Duty of care for businesses

If you are a business the ‘Duty of Care’ applies to you. Commercial, industrial and household wastes (including hazardous wastes) are classified as ‘controlled waste’. The Duty of Care applies to all ‘controlled waste’ – this means that waste materials produced as part of your business or within your workplace are regulated by law.

If you produce or deal with waste that has certain hazardous properties, you are advised to contact Natural Resources Wales (NRW) for further information, as we do not provide a collection service for waste of this nature.

When you import, produce, keep, treat or dispose of waste and/or transfer waste to others to deal with it on your behalf, the law says you must stop it escaping from your control.  You must store it safely and securely and dispose of it responsibly. You must prevent it causing pollution or harm.

You and your business have a ‘duty’ to take all reasonable measures to:

• First, ensure that anyone keeping, depositing, disposing of or recovering your ‘controlled waste’ has a current waste management licence or exemption;
• Second, make it secure. Keep it in a suitable container. If you put loose waste in a skip or lorry, cover it;
• Third, if you give your ‘controlled waste’ to someone else, check that they have the authority to take it. The law says that the person you give your waste to must be authorised to take it. Also, make sure that the person or business is authorised to deal with your particular type of waste;
• Fourth, you must describe the waste in writing. You must fill in and sign a Waste Transfer Note for it. You must keep a copy of the transfer note.