What the Law says

The Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires all businesses to have proper arrangements in place for the, storage, collection and disposal of their waste.

All businesses that produce 'controlled waste' (that is all forms of commercial and industrial waste) are subject to what is called 'Duty of Care'. This means that businesses must take all reasonable steps to look after any waste. This includes;

  • All waste a business produces must be adequately contained and stored to prevent its escape
  • This waste must be collected by a licensed waste contractor. It is the responsibility of each business to ensure that their waste collector is properly licensed with the Environment Agency, that they know where their waste is being disposed of and that this disposal point is properly licensed. This is to prevent the illegal disposal of waste by others
  • Businesses must keep records to show that they have passed their waste to a licensed contractor; this will be in the form of waste transfer notes

Businesses can face prosecution and fines for not preventing the escape of their waste, for not passing their waste to a licensed contractor and for not keeping adequate records. In addition businesses may have to pay the clean up costs if their waste escapes or if their waste has been fly-tipped (illegally dumped) by a waste collector who is not properly licensed.

I am a local business; will the council take my rubbish for recycling?

Local Councils are not obligated to operate a recycling collection for business and many businesses have private collections for recycling as they would for their rubbish. Please refer to the yellow pages or, for paper and cardboard, the contact details below.

The RECAP partnership has recently been awarded a Business Resource Efficiency and Waste programme (BREW) grant of £213,000 to help promote the recycling of trade and business waste in our area. The following services are provided by the local councils:

  • Cambridge City: offers business recycling collections for glass and cardboard. The council also offers a refuse collection. Please contact the Commercial Waste team on 01223 458284, city.services@cambridge.gov.uk
  • Cambridgeshire County Council: provides no services directly for businesses. It is working with its waste contractor, Donarbon Ltd. of Waterbeach to provide transfer stations for the delivery of trade waste. A site a Waterbeach is available now, one in Alconbury should be available from mid-2008 and one in March around 2010. Contact Donarbon Ltd 01223 861010 for more information
  • East Cambridgeshire: no service. (See yellow pages or contacts below)
  • Fenland District: refuse collection only. (See yellow pages or contacts below)
  • Huntingdonshire District: provides refuse collection only at present. (See yellow pages or contacts below)
  • Peterborough City: offers business a collection for a range of recyclable materials. The council also offers a refuse collection. To receive a quotation for the services please contact the Refuse and Recyling Helpdesk at refuse@peterborough.gov.uk
  • South Cambridgeshire: provides refuse only at present. (See yellow pages or contacts below)

Please speak to the council directly for more information; see links below. RECAP has produced a booklet with more information about trade waste recycling. To receive a copy please e-mail recap@Cambridgeshire.gov.uk

Where else can I recycle my businesses waste?

A number of local waste contractors collect a range of materials from business for recycling, for example paper, cardboard, timber, scrap metal and green waste. The Environment Agency website lists all licensed waste contractors and items they collect for recycling and disposal. Click on the link below to find licensed waste contractors on your area;
http://www.wastedirectory.org.uk

For more information on waste and wider environmental legislation affecting businesses go to;
www.netregs.gov.uk