What is commercial waste?
280 billion wheelie bins. That’s how much commercial waste UK businesses generate each year, that’s over 27.5 million tonnes! But what exactly is commercial waste? Simply put it is the waste that is created by a business and in reality, it’s similar to the rubbish you produce at home. The one key difference here is you must get a separate collection service for commercial waste, the council won’t collect it for you, and you can’t take it home to put it in your bin either before you get any clever ideas!
Some scrap fridges to be disposed of.
The Law
All businesses have a legal responsibility to make sure that their waste is properly removed from their site and disposed of properly. As a business owner you must comply with the Protection Act 1990 As well as the Duty of Care Regulations, this means you need to:
Keep waste to a minimum.
Securely store any waste produced.
Correctly identify and label the different waste types.
Use a licenced waste carrier to remove the waste.
Complete a waste transfer note.
Any containers you store the waste in must be fit for purpose, with suitable covers to make sure any rain doesn’t get in or the wind won’t blow your rubbish out. You’ll also need to label these containers properly with the type of waste that’s in them such as paper, glass etc.
Anyone who removes your waste and transports it away must have a waste carriers licence issued by the Environmental Agency, you can check to see if their licence is valid here. Each time commercial waste leaves your site you’ll need to complete a waste transfer note or similar document with the company that’s removing it.
Waste transfer notes document the details of the waste your disposing of such as the type and quantity as well as who is removing the waste and where it is disposed of. You can use them for a single load of waste or create a season ticket for multiple loads.
You need to keep and waste transfer notes for a minimum of two years in a filing system so that they are accessible if or when the council or Environmental Agency asks to check.
Commercial waste bins
Help!
If this all sounds really complicated don’t worry, there are specialist waste management companies who can help save the day.
The first thing a waste management company will do is assess the waste your business produces, they will then create a plan to tackle your waste whether it’s via bin collection, skips, or any other method. If your business produces large amounts of waste, they may even install some waste processing equipment such as shredders on your site.
When coming up with a plan to manage your commercial waste, there are a number of questions you will need to answer but the main two are:
What sort of waste does my business create?
How much waste do we produce?
What type of waste does my business create?
As with households there is likely to be a mixture of different waste types, however, some businesses may produce much more of a certain type, examples of these are:
Logistics companies- Cardboard, plastic wrapping and other packaging materials
Car garages- Tyres and scrap metal
Restaurants- Food waste and glass
Clothes shop- packaging materials and textiles
Offices- Paper and WEEE waste
Seperate bins for different waste types.
Hazardous Waste
If your company has batteries, solvents or other chemicals that you need to get rid of then these need to be treated as hazardous waste and handled appropriately. If you don’t dispose of these properly, you risk causing significant harm to human health and the environment.
Once you know what sort of waste your business produces and have an idea of how much, you can start to create a plan for managing your waste.
This will involve installing some sort of bin or container on site, if your business produces a few different types of waste, it’s a good idea to have a different bin for each one. You could have one for cans, one for paper and one for general waste for example. Doing this makes it easier for the waste management company to sort through and could reduce your overall costs.
How much does commercial waste collection cost?
This will depend on how much waste your company is creating and how frequently it is being collected. A business that has a lorry sized container full of shredded paper collected once a week will pay far more than a takeaway that has a 1100 litre bin emptied every other week.
Most waste management companies will charge extra if a bin is overweight or over filled. This is because it will fill up their truck quicker meaning they won’t be able to make as many collections.
Excess weight charges can sometimes be pretty high as waste management companies want to discourage businesses from overfilling bins. This can be frustrating for business owners who would find it difficult to work out a bins weight before it’s collected.
Common bin sizes and capacities.
Source: https://www.wastemanaged.co.uk/commercial-waste/
How do I choose a legitimate waste management company?
Choosing a responsible, legitimate waste management company is essential to make sure your commercial waste is handled properly. Sadly, there are a lot of cowboys in waste management and if your waste is not disposed of correctly, as a business you will be fined too.
Recently there has been a rise in fly tipping, particularly in our hometown Stoke-on-Trent. You can play your part in reducing this by taking the time to choose a respectable waste management company. Some things to look out for are:
Licenced and insured- do they have a waste carriers’ licence and public liability insurance? If a company is reluctant to show you either of these this is a big red flag and you should move on.
Website or social media- we’d expect all reputable waste management companies to have a website as a minimum and a social media presence. This shows that the company is more professional and accountable.
Call them- can you ring up and speak to an actual human? Are they friendly and helpful? Remember you will be dealing with this company on a regular basis so it’s a good idea to make sure that they communicate well.
Reviews- look for online reviews on Google or Trustpilot, does the company respond to good and bad reviews? Are there any common themes with what people are saying such as turning up on time or being friendly?
Ask around- check with customers, suppliers, or other business owners in your network. Word of mouth is king when it comes to choosing the right company for any service.
Pro tip- if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is, beware of very low prices. Remember if your waste is linked to fly tipping you will be fined just as much as the fly tippers themselves! Not to mention the damage this could do to your company’s reputation.
Hopefully this guide has given you some confidence in dealing with your commercial waste, if you have any more questions about commercial waste or waste management, you can contact us here, or, drop a comment below. Thank you for reading.
P.S. We wrote a more detailed guide about how small businesses can reduce their commercial waste, if you’d like to grab a copy, email us the word “GUIDE” using this link.
Sources:
https://www.wastemanaged.co.uk/commercial-waste/
https://www.baileysskiphire.co.uk/what-are-examples-of-commercial-waste/
https://www.forgerecycling.co.uk/blog/what-is-commercial-waste/
