto the returns log. Waiting, not triaged.
Waste left at close Carrier bag and till roll on the packing bench. Schedule a closing sweep. Closing-only check.

Limits

A recorded walk is not an Environment Agency inspection, not packaging EPR registration, and not a carbon or cost saving. A present bin is not proof the waste was recycled. Seeing no food leftovers is not proof the shop generates no food waste. Public environmental wording still needs the green-claims guide.

Your next action

Triage the waiting returns pile. Choose one prevention action after a longer waste record. Start a later owner and evidence row on the 90-day tracker if a specific task follows from the walk.

Sources