The law treats business waste differently from the rubbish you put out at home. If you run an office, shop, café, workshop or holiday let, this guide explains what counts as commercial waste in England, what you must do with it, and where it can legally go.
What is commercial waste?
Commercial waste is waste from premises used wholly or mainly for a trade or business, or for sport, recreation or entertainment.
That is the definition in section 75(7) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. It excludes household waste and industrial waste, which the same section defines separately. Together, household, industrial and commercial waste make up “controlled waste”, the waste the Act regulates.
So the test is mostly about where the waste comes from, not what it is. A cardboard box from a shop is commercial waste. The same box from a house is household waste.
Commercial waste meaning: commercial, industrial and household
Commercial waste means business waste that is not industrial or household waste. The Act draws the lines like this:
- Household waste comes from homes, caravans, residential homes, schools and other educational premises, and hospitals and nursing homes.
- Industrial waste comes from factories, public transport premises, gas, water, electricity and sewerage premises, postal and telecoms premises, mines, quarries and agriculture.
- Commercial waste is the rest of the business world: offices, shops, hospitality, leisure and similar.
The Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 then sort out the edge cases. Day to day, the government’s guidance and most councils simply call commercial and industrial waste “business waste”.
What is classed as commercial waste?
Anything your business produces is classed as commercial waste unless the law puts it in another category.
Schedule 1 of the 2012 Regulations lists several cases that catch people out:
- Holiday lets. A house or caravan used in a business to provide self-catering accommodation produces commercial waste.
- Hotels, markets and fairs, and GP practices.
- Charities. Premises used wholly or mainly for charitable purposes produce commercial waste, though places of worship produce household waste.
- Large garages. A private garage over 25 square metres produces commercial waste.
- Building work. Construction and demolition waste is classed as industrial waste.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council also counts waste from a home-based business as business waste. And GOV.UK says that waste from a tradesperson doing building or renovation work at your home is their business waste, to remove and dispose of properly.
What are examples of commercial waste?
Typical examples are office furniture, IT equipment, packaging, shop fittings, food waste and general rubbish from business premises.
The loads we collect from businesses around Howden and Goole include:
- Desks, chairs, filing cabinets and partitions from offices
- PCs, monitors, printers and kitchen appliances (electrical waste)
- Confidential paper
- Shelving, racking, counters and signage after a shop refit
- Damaged or discontinued stock
- Cardboard, polystyrene, stretch wrap and broken pallets
- Offcuts, scrap metal and bagged rubble from a fit-out
Day-to-day bin waste counts too: food scraps from the staff kitchen, paper from the printer and general rubbish.
Your duty of care for business waste
Under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, every business has a duty of care for the waste it produces.
The statutory waste duty of care code of practice explains what that means in practice. You should check that anyone taking your waste is authorised to do so before you hand it over. Failing to meet the duty of care is an offence, and the code says there is “no upper limit on the courts’ power to fine”.
GOV.UK’s business waste guidance adds that you must keep waste to a minimum and sort and store it safely and securely.
Waste Transfer Notes and how long to keep them
You need a Waste Transfer Note for every load of non-hazardous waste that leaves your premises, and you must keep it for two years.
GOV.UK’s guidance on waste transfer notes says both you and the business taking the waste fill in their sections and sign. You can keep the note on paper or electronically. Under the code of practice, a note describes the waste and its quantity, how it is contained, the time and place of transfer, and both parties’ details and registration or permit numbers.
Simpler Recycling rules for businesses
Since 31 March 2025, workplaces in England have had to separate their waste for recycling under the Simpler Recycling rules.
The rules apply to businesses, charities and public sector organisations. You must keep three streams apart:
- Dry recyclables: plastic, metal, glass, and paper and card. Paper and card must be collected separately from the rest, unless your collector has completed a written assessment allowing them to be collected together.
- Food waste
- Non-recyclable (residual) waste
Micro-firms, meaning businesses with fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees across the whole business, have until 31 March 2027. If you do not comply, you could receive a compliance notice from the Environment Agency, and failing to comply with a notice is an offence.
Hazardous waste and WEEE
Some business waste is hazardous and comes with extra rules.
GOV.UK lists examples including asbestos, chemicals such as print toner, batteries, solvents, oils other than edible ones, and equipment containing ozone-depleting substances, such as fridges. Hazardous waste moves on a consignment note rather than a Waste Transfer Note. The code of practice says consignment notes must be kept for three years.
Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), such as computers, monitors and printers, has to go to a proper treatment route, not the general waste bin.
CL Clearances collects business IT and electrical equipment and handles it under the WEEE regulations. We are not a hazardous-waste contractor, so we don’t take chemicals, asbestos, clinical waste or oils.
Where to take commercial waste
You can give commercial waste to a registered waste carrier, use a trade waste contract, or take it yourself to a site with the right environmental permit or exemption. You cannot take it to the household tip.
- A registered waste carrier. Check the carrier on the Environment Agency public register before you hand anything over. CL Clearances is an upper-tier carrier, licence CBDU291452, and provides a Waste Transfer Note with every collection.
- A trade waste contract for bins emptied on a regular round. East Riding of Yorkshire Council runs its own commercial waste collection service, and private waste companies offer the same.
- Carrying it yourself. GOV.UK says you must register as a waste carrier if you want to dispose of your own waste regularly. Registration is usually free if you only carry waste you produce yourself. Any site you take it to must hold an environmental permit or registered exemption.
Why businesses can’t use household recycling centres
Household recycling centres are for household waste only, so business waste is turned away.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council says plainly that you can only dispose of household waste at its household waste recycling sites. Its business waste guidance says you must not take business waste to any of its centres, because the council is not licensed to accept commercial waste. Business waste must not go out with your household collection either. Councils set their own site rules, so if your premises are in another area, check your council’s website before loading the van.
Business waste collection in Howden and Goole
CL Clearances offers business waste collection in Howden and Goole and across East Yorkshire. That covers everything a bin round won’t take: office furniture, IT, shop fittings, stock, pallets and packaging, or a whole unit when a lease ends. Collections can be one-off or repeat, and out of hours if you need them. If you are moving or downsizing, see office clearance and removals. For trades and renovations, we offer builders waste collection, with the rubble, plasterboard and timber kept separate.
Every collection comes with a Waste Transfer Note for your duty-of-care file. Call or WhatsApp Charlotte on 07783 430775, or email hello@cl-clearances.co.uk with photos and the premises address.
