Trade waste
If you pay for work to be carried out in your home or garden, the waste that's created is the legal responsibility of the tradesperson you have employed to arrange for it to be removed and disposed of.
The cost of them removing this waste should be included and agreed in the quote they provide you before the work begins. It is your responsibility to ensure that they have a valid waste carrier's licence and that they provide details of where the waste will be taken for disposal.
If you have been left to dispose of the commercial waste yourself you can:
- contact the tradesperson/business and agree collection - the Citizens Advice consumer service can offer advice about this
- pay for a private waste collector or a skip/skip bag - you can find contacts at Yell.com or through our approved trader scheme.
If you think a tradesperson is operating outside of regulations contact the Citizens Advice consumer service.
'Man with a van' services
'Man with a van' services are unable to use recycling centres under any circumstances. Such services are classed as trade waste and require a waste carrier's licence and waste transfer notes. They therefore need to dispose of the waste at permitted legal waste facilities, not at household waste recycling centres. If such services cannot produce a waste carrier's licence and waste transfer notes they are operating illegally. If you employ someone to remove your waste you are also legally responsible for ensuring its safe and legal disposal [PDF].
As a general guide a 'man with a van' service would typically charge more than your local district or borough council bulky collection service for taking away waste.
Recycling centre Household Waste Declaration Form
Any waste created by a tradesperson/business at your home will not be accepted at our recycling centres.
If you have been asked to complete a Household Waste Declaration Form when visiting one of our recycling centres, it is because recycling centre staff suspected that you were disposing of commercial/business waste. By completing and signing the declaration, you are declaring that the waste is your household waste from your own permanent place of residence.
