Wiltshire Council reminds businesses to dispose of their waste correctly
Wiltshire Council is reminding business owners that it is an offence to dispose of their commercial waste at household recycling centres or in street litter bins.

Wiltshire Council is reminding business owners that it is an offence to dispose of their commercial waste at household recycling centres (HRCs) or in street litter bins. If they do so, they could be issued fixed penalty notices or even prosecuted for fly-tipping.
HRCs are for the sole use of Wiltshire householders to dispose of their waste, and they are not licensed to take commercial waste, regardless of the size of the business or the volume of waste. Any waste collected from a business is deemed to be commercial waste and must be taken to commercial waste disposal sites. This includes 'man with a van' waste collection services who advertise on social media.
Public litter bins are provided for general litter and are often the responsibility of the local town or parish council to empty. Household or business waste disposed in these bins breaks waste disposal regulations and is classed as fly-tipping.
All businesses have a duty of care for the waste that they produce, regardless of their size, they must:
- ensure that waste is stored, transported and disposed of, or recycled safely and legally
- have a waste collection contract in place
- obtain waste transfer notes (WTNs) when passing waste on.
Waste transfer notes are legal documents that prove a company has passed waste on to a business that has the appropriate licence to collect it. These documents must be kept for a period of at least two years by law.
Businesses who use an HRC site are liable to a fixed penalty notice (FPN) of £1,000 and a £300 FPN for failing to obtain waste transfer notes. Businesses who transport waste without a valid waste carriers' licence could be issued with a £300 FPN.
Cllr Dominic Muns, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: Our Stop at Source (SAS) campaign is not only about prosecuting and fining fly-tippers, but also about educating businesses and residents about correct waste management and having the correct documentation, including waste carriers' licences and waste transfer documents.
Any waste that is produced from a commercial activity is classed as commercial waste, and businesses have a legal duty to ensure it is handled and disposed of in the proper manner, and not at either a household recycling centre or in public litter bins.
Our household recycling centres are funded by council taxpayers and are solely for the use of our residents and for household waste. Not only is it illegal for businesses to dispose of their waste at the HRCs, it would not be fair on taxpayers to be subsidising business waste in this way.
Commercial waste collections are not included within business rates, so all businesses, no matter how big or small, must also have a waste collection contract in place, even if it is from a small business who may only produce a bag of waste/recycling every month or so. A charge to all businesses within business rates wouldn't be fair as those who produce little waste would end up paying for those who produce a lot.
The advice surrounding street litter bins comes after a Wiltshire business was issued FPNs totalling £1,600. This included a £1,000 FPN for putting commercial waste in street litter bins. They were also issued a further £300 FPN for not holding a valid waste carriers' licence for transporting waste elsewhere, and a £300 FPN for not being able to provide waste transfer documents detailing where their waste is taken to. As FPNs are not a conviction in court, the business involved cannot be named.
To find out more about how to correctly dispose of commercial waste, people should visit www.wiltshire.gov.uk/article/10824/Hazardous-and-commercial-waste
To find out more about how the council is tackling fly-tipping in Wiltshire and how to report fly-tipping, people should visit www.wiltshire.gov.uk/fly-tipping.