You must make sure hazardous waste produced or handled by your business in England causes no harm or damage.

Your have responsibilities known as your ‘duty of care’. You must also meet extra requirements depending on whether you’re a waste:

• producer or holder (you produce or store waste)
• carrier (you collect and transport waste)
• consignee (you receive waste, eg for recycling or disposal)

Check what you need to do in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

There are different requirements for exporting waste.

Check if your waste is hazardous

Waste is generally considered hazardous if it (or the material or substances it contains) are harmful to humans or the environment. Examples of hazardous waste include:

• asbestos
• chemicals, eg brake fluid or print toner
• batteries
• solvents
• pesticides
• oils (except edible ones), eg car oil
• equipment containing ozone depleting substances, eg fridges
• hazardous waste containers

Classify your waste to find out if it is hazardous.

You must follow these steps in England if your business:

• produces hazardous waste
• holds or stores hazardous waste
• has hazardous waste removed from its premises

1. Register your premises, unless you'll produce or hold less than 500 kilograms of hazardous waste there in any 12-month period.

2. Classify your waste to check if it's hazardous.

3. Separate and store hazardous waste safely.

4. Use authorised businesses to collect, recycle or dispose of your hazardous waste – check that waste carriers are registered and waste sites have environmental permits.

5. Fill in the parts of the consignment note that apply to you – keep 1 copy and give 2 copies to the carrier collecting your waste.

6. Keep records (known as a 'register') for 3 years.

You must keep records at either:

• the registered premises that produced or stored the waste
• your head office if the premises is exempt from registration

Records you must keep

You must keep your copies of:

• consignment notes
• consignee returns – you’ll get these from businesses that receive your waste (consignees)
• any related documents, eg ‘carrier schedules’ (list of carriers when there is more than 1), records of rejected loads

If these documents aren't accurate or complete, you must keep a record of any missing information.

Extra requirements

You must meet extra requirements in these situations.

Your waste is rejected

You must follow the guidance on rejected loads if your hazardous waste is rejected by the destination site you sent it to.

You transport your own waste

You must meet the requirements for carriers if you transport any hazardous waste from your own or another business.

You receive, treat or dispose of waste

You must meet the requirements for consignees if you:

• receive hazardous waste – this includes deliveries of waste from your own business
• treat or dispose of hazardous waste on your business premises – this includes your own waste

You must follow these steps if your business collects and transports hazardous waste in England, eg you’re a waste carrier or you move your own waste.

1. Register as a waste carrier.

2. Check parts A and B of the consignment note and the waste before you accept it – make sure the waste is classified correctly and you're collecting it from business premises that are registered or exempt.

3. Separate waste correctly when you load it for transportation.

4. Fill in the part of the consignment note that applies to you.

5. Leave 1 copy of the consignment note with the waste producer or holder and keep 2 copies – these must stay with the waste until it reaches its destination.

6. Take the waste to the destination on the consignment note – it must be an authorised waste site.

7. Keep records (known as a 'register') for 1 year.

You must keep records at your head office.

Records you must keep

You must keep copies of:

• consignment notes
• any related documents, eg ‘carrier schedules’ (list of carriers when there is more than 1), records of rejected loads

If these documents aren't accurate or complete, you must keep a record of any missing information.

You’re a waste dealer or broker

Ask the waste producer or holder for copies of their records. You must keep these for 3 years. Check what other registration requirements and responsibilities you may need to meet.

Your waste delivery is rejected

You must follow the guidance on rejected loads if a consignee rejects the hazardous waste you’re transporting.

You must follow these steps if you receive, treat or dispose of hazardous waste at premises in England.

1. Get an environmental permit or register an exemption for your premises.

2. Check the consignment note and waste before you accept it – make sure it comes from registered or exempt premises and it's classified correctly.

3. Reject the waste if the consignment note is missing, incorrect or incomplete.

4. Fill in part E of the consignment note for any hazardous waste you accept or reject – keep 1 copy and hand 1 copy back to the carrier.

