Guide
Commercial waste management: what a business must sort, keep and pay
Updated
Commercial waste management is three jobs: separating what the law says must be separated, handing it only to a registered carrier with a transfer note you keep for 2 years, and paying for the collections. In England every workplace has had to separate its recycling since 31 March 2025, and the published price of emptying an 1100 litre general waste bin runs £20.50 to £28 a lift.
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What a business must separate
Since 31 March 2025 every workplace in England must keep dry recyclables (plastic, metal, glass, paper and card), food waste and non-recyclable waste apart before they are collected; firms with fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees have until 31 March 2027 (gov.uk, Simpler Recycling). In Wales it is already the law for every workplace to separate certain materials, and small waste electrical items join the list from 6 April 2026 (Welsh Government).
The paperwork you keep
The business that produces the waste holds a duty of care until it reaches an authorised person (Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 34). Each transfer is recorded on a waste transfer note, and you keep a paper or electronic copy for 2 years (gov.uk, waste transfer notes); a season ticket covering regular collections of the same waste can last up to one year (the duty of care code of practice).
Who you hand it to
The collector must be on the public register of waste carriers, brokers and dealers (search the register). A firm that carries other people's waste registers at the upper tier, which costs £191.02 and is renewed every 3 years (gov.uk, waste carrier registration).
What it costs
Six councils and firms of the 44 we read publish a price per lift for an 1100 litre general waste bin: from £20.50 at West Northamptonshire Council to £28 at Mid Ulster District Council, median £24.55 (every row, with its source).
Published figures are what each operator advertises on its own page, read on 28 October 2026; they are not a quote for your premises.