Your responsibilities for business waste and recycling
All businesses produce waste, and most types of business waste are classed as controlled waste. Controlled waste includes commercial, industrial and household waste. Your business has a responsibility to dispose of controlled waste properly.
We offer a bespoke service, meaning we can help you fulfil those responsibilities, as often as you need.
We provide a rolling contract, so you can easily change it at relatively short notice. The minimum contract period is six months. If you want to cancel, you need to give us one month's notice in writing.
We can't currently offer garden waste collections for commercial properties.
You have a legal responsibility to ensure that all waste you produce is:
- contained and stored securely
- passed on to a licensed waste carrier for recovery or disposal
To comply with the Duty of Care laws, you need to complete a Waste Transfer Note. This describes the waste that you produce.
You should keep your Waste Transfer Note in a safe place. You are legally required to keep a copy of your Waste Transfer Note for at least two years.
You must be able to produce it if a local authority enforcement officer or the Environment Agency ask to see it.
You can find full details on GOV.UK.
If your wheelie bin is broken through wear and tear, we can replace it for free. However, if the bin is damaged another way, we will charge you a replacement fee.
You can put locks on your bins, but we ask that you contact us about it first.
In addition to the Duty of Care requirements, businesses must also follow the Simpler Recycling rules. These require most businesses to separate recycling from general waste. Recyclable materials includes dry recyclables such as paper and card, plastics and cartons, metals, glass, plus food waste.
The rules came into effect in March 2025, for businesses with 10 or more employees. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees have until 31 March 2027 to comply.
If your recycling is contaminated with the wrong items, we can't recycle it and you will need to pay disposal costs.
What you have to recycle
The rules apply to businesses, schools, hospitals, and other non-domestic premises, meaning they have to recycle specific materials in separate bins. This includes:
- food waste
- glass
- metal
- plastic
- paper and cardboard
However, it only applies where quantities exceed 5kg per week of the recyclable materials.
The legislation excludes garden waste and plastic film for now.
How to comply with the rules
To make sure your premises follows the rules, you need to:
- separate your waste (such as setting up separate bins for different types of waste)
- recycle specific materials (this consists of food waste, glass, metal, plastic, paper, and cardboard)
- arrange waste collections (you will need to partner with a licensed waste carrier to collect recyclable materials)
You can view the Simpler Recycling guide for further guidance and to ensure that your business is legally compliant.
How we can help
We offer a comprehensive recycling collection services to existing residual waste customers, tailored to meet these new requirements.
We would only collect food/drinks metal cans, so if in doubt, you can speak to a member of the recycling team.