If you are a business owner in the borough, you have a legal responsibility to safely contain and legally dispose of any waste produced by your business. If you don’t, there could be some serious consequences and you could even be taken to court. It's important to remember that your business rates do not include the cost of your business waste disposal.

All producers of waste are legally responsible for their waste until it is collected by a registered waste carrier. If you are putting your waste outside ready for collection, you must do the following:

• Place general business waste in a prepaid trade waste bag; please don’t overfill the bag.
• Either place business cardboard waste in a prepaid trade waste bag or tied securely with a trade label stuck on the outside - this must be clearly visible.
• Do not leave your waste on the street if your contractor fails to collect it within a reasonable period of time (no more than a few hours). You must instead take it back inside your premises.
• Contact your contractor as soon as possible if they have not collected your trade waste. If you have a trade bin, do not under any circumstances continue to overfill the bin so that the lid cannot be locked. You must also not place waste at the side of the bin or in other businesses' bins.

We can inspect your current waste contract and arrangements to ensure you have proper storage, sufficient space and the correct amount of collections for your waste. More importantly, we will check your current waste removal practices to ensure that you are legally dealing with your trade waste. If you fail to meet the minimum requirements you can be fined on the spot or prosecuted.

It is in all our interest to ensure we have a clean, safe and attractive borough for all and we can't do this without your help. If you have any questions or need further information on anything mentioned above, please contact the Street Services, Enviro Crime Team on 0208 921 4661.