Legal obligations for business waste

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Your responsibilities

Every business has a 'duty of care' to responsibly deal with any waste it produces. You have a legal responsibility to store, transport and dispose of your waste from the moment you produce it until it is in the back of a collection vehicle. Business waste must be collected and disposed of by a business that is authorised to deal with it, such as a licensed disposal site or a licensed waste carrier. 

The council is checking that businesses meet their duty of care requirements, to make sure their business waste is removed by a licensed waste carrier. Those who do not have the correct paperwork may be fined. Make sure you know what your duty of care requirements​ are.

If you are still unsure about your duty of care email csi@barnet.gov.uk.

Waste Transfer Note

You must provide a written description of the waste to the person or company who removes it. This is called a 'Waste Transfer Note' and must be completed annually by both parties involved in the transfer. Your Waste Transfer Note is provided to you by your chosen waste contractor.  You must keep this document for a minimum of two years.

Enforcement officers may issue a duty of care notice to a business if they suspect that the business is not dealing with the waste they produce in a responsible manner. This duty of care notice requires the business to provide the following documentation within seven days:

  • a written description of the waste transferred by the business
  • the Waste Transfer Note (or copies) for a period of two years from the transfer of the controlled waste.

If the business does not provide this information within seven days, they will be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN).

If your business involves working in households

If you or your company do anything that produces waste in a household, such as gardening or building work, you need to ensure this waste is disposed of responsibly.

This also applies to items left outside houses in the hope that someone takes it. If the waste is later found to be fly-tipped and it can be traced back to you, this leaves you liable to further action. 

We offer a large and bulky waste collection service for the removal of larger items. Please contact csi@barnet.gov.uk  for further details.

You can check whether a company is registered as a 'carrier of waste' by visiting the Environment Agency online register or by calling 0800 80 70 60 (a 24-hour service).

Your client may:

  • ask to see a copy of your registration certificate and keep proof of this
  • ask for a receipt
  • ask where you are taking the waste
  • keep a note of your name and vehicle registration.

Right Waste Right Place

We are proud ambassadors of Right Waste Right Place. This easy to use website aims to help you as a business understand your responsibilities around your recycling and waste, with case studies, need-to-know cards, simple guides and videos.

Find out more about recycling your business waste

Make sure you have the correct contract in place to dispose of your business’s recycling and waste.

Business waste cannot be:

  • Disposed of in household waste containers
  • Taken to a Reuse and Recycling centre. Those such as the Summers Lane site are not licensed to accept business waste.

Any recycling or waste produced from a business, even if this is run from your own home, must be disposed of either by:

  • Taking it to a site licensed that handles business waste, and paying for the disposal charges, or
  • Being collected and disposed of by a licensed waste carrier.