Business waste and recycling

Here you will find information and advice for businesses on waste disposal and recycling options, including guidance on waste legislation and licenses.

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Waste and recycling advice for businesses

Northumberland County Council aim to help local businesses choose the right waste disposal and recycling options.

Business waste is not permitted at any of the Northumberland Household Waste Recovery Centres (HWRCs). This includes landlord waste and property development waste (also classed as business or commercial waste). You can also visit the Recycle-More website for more advice.
 
Garden waste
 
To ask about a kerbside garden waste bin from the council, please call us on 0345 600 6400.
 
Skip hire
 
Visit the Skipandbin website here. They have a database of over 1,000 licensed skip hire companies from across the UK.
 
Holiday accommodation waste
 
If you have arranged for recycling collections from the council, please click here to download and print out the recycling poster for your guests at your holiday accommodation.
Fees are charged for us to collect garden waste. Please call us on 0345 600 6400 if you would like more advice about disposing of your garden waste from your business.
 
You cannot use HWRCs to dispose of garden waste produced by your business, nor are you allowed to apply for permits to access those sites.
 
If you have a gardening business, the cheapest options would be:

Business waste collections

The council provides a range of high-quality, reliable business waste collection and recycling services that will benefit your business and the environment:

  • We can collect your recyclable material at a reduced cost.
  • Your non-recyclable business waste is converted to fuel to supply electricity for the National Grid and isn’t buried in landfill sites that harm the environment.
  • Businesses can also request a quotation for the collection of bulky waste items.
 

New customers

If you are a new customer, please click here to request a quotation or information about the trade waste collection service.
 

Change your details

If you need to change any details, please call us on 0345 600 6400.
 

Bulky waste

Please click here to request a quotation or more information about the bulky waste collection service.
 

Charities

If you’re a charity, or not-for-profit organisation, who delivers benefits to the local community, you could qualify for free waste collection. This is if you generate no more waste than a domestic property (240 litres of general waste and 240 litres of recycling).

Agricultural waste

Agricultural waste officially became controlled in May 2006. It is subject to legislation called The Waste Management Regulations 2006 (England and Wales). This is also known as Statutory Instrument 2006, no. 937.

Please click here to read Statutory Instrument 2006, no. 937.
 
To help you comply with these regulations, we have provided the following information:
 
What is agricultural waste?
  • The legal definition is ‘waste from premises used for agriculture’ from the Agriculture Act 1947.
  • All substances or objects from premises used for agriculture, which are discarded by the holder.

Agriculture includes:
  • Horticulture
  • Fruit and seed growing
  • Dairy farming
  • Livestock breeding and keeping
  • The use of land as grazing land
  • Meadow and osier land
  • Market gardens and nursery grounds
  • The use of land for woodlands, where that use is important to the farming of the land for other agricultural purposes

What do the regulations mean for farmers?
  • You can store your waste on-site for up to 12 months. You don’t have to inform the Environment Agency of this, but after a 12-month period, you will have to recover or dispose of your waste.
  • You can take the waste to a licensed site yourself. You will have to register as a waste carrier to transport your own waste.
PLEASE NOTE: You cannot take agricultural waste to a HWRC.
  • You can take the waste to someone else for recovery off-farm at an appropriately licensed site.
  • Waste management companies can remove your waste, but they must be registered with the Environment Agency.
  • You can also register a license exemption with the Environment Agency to recover or dispose of your waste on-farm.
If you have any enquiries for the Environment Agency, please call them on 03708 506 506.
 
Please click here to register as a waste carrier.

Hazardous business waste

Businesses have a duty of care to dispose of any hazardous waste such as dangerous chemicals or asbestos in a responsible way which won’t harm the public, employees, or the environment.

There are strict controls on the disposal, recovery, and movement of hazardous waste due to its potential harm to human health or the environment.

Please click here to find out more about hazardous waste from the Environment Agency.
 

Asbestos

If you are a trades person doing any building works, it is very important that you have had training so that you know where you might find asbestos during work you are carrying out and which types of asbestos to completely avoid.
 
Please click here for more information about where you may find asbestos in your business premises.

 Chemicals

Waste audits

If you are a business, it would be a good idea to have an audit to set up a waste management plan.

Try to break your plan into manageable sections, including:
  • the quantity of waste that is being generated by your business
  • the types of waste being produced by your business

Please look at whether these items could be:
  • prevented or reduced
  • recycled or composted
  • potentially hazardous
  • affected by recent regulations, and therefore can no longer be legally disposed of via the general rubbish route

Is my business compliant with the rules for business waste disposal?

Disclaimer: All information was correct at the time of publication (February 2020).

Is my business compliant with the rules and regulations of waste disposal?

The Environment Agency provides information on waste regulations, waste carriers’ licences, duty of care, and environmental information and advice.
 
Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) from businesses
 
  • The WEEE regulations include discarded electrical items such as fridges, TVs, and printers.
  • The regulations state that it is the responsibility of the business to arrange for the collection and disposal of the waste.
  • It is not the council’s responsibility.
 

Compliance with the Controlled Waste Regulations 2012

All councils have a duty to arrange for the collection of household waste and may arrange to collect commercial and industrial waste.
 
The Controlled Waste Regulations (CWR) of 2012 identify whether the council may charge collection fees and disposal fees for both residential and commercial locations.
 
Please click here for the full classification of waste types listed in the CWR 2012.

   
Location Collection charge Disposal charge
A place of worship No No
A caravan or mobile home belonging to gypsies and travellers No No
Waste from premises wholly or mainly used for public meetings Yes No
Waste from a charity shop selling donated goods originating from domestic property Yes Yes (only non-domestic waste)
Waste from premises occupied by a community interest company, charity, or not for profit body, which collects goods for reuse or waste to prepare for reuse from domestic property Yes Yes (only non-domestic waste)
Waste from a residential home Yes Yes
Waste from premises forming part of a university, school or other educational establishment Yes Yes (unless the local authority collected the waste prior to 6th April 2012)
Waste forming part of a hospital or nursing home except for waste from a residential hostel (see above) Yes Yes
Waste from a penal institution Yes Yes
Self-catering accommodation, campsites and caravan parks (either for self-catering accommodation or not allowed to be used throughout the year) Yes Yes (unless eligible for free disposal prior to 6th April 2012 & eligible for Small Business Rate Relief)
Premises occupied by a charity and wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes Yes (unless from a place of worship or used for public meetings which is treated as household waste) Yes (unless from a place of worship or used for public meetings which is treated as household waste)
Premises occupied by a club, society etc. whose activities are conducted for the benefit of its members Yes Yes
 

PLEASE NOTE: Charges may vary depending on your circumstances, like the size and number of your bins, frequency of collection, type of waste and whether or not we charge for collection and disposal.

Contact us

If you need to speak to a Waste Management Officer, please see the email addresses below for who to contact in your area:

Please note that the following email addresses are for business waste enquiries only.
 
For the Northern area, please contact Julie Case at julie.case@northumberland.gov.uk.
 
For the West and Central area, please contact Kevin Ferrol at 
kevin.ferrol@northumberland.gov.uk.
 
For the South East area, please contact Matthew Swaddle at 
matthew.swaddle@northumberland.gov.uk.

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