Documents & codes
What is controlled waste?
Controlled waste is household, industrial and commercial waste, and it is the category the main waste duties apply to. Some wastes — including certain agricultural and mining wastes — sit outside it.
The category exists to draw a boundary around what the regime covers. Establishing that waste is controlled waste is the first step, because the duty of care, carrier registration and documentation requirements all follow from it.
The three sub-categories matter for charging and for who is responsible. Household waste from a domestic property, commercial waste from a business and industrial waste from a process are treated differently even where the material is identical.
Businesses sometimes assume waste that looks domestic is household waste. Waste from a commercial premises is commercial waste whatever it consists of, and it needs the commercial arrangements.
What goes wrong in practice
- Business waste disposed of through household routes, which is an offence for both parties.
- Assuming a category from what the material looks like rather than from where it came from.
- Mixed loads where one category's requirements are applied to all of it.