Waste storage and transport

You are responsible for storing and transporting your waste safely and legally. You must ensure that your waste does not harm the environment.

You must comply with the requirements of your duty of care.

See our guidance on duty of care in:

England on Business Link: Duty of care - your responsibilities
Northern Ireland on NIBusinessInfo: Duty of care - your responsibilities
Scotland on Business Gateway: Duty of care - your responsibilities
Wales on Business.Wales.gov.uk: Duty of care - your responsibilities

Healthcare hazardous/special waste

Healthcare hazardous/special waste includes:

  • dental amalgam
  • x-ray photo-chemicals
  • laboratory chemicals
  • cytotoxic and cytostatic waste
  • infectious waste.

Clinical waste

See the guidance on clinical waste for storing and transporting clinical waste.

Storing waste

If you store your own waste you must store it securely and get it removed regularly from your site.

If you store your own waste for long periods, or store waste produced by other people, you must have an environmental permit (England and Wales) or a waste management licence (Scotland or Northern Ireland).

Business Link (England): Environmental permits - who needs one and how to comply
Waste management licences
Business.Wales.gov.uk (Wales): Environmental permits - who needs one and how to comply

Check that your environmental permit or licence allows you to store your type of waste.

Make sure waste materials cannot blow away or escape. Tie your waste down, cover and protect it from wind and rain.

Prevent run-off from your waste storage area entering surface waters or drains by storing it under cover on an impermeable surface with a bund. A bund is a secondary containment area that holds liquids if the main containers leak or break.

Make sure your site is secure. Check locks, gates and perimeter fences regularly. You can still be prosecuted even if vandals cause pollution on your site.

You must not:

  • bury waste materials
  • burn waste materials unless licensed to do so
  • store and transport materials near fire sources, eg high temperature machinery or machinery producing sparks, such as angle grinders
  • mix hazardous/special waste with any other materials.

Waste storage exemptions

You can apply for exemptions to store certain types of waste for certain purposes. This means you can register with your environmental regulator and avoid having to apply for a full environmental permit or waste management licence. The amount you can store depends on the exemption. The purposes include:

  • composting
  • recycling and reuse of waste materials
  • using the waste as a construction material
  • using the waste material as a fuel.

In most cases you must register any exempt waste activity or operation you carry out. You must always comply with the conditions of the exemption. There may be a charge for registering your exemptions.

In England and Wales you will not have to register an exemption if the operation is covered by a Non-Waste Framework Directive (NWFD) exemption, for example storing waste temporarily for collection on the site it was produced for 12 months or less.

For further information on NWFD exemptions, see our guidance on who needs to register an exemption.

Environment Agency: Waste exemptions
Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA): Activities exempt from waste management licensing
SEPA: Activities exempt from waste management licensing

For further information contact your environmental regulator.

Storing hazardous/special waste

You must check if the waste you store is hazardous/special waste before you store it.

You do not need an environmental permit or waste management licence if you store hazardous/special waste on the site where it was produced for up to 12 months while you wait for it to be collected.

In England and Wales there is no limit to the amount of hazardous waste you can store, as long as it is stored in a secure place.

In Northern Ireland and Scotland, the maximum amount of hazardous/special waste you can store is:

  • 80 cubic metres of hazardous/special waste in secure containers
  • 50 cubic metres of hazardous/special waste in a secure place
  • 23,000 litres of liquid hazardous/special waste at any one time.

All hazardous/special waste must be stored safely and securely to prevent pollution.

See our guidance on storing hazardous/special waste in:

England on Business Link: Producing and storing hazardous waste
Northern Ireland on NIBusinessInfo: Producing and storing hazardous waste
Scotland on Business Gateway: Producing and storing special waste
Wales on Business.Wales.gov.uk: Producing and storing hazardous waste

If you store any hazardous waste for longer than 12 months you will need an environmental permit in England and Wales, or a waste management licence in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Business Link (England): Environmental permits - who needs one and how to comply
Waste management licences
Business.Wales.gov.uk (Wales): Environmental permits - who needs one and how to comply

You must store hazardous/special waste separately from all other waste materials. You must use containers that are:

  • sealed
  • labelled
  • covered
  • waterproof.

Hazardous/special waste containment areas must be:

  • in separate designated areas
  • secure
  • clearly signed
  • on impermeable surfaces
  • bunded.

Transporting waste

In England, Northern Ireland and Wales you can currently transport most waste produced by your own business, other than construction or demolition waste, directly to an authorised waste management site or recycling facility without registering as a waste carrier.

You must register with your environmental regulator as a waste carrier if you transport:

  • construction and demolition waste produced by your own business
  • any waste produced by another business.

In England and Wales, you will have to register with the Environment Agency as a lower tier waste carrier by the end of December 2013 if you normally and regularly carry your own business waste. In Northern Ireland you will have to register with the NIEA as a lower tier carrier by the end of December 2013 if you normally and regularly carry your own business waste.

In Scotland if you normally and regularly transport waste produced by your own business, you must register with SEPA as a professional collector or transporter of waste. This is a new requirement for businesses. If you transport your own construction or demolition waste you must usually register as a waste carrier. You will soon be able to register online. SEPA recommends you delay your registration until the online system is available. If you need to register sooner, download the application form from the SEPA website.

SEPA: Application form to register as a professional collector or transporter of waste (Adobe PDF - 54KB)

See our guidance on waste carriers, brokers and dealers in:
England on Business Link: Waste carriers, brokers and dealers
Northern Ireland on NIBusinessInfo: Waste carriers, brokers and dealers
Scotland on Business Gateway: Waste carriers, brokers and dealers
Wales on Business.Wales.gov.uk: Waste carriers, brokers and dealers

Waste transfer notes

You must complete a waste transfer note (WTN) for every load of waste you pass on or accept. You must keep copies of all your WTNs for at least two years.

