Your legal responsibility
If you operate a business, including from home such as child minding, nurseries and offices, you are responsible to safely contain and legally dispose of all waste produced from your business. This is stated in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and other related legislation, and is known as your commercial waste duty of care.
Commercial waste includes all waste created from commercial premises, including:
- general waste
- cleaning materials including floor sweepings
- damaged and scrapped furniture or equipment
- food and drinks waste and packaging
- packaging
- post
- recyclables including cardboard, plastic and paper
- smoking litter
- used oils
- any other waste created by the business
Important note – It’s an offence to dispose of commercial waste in domestic bins, at a household waste recycling centre, or in any other way outside the Waste Duty of Care Code of Practice.
Legally disposing of your commercial waste
As part of the Duty of Care, you can either dispose of your commercial waste yourself or arrange for someone to do this for you. Whichever option you choose, you will need to prove you have done it legally.
You must be able to provide documents called ‘Duty of Care waste transfer notes’ or receipts showing:
- how much your waste weighed
- the date your waste was tipped
- what type of waste was tipped
- where your waste was disposed
Private waste disposal contractors
You can arrange for someone else to dispose of your commercial waste. If you choose this option:
- check with the Environment Agency that your contractor is licensed to carry and dispose of your waste
- complete a ‘Duty of care waste transfer note’ with your contractor
You will be committing offences and can be prosecuted if you give your waste to anyone not licensed to carry and dispose of controlled waste.
If you do not legally dispose of your commercial waste, a fixed penalty notice will be issued or the matter could be taken to court.
Penalty charges for illegally disposing of commercial waste
If you do not follow legal requirements for disposing of commercial waste, you may be given a fine.
| Type of offence | Penalty |
|---|---|
Duty of care | £300 fixed penalty notice or prosecution with a £5,000 fine |
Illegally deposited commercial waste | £400 fixed penalty notice or prosecution with an unlimited fine and up to five years imprisonment |
Failure to comply with a waste receptacles notice | £110 fixed penalty notice or prosecution with a maximum fine £1,000 |
We offer a competitively priced commercial waste service for schools and businesses.
For further guidance on your Duty of Care, see Waste Duty of Care Code of Practice.
Private commercial waste disposal centres
You cannot take commercial waste to Barrowell Green Recycling Centre. But you can drop off your commercial waste at private disposal centres, including those listed below. The cost to dispose of rubbish will depend on the amount you have.
| Company | Telephone number | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Powerday | 020 8443 5258 |
Jeffreys Road Enfield EN3 7UA |
| Oakwood Plant | 020 8803 2222 |
Eley Industrial Estate Edmonton N18 3BH |
| O'Donovan | 0800 731 3332 |
82 Markfield Road Tottenham N15 4QF |
Important note – If you do not dispose of your commercial waste properly, for example if you leave it out in an open area, you can be prosecuted and fined up to £50,000.