A guide to removing waste

Jason Mohr, CEO, ANYJUNK If you remove waste from your customer’s property you must be licensed by the Environment Agency or SEPA to do so. Failure to register as a waste carrier means you are operating illegally.

When you carry out an installation or repairs work at a client’s property and create waste, other than hiring a skip or using a man & van waste carrier, what is the law and best practise if you take it away yourself? Jason Mohr, CEO of bulky waste collection specialist AnyJunk (www.anyjunk.co.uk), summarises the relevant waste legislation and sets out how to stay

within the law. 

1.Waste Carrier License

If you remove waste from your customer’s property you must be licensed by the Environment Agency or SEPA to do so. Failure to register as a waste carrier means you are operating illegally and, if caught, could face a large fine and seizure of your vehicle. Registering as a waste carrier can be done online in minutes and costs less than £200 – so there really is no excuse.

There are two types of waste carrier license – lower tier and upper tier. Lower Tier is relevant if you move only your own waste and it is not construction or demolition waste. For example, a kitchen installer removing off-cuts & packaging from a customer’s home. However, whether you register for a lower tier or upper tier license makes little financial difference, so if in doubt – register for Upper Tier.

2.Vehicle Insurance to move waste

Moving waste for third parties is very unlikely to be an activity covered by standard commercial vehicle insurance. So if you have an accident when moving waste, you may well find your insurance does not cover you fully, if at all. Check your existing vehicle insurance policy and if necessary get it modified. Note that there are relatively high number of vehicle accidents in the waste sector, so don’t be too surprised when your insurance broker quotes quite a hike in your premium!

3. Document each Waste Transfer

The law requires that every waste transfer between one tradesman or business and another tradesman or business must be recorded in writing and that documentary record kept by both parties for 2 years. ‘Transfer’ here means passing of responsibility between two parties rather than physically moving waste from one location to another. The documentary record of the waste transfer is typically referred to as a waste transfer note (or WTN). The regulations set out certain things it must contain and the Environment Agency website provides an example of what one looks like. The most important elements are the address, date and time of the transfer, the names, addresses and signatures of both parties and their role (e.g. producer, carrier); a description of the waste with the relevant European Waste Catalogue codes, an indication of quantity and/or weight, whether it is loose or contained, and a statement confirming that the transferor has fulfilled their duty to apply the waste hierarchy as per by regulation 12 of the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011, and the SIC code of the person transferring the waste.

Note however – unlike commercial transfers, there is no legal obligation to document the waste transfer if the customer is a householder. In other words a WTN is not required if your customer is a consumer rather than a business. Nonetheless, due to rogue trader style TV programmes, householders increasingly expect some form of documentation, so it is still good practise to provide a WTN.

4. Disposal at Licensed Facility or Secure Storage

Having loaded the waste into your vehicle, you should take it to a licensed disposal facility or back to place under your control for it to be stored securely and disposed of later.

If you decide to tip the waste, you have a duty of care to ensure that the facility you use is properly licensed to receive and process your waste. Ignorance is not an excuse. Disposal sites offering suspiciously cheap or even free disposal should obviously be avoided.

If you bring waste back to your depot or home to be stored temporarily (e.g. in a skip) for collection by a waste company at a later date, you will be subject to the Environment Agency exemption Non-Waste Framework Directive 3 – a narrow exemption designed to help builders and tradesmen manage waste efficiently. In particular, the waste should only ever be waste produced from work you have carried out at a customer’s site. The waste must always be stored securely, exclude particularly flammable and combustible materials and unbonded asbestos, and never exceed 50 cubic metres. Check also that your lease and property insurance allows you to store waste. 

When it comes to waste, take time to carefully consider your operations. Operating outside of the law isn’t worth the risk. Note this is a summary article. Read the full article here.

www.anyjunk.co.uk

There are two types of waste carrier license – lower tier and upper tier. However, whether you register for a lower tier or upper tier license makes little financial difference, so if in doubt – register for Upper Tier.