Waste from a businessA useful guide

hfdscouncil herefordshire.gov.uklf

You should read this guide if you:l run a business, charity, club or societyl are a tradesmanl are a landlord or provide holiday accommodationl undertake any other commercial activity

What is business waste?

If you produce waste from any of the activities below, it isclassed as commercial or industrial waste. You are required tomake suitable arrangements for this waste to be stored anddisposed of safely and lawfully.

Business waste is any waste that is produced by a commercial activity,including one you run from your home. The law classifies this waste ascommercial or industrial waste.

It includes waste from construction, demolition, industry andagriculture, but also includes waste from:

Charities

Clubs and societies

Holiday homes Camp sites

Any part of yourhome used for acommercial/business activity

If you run a business you must make sure that you and your staffare lawfully managing any waste produced by the business. Failure to take all reasonable measures to manage your wastelawfully can lead to criminal prosecution.

You must not allow this waste to be collected with householdwaste or deposited at Household Recycling Centres.

All the waste produced from a business premise, including the wasteproduced by you and any employees is classed as business waste.

All of the below are considered business waste:

Waste from home businesses,such as childminding,accountancy, salons, catering and dog grooming

Food and drinks waste fromany part of a businesspremises

Waste from rented properties collected by the landlord orhis agents

Waste produced at ahousehold by builders, painters and decorators and other contractors

Complete a waste transfer note. This isthen given to a registered waste carriersuch as a waste collection company.

Check if your waste collection companyis on the public waste register atwww.gov.uk

Check your waste collector is disposing ofyour waste legally (report them to the council and the EnvironmentAgency if they are not).

Failure to take all reasonable measures to store and dispose of yourwaste correctly is a criminal offence and could lead to prosecution.

For more information and guidance visit www.gov.uk/managing-your-waste-an-overview

Sort and store waste safely andsecurely. You should doeverything you reasonably canto prevent it from escaping.

Keep waste to a minimum bydoing everything you can toprevent, reuse, recycle or recover waste.

What are your responsibilities?

If you produce commercial or industrial waste you have a duty of careto store and dispose of your waste responsibly. You should:

What can you do to comply?

The simplest way to manage your business waste lawfully is toemploy a licensed waste management company to collect anddispose of it.

Waste management companies will normally provide a range ofcontainers (bins) so the waste can be stored safely and securely. They will collect your waste using a licensed collection service anddispose of it at permitted waste treatment and disposal facilities. A waste management company may also complete the requiredpaperwork on your behalf for a charge, but you may be encouragedto do this yourself.

There are a range of waste management companies in Herefordshirewhich you can find through an internet search. Herefordshire Councilalso provides a business waste service and collects both generalrubbish and mixed recyclables.

Visit www.herefordshire.gov.uk/tradewaste for further information.

Remember!You must not use householdwaste collection services orHousehold Recycling Centres todispose of your business waste.

Enforcement Officers aremonitoring these services andif you use them to dispose ofbusiness waste then you willbe prosecuted.

1. Think about whatwaste you produce

Consider how much waste youproduce, and what sort of waste it is.For starters you may want to:

•Decide what waste could berecycled (paper, card, metals, glassor plastic) and how much there is.

•Decide how much waste isgeneral waste that is not suitablefor recycling or difficult to separate.

•Decide if there are any wastes that need a special collection, this couldinclude hazardous wastes, hygienewastes, electrical waste, liquidwastes or other waste which cannotbe mixed with general non-hazardous waste.

How to manage your business waste

Follow these simple steps tomanage the waste from yourbusiness lawfully.

2. Reduce your waste

Reducing waste will save you moneyand could even help the way youmanage your business. Some methods you might want toconsider are:

•Go paperless - use electronic filingsystems by making arrangementswith customers, staff and suppliers toissue orders, statements, reports, etc.electronically. You could evenconsider a printing ban on somedocuments. This will not only savethe cost of disposing of waste paper but will reduce how much paper youneed to buy, storage costs andimprove your record keeping.

•Reduce packaging - buy equipmentand supplies with minimal packaging,or make arrangements with your suppliers to remove and take awaypackaging on delivery.

•Avoid using disposable items, suchas hand towels, cleaning wipes andplastic cutlery.

•Use long lasting products, such asrechargeable batteries and LEDlighting. It may cost more to beginwith but lasts longer so is cheaperin the long term.

You can now complete waste transfer notesusing the Environment Agency’s EDOConline system www.edoconline.co.uk

If you arrange a service with HerefordshireCouncil we encourage our customers to usethis service.

Records of waste transfers must be keptfor at least two years, or three years ifthe waste is hazardous.

4. Make arrangements tohave your waste collected and disposed of safely Contact local waste managementcompanies to find out what services theycan offer you. Find out what containers(bins) they can provide, what materialsthey collect, how often they can collectand what their charges are. Remember there may be additionalcharges for completing paperwork onyour behalf, bin delivery, cancellation,and other charges so make sure you ask.Once you have decided who you wouldlike to use and before any agreementis signed make sure they are lawful. If you give your waste to someone youneed to make sure they are a licensedwaste carrier and that they are going totake your waste to a permitted wastetreatment/disposal facility.Check the waste public register:

www.gov.uk

3. Make suitablestorage arrangements

Make sure you store your waste safely toprevent it from escaping from your control. Consider what internal storage bins youmay need, such as to separate recyclingfrom general waste and separate anyspecial wastes. Clearly label these bins andmake sure all staff know how to use them.Most waste management companieswill provide external bins which storewaste safely. If you use plastic sacks itis your duty to ensure waste does notescape from these and cause litterbefore they are collected. You must store waste on your ownpremises.

5. Keep records

When you give your waste to anotherperson, you need to have a record ofthe transfer. This is called a waste transfer note. If you have a regular service forcollection of recyclable or generalwaste by the same company you needto have an annual waste transfer note. For one off collections and forhazardous wastes you need to have awaste transfer note for each occasion.

The waste transfer note will detail:•Contact name, business name

and address•Address of where the waste is

being transferred/collected from(if different from business address)

•Details of the waste you are transferring•The name and address of who is

collecting/receiving the waste(i.e. the waste management company)

•Details of the waste carriers license, orvalid exemption of who is collectingand receiving the waste

Useful contacts and further information

Visit the following websites for further help and guidance onmanaging business waste.

• www.herefordshire.gov.uk/tradewaste for information on thetrade waste service provided by Herefordshire Council

• www.rightwasterightplace.com guidance produced by theEnvironmental Services Association (ESA) to help businessescomply with their legal waste management requirements

• www.gov.uk/managing-your-waste-an-overview governmentguidance for businesses on how to manage their waste

• www.gov.uk/guidance/access-the-public-register-for-environmental-information government’s public register whereyou can find out if a company is a licensed waste carrier or holdsan environmental permit to receive waste.

For more information on recycling and reducing waste please visit:www.herefordshire.gov.uk/tradewaste