Waste that comes from businesses and shops is commercial waste. All businesses, large or small, have a duty of care to ensure that their waste is disposed of properly. This duty is imposed by section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 this legal duty is in place to ensure that any waste your business produces does not cause pollution of the environment.
Any waste that comes from businesses and shops is commercial waste. This includes for example, an office litter bin, delivery boxes from shops or canteen waste. Depending upon the nature of your business, you may also produce industrial or agricultural waste. The Council is under no obligation to collect industrial or agricultural waste.
For more information on your Duty of Care, go to the Environment Agency website - Duty of Care.
As a business you cannot just put waste out for your local district council to collect. The district council’s household refuse and recycling collections are only for domestic waste. Also, businesses are not permitted to dispose of business waste at any of Essex County Council’s Recycling Centres for Household Waste - again these are only for household waste. If you try to dispose of trade waste via these means you are acting illegally and may be prosecuted.
If you produce waste from your business you must take all reasonable steps to keep this waste safe. If you give it to someone else you must be sure that they are authorised to take it and can transport it, process and / or dispose of it safely and legally.
The carrier must give you, or you must give the carrier, a Waste Transfer Note indicating the nature of the waste, quantity and how it will be disposed of. If you do not follow these steps then you are breaking the law and you may be liable to prosecution.
Epping Forest District Council and the Environment Agency can demand to see Waste Transfer Notes at short notice. If you cannot produce them, even if you had some and they are lost, you will be in breach of your Duty of Care.
The cost of collecting commercial waste is not included in the business rates you pay. You will need to pay to have your waste collected and disposed of by a licensed waste carrier.
It is recommended that you do not burn any waste, as you are likely to be in breach of the law regarding waste management licensing and the keeping, treating and disposing of waste from your premises. In certain, restricted circumstances, you may be able to register an exemption with the Environment Agency to burn some waste, but you would still be subject to controls to prevent nuisance from smoke and air pollution.
For more information concerning applying for an exemption, go to the Environment Agency website - Waste Exemptions.
For more information regarding smoke nuisance and air pollution from bonfires, go to the Environmental Health - Bonfires page.
Some offences may result in prosecution through Magistrates Court, with fines up to £50,000 or prison sentences of up to 2 years, or in some cases fixed penalty fines may be issued.
Essex Online is supported by Epping Forest District Council