Every business has a legal responsibility for the waste they generate.
You must ensure that you store, transfer, transport and dispose of your business waste without harming the environment. This is called ‘duty of care’.
This duty is not voluntary. Businesses failing to meet these regulations may be prosecuted.
Storing your waste
You must:
- store your business waste in a secure place
- use suitable containers, in good condition
This will prevent your waste escaping.
You are responsible for any pollution caused by materials that come from your site.
Transferring your waste
Ensure your waste is transferred to an authorised waste contractor.
You cannot:
- dispose of your commercial waste in a domestic waste bin or public litter bin
- use your local recycling point
- use a Household waste Recycling Centre
Suspected commercial or trade users of the Household Waste Recycling Centre will be banned and investigated. Our Household Waste Recycling Centre Access Policy gives you more information.
Your waste collector must be registered with SEPA and go to an authorised facility. It is your responsibility.
Recycling
Recycling regulations require all businesses to separate recyclable materials from the rest of their waste for collection.
Waste transfer notes
You are legally required to
- describe the wastes you produce
- detail how you'll transfer them for disposal or recovery
This is commonly known as a trade waste agreement or a waste transfer note.
What is a waste transfer note?
A Waste Transfer Note (WTN)
- is a document that must be completed when waste is transferred from one party to another
- ensures there is a clear paper trail from when the waste is produced until it is disposed of
You must
- keep your waste transfer notes and hazardous waste consignment notes for at least 2 years
- be able to produce them on demand to the Environment Agency or local authority
A sample waste transfer note can be downloaded from the NetRegs website.
You'll also find more information on What needs to be included on a waste transfer note.
Transporting your waste
If you carry your own waste to recycling facilities, you should be appropriately registered with SEPA. The application form is available on the SEPA website.
The waste hierarchy
You must apply the waste hierarchy to the management of your waste and promote ‘high quality’ recycling.
The waste hierarchy sets out five steps for dealing with your waste, ranked according to environmental impact:
- Reduce - lower the amount of waste you produce
- Re-use - use materials repeatedly
- Recycle - use materials to make new products or compost
- Recovery - recover other value, such as energy or metals, from waste
- Disposal - safe disposal of waste to landfill
Other waste issues to consider
Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
Your business may need to dispose of old waste electrical and electronic equipment, also known as WEEE. It can contain substances such as mercury, lead and cadmium. This can cause significant harm to human health and the environment.
The SEPA website can help businesses to reduce, re-use and recycle the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment going to landfill. They fully comply with the WEEE Regulations.
Waste oil
The Water Environment (Oil Storage) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 were issued to improve oil storage and reduce the risk of pollution.
Oil includes:
- petrol
- diesel
- mineral oil
- heating oil
- lubricating oil
- waste oil
- vegetable oil
- plant oil
For more information, visit the NetRegs website
Sanitary waste
You must handle and dispose of any sanitary waste you produce safely.
Sanitary waste includes:
- used nappies
- sanitary towels
- tampons
- incontinence pads
- condoms
You can find more information on the NetRegs website.
Penalties
You can face penalties if you do not
- handle your waste appropriately
- have the correct documentation proving it has been passed to a person authorised to accept and manage that type of waste
You could experience damage to your reputation, disruption to your business, or you could be prosecuted or fined.
