Business (or trade/commercial) waste is anything you or your business owns, or produces, or intends to throw away or anything abandoned on land.
Your responsibilites - Duty of Care
Everyone must make sure that their waste is collected and disposed of safely and legally. The only exception is that of a
householder who can take their own waste to a household waste site.
If you don't dispose of your waste safely or store it correctly you may be liable to a fine. Fines are unlimited and anyone found guilty of breaking the law can also face imprisonment. The legislation that covers this is the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Most people do comply with the law but a lot of people deliberately leave waste anywhere. The most common offences are:
- Fly-tipping, or abandoning waste on land other than their own.
- Handing waste to a person not authorised or licensed to collect it.
- Hiding business or non-household waste in domestic refuse.
- Depositing business or non-household waste at waste recycling centres.
- Unauthorised disposal of waste including oil into sewers and drains.
- Allowing waste to escape by exposure to weather, by interference from others or by burning or littering.
No matter where we live, we all pay for waste both financially and environmentally. This is why we take legal action against people who commit any of the above offences. In each case the producer of the waste is liable.
Waste produced in the course of any activity for gain or reward, whether on business or domestic premises, while self employed or working for others is classed as business waste. It is an offence to dispose of it at household waste recycling sites or through the domestic refuse collection service.
Duty of Care Waste Transfer Notes
All businesses must be able to produce at least two years worth of (Duty of Care) Waste Transfer Notes. These are a simple
record of who produced the waste, where it was from and who collected it. You must keep a copy of this note for
a minimum of two years.
Waste collection services
Most businesses have their waste collected on a weekly or fortnightly basis. This allows the business to enter into a trade
waste agreement on one annual Waste Transfer Note. The city council provides a reliable and competitively priced waste
collection service. Please take a look at our Commercial Waste Container Options
page for the types of commercial waste containers we provide. To find out more about our commercial waste prices
please email trade.waste@stoke.gov.uk.
Storing waste
You must store your waste in bags or contained in a safe place until your collection day. If you suspect your waste may be
interferred with you must lock it away. You must not leave waste in the street any earlier than the evening before
your collection day.
Transporting waste
Businesses may carry their own waste to an appropriate licensed site, but must complete a waste transfer note on each
occasion. Household waste recycling sites are not licensed to accept business waste.
In order to carry waste for another person or business you must first be registered as a waste carrier (contact the Environment Agency) and have a waste carriers licence and a waste transfer note for the load you are carrying. All waste on open vehicles must be sheeted.
More information
For information about city council commercial waste container options please use the link from this page. If you'd like
to set up a commercial waste collection from your premises please don't hesitate to contact us - email trade.waste@stoke.gov.uk or
call 01782 234234.
If you need advice on our waste management services or about the Environmental Protection Act and related matters, please contact us at wastemanagement@stoke.gov.uk.