What Are Your Responsibilities When Disposing of Your Business or Commercial Waste?
The disposal of business or commercial waste can be confusing, with many considerations from legal responsibilities to internal business values often making regulations hard to follow. Particularly if large quantities of waste are produced. Thanks to readily available guidance, however, we have put together the definitive list of the responsibilities your business should adopt.
It must be noted, that this is not an extensive underline of all rules and regulations, though further guidance on many of these can be found on our Thinking With Acumen articles.
What is business waste?
A helpful way to begin exploring these responsibilities is to lay out the government’s definition of business waste, and what it entails. Simply put, it includes any waste that is incurred from commercial or business-related activities, so the majority of waste you create will fall under these responsibilities. If your business is from a part of your household, any waste created by this will also be included.
While any additional waste stemming from:
- Construction
- Demolition
- Industrial Activities
- Agriculture
Is also included.
Now that business waste is clearly defined, what are your responsibilities when it comes to disposing of it?
What are your responsibilities?
There are five key responsibilities when disposing of business or commercial waste:
- Keep waste to a minimum by doing everything you reasonably can to prevent, reuse, recycle or recover waste (in that order)
- Sort and store waste safely and securely
- Complete a waste transfer note for each load of waste that leaves your premises
- Check if your waste carrier is registered to dispose of waste
- Not allow the waste carrier to dispose of your waste illegally (and report to Crimestoppers if so)
You also cannot move this waste from country to country for disposal purposes, although transporting it for recovery is acceptable.
These responsibilities work to ensure that businesses are responsibly dealing with waste, while also holding third-party companies accountable if they irresponsibly handle waste.
How can you adapt?
When it comes to these responsibilities, they require a few steps for your business to ensure that waste is disposed of safely and properly.
Firstly, keeping waste to a minimum may need a holistic assessment of your practices, and whether certain activities could be streamlined, reducing waste and thus your impact on the environment. Sorting and storing waste safely should prompt a similar assessment period. Familiarising yourself with recycling guidance, starting with Our Guide to DEFRA’s Simpler Recycling, can help to ensure that the right practices are adopted across your business and workforce.
Waste Transfer Notes are also crucial for sending out waste, and must be stored digitally for two years, bestowing this responsibility onto one team of staff can help to ensure that consistency is seen across these notes, and templates can be downloaded here. Finally, working with a trusted waste management company is imperative to responsible disposal, choosing correctly is extremely important, as poor waste management can simultaneously damage your own business’ reputation, and impact the environment.
Responsible disposal of business waste is both crucial and worthwhile, but the first step comes in acknowledging the key responsibilities and how you can adapt. Ensuring your waste management partners are certified and trustworthy, and evaluating your business practices are both crucial aspects of this. For any further guidance or information, contact us today.
