Business and commercial waste

Permits for small business owners

re3 is inviting small local businesses to take part in a trade waste disposal and recycling trial at the re3 Recycling Centres. The new trade waste service is available to micro-sized businesses operating in the re3 area of Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham Borough Councils who produce small amounts of waste of a similar nature to householders. Find out more by visiting the re3 website.

Your responsibility as a business

Commercial waste is any waste produced by a business on its premises. The premises may be an office, a shop or a residential property where a business operates from. Commercial waste can consist of waste paper, employees' food waste and other waste produced as a result of the service you provide.

Commercial waste may also be referred to as business waste or trade waste.

Every business has a legal duty to be responsible when storing and disposing of their waste.

Business responsibilities are set out under Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. It states that you must:

• Only allow an authorised person to dispose of your waste
• Keep a written record of the waste taken by the waste disposal company – these waste transfer notes must be kept for at least 2 years
• Must not take commercial waste home to be disposed of

You can be fined £300 for failure of duty or prosecuted if your waste is found fly-tipped and traced back to you.

If you don't comply, you could be fined £5,000 on conviction in a magistrate’s court or face an unlimited fine if convicted in a crown court.

Simpler Recycling Reforms

The UK Government has released its ‘Simpler Recycling’ Reforms to improve recycling rates by making things simpler, easier, and more consistent across the UK. These rules will affect both businesses and households.

Businesses will be responsible for separating food waste as well as all dry recycling (paper, card, plastic packaging, glass and metal) from any general waste. You will need space for waste receptacles of each type on your premises.

Key dates to remember:

• By 31 March 2025, all businesses with more than 10 full-time equivalent employees must recycle paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, glass, metal tins, cans, aerosols, food trays and foil. Businesses must also recycle any food waste separately.
• By 31 March 2027, businesses with less than 10 full-time equivalent employees will be required to recycle the materials listed above.
• By 31 March 2027, all businesses will be required to include clean, dry plastic film in their plastic recycling collection.

Further information can be found on the Business of Recycling website.

Waste disposal and collection

Waste collection and disposal is not included in Business Rates.

Waste should only be transferred to someone authorised to receive it, e.g. a licensed / permitted waste contractor or waste management site.

• Arrange for business waste collection / disposal with our waste partner Veolia - Commercial Waste Collection | Business Waste Management
• Arrange for business waste collection / disposal on the Any Junk website
• Other local licensed waste management companies can be found in telephone and online directories
• Use the waste carrier quick check facility on the Environment Agency website to check that your contractor is authorised
• For information on asbestos removal visit the Contractors Association website

Make sure your waste removal contractor is registered

You must make sure that anyone you use to remove waste from your property is authorised to do so.

• Use the waste carrier quick check facility on the Environment Agency website

Ask any waste carrier to:

• Provide you with their full address and telephone number
• Show you their waste carrier licence - if they don't have one, don't use them
• Tell you where your waste will be taken to - it must be a licensed waste disposal site

Keep a record of your waste collections

You must keep documentary evidence of your waste management (and possibly environmental permits, depending on quantities and types of waste.)

Make sure that you have your copy of the Commercial Waste Contract and Duty of Care Agreement on your premises. Tell your employees where it can be found, in your absence. 

Wokingham Borough Council is authorised under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to request evidence from businesses on how their commercial waste is disposed of. Businesses should be able to supply this when required. 

Should a business not be able to produce this when requested, a Notice may be served to supply the required documents within 7 days. Should a valid contract or Waste Transfer Notes not be held, or the documents not be provided in accordance with the Notice, a £300 Fixed Penalty Notice may be issued.

If commercial waste removal arrangements are found to be inadequate, we will serve a Section 47 Notice. This is a legal notice issued under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. These are issued to businesses who fail to comply with their commercial waste duty of care. The Notice sets out instructions on how to store, dispose and present commercial waste for collection. The Notice will specify the number and type of waste containers required, along with the recommended frequency of waste collections needed to resolve the issue.

If this notice is not adhered to a fixed penalty notice may be issued.