You may be able to use a ‘season ticket’ if you have regular collections of the same type of waste by the same waste carrier.  This is one transfer note covering a series of transfers over a year, for example weekly collections of waste from shops or commercial premises or multiple lorry trips to remove a large heap of waste.

See our guidance on completing waste transfer notes in:

England on Business Link: Completing waste transfer notes
Northern Ireland on NIBusinessInfo: Completing waste transfer notes
Scotland on Business Gateway: Completing waste transfer notes
Wales on Business.Wales.gov.uk: Completing waste transfer notes

Exemptions

In Northern Ireland and Scotland, if you store medical waste you may be able to register an exemption with your environmental regulator.

You may qualify for a paragraph 39 exemption if:

  • you have a pharmacy, which stores waste medicines that have been returned to you by householders or individuals
  • you have a medical or nursing practice, which stores medical waste at the premises where it is produced.

If you have an exemption, you must comply with the exemption conditions.

In England and Wales storing medical waste is now covered by a Non-Waste Framework Directive (NWFD) exemption. You do not need to register this exemption. For further information on NWFD exemptions see our guidance on who needs to register an exemption.

You should contact your environmental regulator for further information on waste exemptions.

Transporting hazardous waste

You must check if waste is hazardous/special waste before you transport it.

You must complete a consignment note whenever you or anyone else moves or transfers hazardous/special waste. Copies of consignment notes must be kept for at least three years.

If you carry your own hazardous/special demolition and construction waste, or if you carry hazardous/special waste produced by other businesses, you must be registered as a waste carrier, or register an exemption for the waste you carry.

In England, Northern Ireland and Wales you can currently carry your own hazardous/special waste, other than construction or demolition waste, without registering as a carrier of hazardous/special waste. You must still complete a consignment note. In England and Wales, you will have to register with the Environment Agency as a lower tier waste carrier by the end of December 2013 if you normally and regularly carry your own business waste. In Northern Ireland you will have to register with the NIEA as a lower tier carrier by the end of December 2013 if you normally and regularly carry your own business waste.

In Scotland if you normally and regularly transport waste produced by your own business, you must register with SEPA as a professional collector or transporter of waste. This is a new requirement for businesses. You will soon be able to register online. SEPA recommends you delay your registration until the online system is available. If you need to register sooner, download the application form from the SEPA website.

SEPA: Application form to register as a professional collector or transporter of waste (Adobe PDF - 54KB)

See our guidance on waste carriers, brokers and dealers in:
England on Business Link: Waste carriers, brokers and dealers
Northern Ireland on NIBusinessInfo: Waste carriers, brokers and dealers
Scotland on Business Gateway: Waste carriers, brokers and dealers
Wales on Business.Wales.gov.uk: Waste carriers, brokers and dealers

If you transport hazardous/special waste you must:

  • keep it separate from other wastes
  • use sealed and clearly labelled containers
  • check that it is transferred to a facility that is authorised to receive it.

Check vehicle locks regularly and only drop off materials when you are sure the location is secure.

See our guidance on moving hazardous/special waste in:

England on Business Link: Moving and transferring hazardous waste
Northern Ireland on NIBusinessInfo: Moving and transferring hazardous waste
Scotland on Business Gateway: Moving and transferring special waste
Wales on Business.Wales.gov.uk: Moving and transferring hazardous waste

In England and Wales, if you produce 500 kilograms or more of hazardous waste in a year you must register your premises with the Environment Agency.
 
Environment Agency: Register or renew as a hazardous waste producer

Storing and transporting waste oil

For information on storing and transporting waste oil see our guidance on storing oil in:

England on Business Link: Storing oil
Northern Ireland on NIBusinessInfo: Storing oil
Scotland on Business Gateway: Storing oil
Wales on Business.Wales.gov.uk: Storing oil

Preventing pollution when transporting and storing waste

You must:

  • store and transport waste in suitable, covered containers such as drums, skips or cages
  • label containers correctly with the type of materials stored in them
  • separate different materials into different containers
  • ensure materials cannot leak into the ground, watercourses (streams, rivers or groundwater) or surface drains.

Only store and transfer waste materials on waterproof, contained surfaces where spills cannot escape.

Bund containment areas. This involves building a secondary barrier around the main containment area to hold liquid waste if the main containers, for example drums, leak or break.

Pollution prevention guideline (PPG) 2 contains guidance on bunding and storage.

PPG 2 Above ground oil storage tanks (Adobe PDF - 505KB)

Dealing with spills

Ensure accidental spills can be contained. Put spill kits and spill response procedures in place.

Do not use water to wash away spills. It will spread the spill and could pollute the ground, watercourses (streams, rivers or groundwater) or surface drains.

PPG 21 Incident response planning (Adobe PDF - 320KB)

Keep portable spill kits in vehicles used to transport waste materials.

A basic spill kit should contain:

  • gloves
  • goggles
  • re-sealable plastic bags
  • sealing or containment materials, such as sealing putties and drain sealing mats
  • absorbent materials to soak up spills, such as plenty of rags, sand or earth.

You may need to recycle or dispose of absorbent materials used to contain spills as hazardous/special waste. Check before you recycle or dispose of them.

Further information on storing and transporting waste

Defra: Duty of care summary and code of practice
Environment Agency: Exemptions - carriers and brokers
NIEA: Waste
SEPA: Waste carriers - Who needs to register?
SEPA: Consigning Special Waste