What all businesses need to know

Your legal obligations and duty of care

The Environmental Protection Act 1990, Section 34 requires businesses to ensure that their waste is disposed of in an appropriate and legal manner and that any organisation that they pass waste to is authorised to accept, transport, recycle or dispose of it safely.

You must have taken all reasonable measures to apply the waste hierarchy.

Waste produced at your premises should be collected by a registered waste carrier, who will provide you with a waste transfer note. If your waste carrier has not provided you with a waste transfer note they may not be registered and may be disposing of your waste illegally.

Waste transfer notes - why you need them

A waste transfer note is a receipt, which shows details of the waste that has been collected from your property. Transfer notes must be kept for up to two years, as your local council or another authorised agency may require you to produce them.

Your waste transfer note must include:

• a declaration that you have applied the waste management hierarchy to the waste you produce. This means you must consider reducing, reusing then recycling before deciding to dispose of waste
• the type of waste produced including the European waste code
• the Standard Industry Classification (SIC) code for your business. Please use this excel document to find the SIC code that applies to your business