Chapter 20

Your business and the environment

Increasingly, even small and medium-sized businesses have to comply with a range of legal obligations aimed at reducing pressure on the environment. This chapter looks briefly at how your business may be affected by the main requirements concerning waste disposal and the efficient use of resources. While complying with these rules may seem onerous, bear in mind that taking steps to limit your waste and use resources more effectively may also save your business money. And it can be a positive step for you to take as customers, suppliers and investors are very aware of the challenge of climate change and the need for all to take positive steps to reduce the carbon footprint of your business.

You can get more information about your waste responsibilities from the government’s Business Support Helpline (or equivalent organisations) and the government web site1 or NetRegs website or YouTube channel.

Normal business waste

The law imposes on you a duty of care to produce, store and dispose of your business waste without harming the environment. This applies whether you work from dedicated business premises or from your own home. You are also obliged to keep waste to a minimum.

Business waste is anything produced by or in the course of your business that needs to be disposed of or recycled. It may include, for example, paper if your business is office-based, empty ink and toner cartridges from printers and photocopiers, packaging from supplies you use, defective products from your processes, old items and materials that you replace if, say, you are a builder and so on.

You need to sort and store your waste carefully. Waste paper, metal, plastic and glass need to be disposed of separately, as do various categories of hazardous waste. Storage needs to be secure, in labelled containers with covers, for example. You have extra responsibilities if you’re storing hazardous waste (see footnote 1).

When you have produced waste in your business you must consider all other options before you dispose of your waste. There are five steps, and they are known as the ‘waste hierarchy’. The steps are:

In most cases, you will want to throw out your rubbish and have it collected. As a business, you are required to make sure that your waste is collected and handled by a carrier that is registered to do so (a licensed waste business). This applies even if you work from home – you can be fined if you are found putting your business rubbish into the normal household waste system. You can find registered waste management firms either by contacting your local authority or using the directory on the government’s NetRegs web site. The firm will issue you with a waste transfer note which, for repeat collections, can cover a period up to 12 months. You are required to keep your waste transfer notes for at least two years. Alternatively, instead of a waste note, a document with the same information such as an invoice will suffice.

The waste management firm will provide you with rubbish sacks, bins or skips and arrange for them to be collected or emptied and the rubbish taken away. There will be a charge for this service. In general, the charge is higher according to the amount of waste you produce.

Alternatively, you can transport your waste to a waste treatment site operated by a registered firm, usually without any formalities. When you do this, you will usually need to get a consignment note from the waste operator.

Trade effluent

Trade effluent is waste liquid from premises being used for business. It includes fats, oils, greases, detergents and food waste, as well as things like chemicals. In fact, the only liquids that do not count as trade effluent are normal domestic sewage and rainwater run-off. The size of your business does not affect the fact that your waste liquids are treated as trade effluent.

Before you discharge any effluent either directly or indirectly into the public sewage system, you must get a ‘trade effluent consent’ or make a ‘trade effluent agreement’ with your local water or sewerage company. You can find out which is your local company by contacting Water UK. For some types of effluent (such as those containing potentially dangerous substances), you may also need a permit from the Environment Agency or its Scottish or Northern Irish equivalent.

Hazardous waste (special waste)

Hazardous waste (called ‘special waste’ in Scotland) is waste that may be harmful to the environment or to human health. Before you think this does not apply to you, check. Some very ordinary items count as hazardous, including fluorescent tubes, energy-saving light bulbs, toner and ink cartridges and old-style computer monitors (with a cathode ray tube). Some other examples of hazardous waste include car batteries, car oil, brake fluid, antifreeze, rags contaminated with these substances, aerosols, human or animal tissue, drugs and medicines, nappies, sharp instruments and so on.

You must dispose of hazardous waste at a landfill site that is authorised to accept such waste – not all are. Contact the waste management firm operating the site to check whether it can accept your waste and how much you will be charged. You must get a consignment note from the firm for each disposal and this note must be kept for at least three years.

You must register with the Environment Agency or its Scottish or Northern Irish equivalent if your business produces hazardous waste, but in England and Wales you are exempted from this requirement if you produce less than 500 kg per year.

Electrical equipment

Any waste electrical equipment from your business must be stored and disposed of separately from your other business waste. This covers, for example, computers, printers, monitors, heating, cooling and lighting equipment, automatic dispensers, household appliances and so on.

When you dispose of such equipment, you must get and keep proof that you handed it over to a registered waste management firm. You can find registered waste management firms either by contacting your local authority or using the directory on the government’s NetRegs web site (for Scotland and Northern Ireland).

If you sell electrical equipment to end-user customers, additional rules apply, including setting up a system for taking back free-of-charge old equipment from customers for disposal. You can either run the scheme yourself or join a third-party scheme.

Energy efficiency

The UK is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, and one measure aimed at this end is the climate change levy. The levy is built into the energy prices that business customers pay.

You will not be paying the climate change levy if you work from home and at least 60 per cent of your energy use is for domestic rather than business purposes. If less, you will have to pay the levy on the portion of your fuel use that is for business use.

Energy suppliers are being required to install ‘smart’ meters at business premises, to ensure accurate billing and so that businesses can monitor their energy use (and hopefully therefore take steps to reduce it). Larger businesses (and, in Northern Ireland, all but the smallest businesses) are already required to have smart meters. In England, Wales and Scotland, all businesses were due to be converted to smart meters by the end of 2020.

The tax system (see Chapter 28, ‘Tax’) includes a number of measures to encourage businesses to use more energy-efficient equipment and vehicles.

Summary

1Follow the waste hierarchy. The first step is to reduce the amount of waste you create if you possibly can.

2For regular collection of your business waste, register with a waste management company and keep your waste transfer notes for at least two years.

3Comply with regulations for sorting and disposing of different types of waste.

4If you have waste items not dealt with by your regular collections, take them to facilities run by a registered waste management company and keep proof that you did this.

______________

1 www.gov.uk/managing-your-waste-an-overview