Commercial waste - the law

Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 Act sets out the waste duty of care, which applies to anyone who is the holder of controlled waste.

Please note household waste tips are unable to accept trade waste and waste from commercial premises.

• Waste must be passed on to an authorised person and the producer should retain a waste transfer note that sets out certain details of the waste. 

• These transfer notes must be kept for two years. (The Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991 set out the details required to be included on the waste transfer note).

• When waste is passed from one person to another the person taking the waste must have a written description of it.

• The description of the waste can be written on the transfer note.

• Repeated transfers of the same kind of waste between the same parties can be covered by one transfer note for up to a year. 

• The written description must describe the waste by reference to the appropriate six-digit code/s in the European Waste Catalogue (EWC). The requirement to refer to the code is contained in the Landfill Regulations 2002.

Find out about waste carrier licences