Duty of Care/Waste Transfer Notes

Any business that produces, handles or disposes of controlled waste has a statutory obligation to ensure it is managed correctly under Duty of Care legislation.

Waste Transfer Notes

Every transfer of waste between two parties must be covered by the appropriate documentation. For non-hazardous waste, this is generally a Waste Transfer Note (WTN) and for hazardous waste, a Consignment Note.

Waste transfer documents are a legal requirements that must contain certain information including a signature from both parties between whom the waste is being transferred. From 28th September 2011, a transfer note must conform with the new requirements laid down by the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011. The EA provides a downloadable template, but this does not have to be used. Any form can be used so long as it contains the relevant legal information.

The Waste Regulations (England and Wales) 2014 permits the use of alternative documentation to the Waste Transfer Note such as invoices or even email. But the legal requirements for what must be included remain the same.

It must include the following:

• A brief written description of the waste being transferred.
• The correct EWC code for the waste.
• An indication of how the waste is contained. Eg. is it loose, in a sack, skip or drum?
• A SIC 2007 code .
• A tick box to state that the waste hierarchy has been considered with the relevant words (see below)
• Identify the amount of waste being passed on, for example the number of sacks or other containers, the volume of waste or its weight.
• List your name and identify that you are the producer of the waste.
• List the name of the person you are passing the waste to and their status, for example a registered waste carrier, including their registration number.
• Give the address where you passed the waste to the other person as well as the date and time that you gave him the waste.
• Be signed by both parties and be kept for at least two years.

For repeated transfers, where the description of the waste and all the circumstances remain the same, a ‘season ticket’ can be used to cover all transfers i.e. one note which can last up to 12 months.

The WTN now requires a waste hierarchy statement with the following words recommended by Defra guidance:

By signing in Section D below I confirm that I have fulfilled my duty to apply the waste hierarchy as required by Regulation 12 of the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 

It is illegal to collect – or have collected – commercial or industrial non-hazardous waste without a valid WTN in place. Normally, the waste collection company would generate the transfer note, but it is the transferror’s legal responsibility to ensure that the EWC code is correct.

The WTN should include both a brief written description and a European Waste Catalogue (EWC) code. This description and code are extremely important:

• They ensure that the person to whom the waste is being transferred understands the handling requirements.
• The EWC code determines whether a site can receive the waste as all sites operating under an Environmental Permit or an Exemption are restricted to certain EWC codes.

This requirement applies to the transferror who must therefore now ensure that they dispose of their waste as high up the hierarchy as possible. This prioritises prevention first and landfill disposal last. In practice, the expectation is that a business should at least be recycling where possible.

How NCR 4 Less can help …

We can produce your waste transfer notes to any size or specification to suit your requirements. Whether it be sets (unbound duplicate parts), pads (bound parts) or books (bound parts, numbered and perforated), or even something bespoke, our online system or a call to our team will assist you in producing your job efficiently and economically.