Trade waste is any waste or recycling produced by any type of business, regardless of size.
All businesses in Scotland have a legal obligation to separate their waste for recycling and dispose of it via a licensed waste carrier. This is called your duty of care and is part of the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 and the Environmental Protection Act (1990). Legally you must recycle and dispose of your waste safely and in an environmentally friendly way.
What to do with trade waste
Whether your business produces one bag of waste or recycling a week or several bags a day you need to dispose of it responsibly using a licensed waste carrier.
Several companies offer trade waste disposal and collection services in Edinburgh. These companies will help you work out the best solution for your business and advise you on how to manage, sort and store your waste.
You can find these companies online or in the telephone directory by searching for ‘trade waste’ or ‘waste disposal’.
Changes
- trade waste containers, including food and glass, are not allowed to be stored in public spaces
- bins or bags of waste may be put out for collection on streets for a maximum of one hour during 9:30am and 12 noon, 2pm and 4pm and 6:30pm and 11pm
- if it remains uncollected after one hour, you should remove it from the street, store it on your premises and contact your waste carrier to arrange its uplift
- all bags and bins must be clearly marked with your business’ name and agreed collection time, find out more about your legal duty of care
- waste may only be placed on the street when the business is staffed and never overnight
- waste containers must be placed as near to the edge of a business’ property as possible, whilst ensuring there is clear pedestrian access
- it is your responsibility to arrange when your waste will be collected with your trade waste carrier
What happens if you fail to manage your waste
As a business you have a duty of care to manage your waste responsibly. If you leave your trade waste bags or containers in public for more than one hour, or outside the collection times, we will take action which could result in a fine of up to £1,000.
If you are struggling with storage space, your trade waste carrier will be able to advise you about solutions such as bagged waste collections, alternative bin sizes or changing the frequency of your collections.
Store waste
Your trade waste bins and bags are only allowed on the streets at certain times of the day instead of being left there all the time. This means you will need to store your business waste on your own premises or land and put it out for collection during a pre-arranged time slot. Find out more about storing waste.
Waste carrier
A licensed waste carrier will make sure your waste is recycled and disposed of safely, legally and in an environmentally friendly way. Keeping our city clean and green helps to encourage tourism, business investment and retail customers - all of which can benefit Edinburgh businesses.
If your business cannot provide evidence that you have appropriate waste arrangements you risk being prosecuted and fined up to £1,000.