Commercial waste

If you are trading as a business, then any waste you produce is classed as commercial waste. This also includes waste from any business activity you run from your home.

Businesses have a duty to organise their own commercial waste removal and recycling. Unlike household waste, the Council is not responsible for the removal of commercial waste.

Your responsibilities

Businesses have a legal obligation known as the duty of care regarding how rubbish is stored and disposed of.

Under this duty you must:

  • Ensure your commercial waste is not disposed of illegally or fly-tipped
  • Ensure your commercial waste is disposed of by a licensed contractor and that they hold a valid waste carriers licence
  • Keep documentary evidence for a period of 2 years of how you dispose of your rubbish

You must sign a Trade Refuse Agreement with a carrier who is legally authorised to carry waste and pay the charges. You may take your own rubbish to a licensed disposal site, but you can't use the Household Waste Recycling Centres for free tipping.

Commercial waste must not be disposed of in domestic bins, litter bins or alleyways and shop frontages must be kept clean at all times. Failure to comply with this can result in the Council issuing a fixed penalty notice.

You can find more information about the rules around duty of care on the gov.uk website.

Illegal dumping of waste​​

If your waste is discovered to have been disposed of illegally, even by your carrier, you or your company could face legal proceedings.

Recycle for Greater Manchester have created a SCRAP code which may help you prevent your waste from being fly tipped.

Commercial waste collection service

The Council offers a commercial waste collection service. Collections are chargeable and don't form part of your business rates.

Our commercial waste service offers a range of collection containers for hire which are suitable for most business premises. The table below shows the size of containers we offer and the approximate number of sacks each container holds

Commercial waste collection service
  Capacity (Litres) Approximate sacks held  
 240  5
 360  7
 660  9
 1100  14

Collections are available Monday to Friday. We aim to be as flexible as possible to meet the requirements of many types of business. Some of our existing customers have one collection per week whilst larger companies have waste removed every day.

To make an enquiry about our commercial waste service, email OneTrafford.CommercialWaste@amey.co.uk with details of the service you require. A member of the team will get back in touch with you. Alternatively, call 0161 672 6513.