5. Send consignee returns to the Environment Agency, and the waste producer or holder, to report on any hazardous waste you accept or reject.

6. Keep records (known as a 'register').

You must keep records at the site where the hazardous waste was stored, treated or disposed.

Records you must keep

You must keep:

• consignment notes
• any related documents, eg ‘carrier schedules’ (list of carriers when there is more than 1), records of rejected loads
• a site inventory that records where waste was stored, treated or disposed of at your waste site – keep this in a secure, marked area that’s accessible in emergencies

Site inventories for tipped waste

‘Tipped waste’ (permanent waste storage, eg landfill) includes:

Your site inventory must be a site plan that shows where hazardous waste is stored at your waste site together with its:

• consignment note code – get this from the consignee return if there’s no consignment note
• waste description including the waste classification code, its chemical components and hazardous properties

Use either a grid or contour lines to divide up your site plan.

Site inventories for all other waste operations

These requirements are for all other waste operations (eg not tipped waste), including:

• disposal by other methods
• treatment
• recovery
• incineration

Your site inventory can be a site plan or table showing the location of waste at your site together with:

• its consignment note code – get this from the consignee return if there’s no consignment note
• information cross-referencing each incoming or outgoing waste (waste transfer activities only)

You must also keep records for each delivery of hazardous waste you accept at your site – include:

• its weight in kilograms
• its waste description including the waste classification code, its chemical components and hazardous properties
• the name, address and postcode of the waste holder or producer it came from
• the disposal or recovery method you applied to the waste

How long you must keep records

The type of waste site you have determines how long you keep records.

You must send your records to the Environment Agency if you give up or lose your permit.

You must use consignment notes to move hazardous waste.

A consignment note must stay with hazardous waste until it reaches its final destination.

Fill in a consignment note

Read the consignment notes guidance.

1. Download a consignment note form.

2. Fill in the parts that apply to you.

The part that applies to you depends on your role in the waste process.

Download a continuation sheet if you need more space.

You’re the waste producer or holder

You’ll need to know both the:

• Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code (2003) – this describes the business activity that produced the waste
• waste classification code, also referred to as LoW (List of Waste) or EWC (European Waste Catalogue) code – this describes the waste

Get consignment notes another way

You can also:

• use a note from your waste contractor or write your own – it must include the information on the form
• buy consignment notices from the Environment Agency – these have 3 colour-coded copies

Environment Agency
Telephone: 03708 506 506
Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm
Email: hazwasteorders@environment-agency.gov.uk
Find out about call charges

Consignee returns are reports on any hazardous waste received, treated or disposed of by a business (the ‘consignee’).

You’re a waste producer or holder

You should get consignee returns every quarter from the consignee dealing with your hazardous waste.

Ask for consignee returns in writing if you don't get them – you need them to keep records.

You should contact the Environment Agency and stop using a waste business if they don’t provide consignee returns.

You’re a consignee

You must send consignee returns every quarter to the:

• Environment Agency
• the waste producer or holder

You must send separate consignee returns to the Environment Agency and the waste producer or holder, eg you can't send copies of the same document to both.

Read the consignee returns guidance for help with filling in your consignee returns.

Send consignee returns to the Environment Agency

1. Fill in the consignee returns spreadsheet.

2. Send the spreadsheet to the Environment Agency – either email it to hazwastereturn@environment-agency.gov.uk or upload it online.

Read the consignee returns guidance for other ways you can send your returns.

Deadlines

Fees

Fees are per consignment of waste and depend on whether the consignment formed part of a multiple collection (eg came from multiple locations) or not. The fees are:

• single consignment - £10 (electronic returns) or £19 (paper returns)
• multiple collection - £5 (electronic returns) or £10 (paper returns)

You can contact the Environment Agency if you have any questions about hazardous waste.

Environment Agency
Email: enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk
Telephone: 03708 506 506
Minicom: 03702 422 549
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Find out about call charges