Documents & codes
What is a waste transfer note?
A waste transfer note is the document recording a transfer of non-hazardous waste between two parties. It describes the waste, identifies both parties and their authorisations, and must be kept by both.
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<img src="https://wasteoptix.co.uk/glossary/waste-transfer-note/diagram.svg" alt="waste transfer note — diagram from WasteOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://wasteoptix.co.uk/glossary/waste-transfer-note">What is a waste transfer note?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://wasteoptix.co.uk">WasteOptix</a>
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</figure>It is the routine evidence of the duty of care. Each transfer needs one, though a season ticket arrangement can cover repeated transfers of the same waste between the same parties rather than generating a note per collection.
The description is the part that matters and the part most often neglected. 'General waste' tells the receiving site nothing, and an accurate description with the right code is what lets the next holder handle it lawfully.
Both parties keep a copy for a statutory period. Producing them on request is the test, and a business that can find a note from two years ago in minutes is in a very different position from one that has to reconstruct it.
What goes wrong in practice
- Descriptions reduced to 'general waste' or 'mixed', which is not a description.
- Notes signed in advance in a pad, so the record is created before the transfer it records.
- Only one party retaining a copy, leaving a gap on the other side of the chain.
- Carrier registration numbers copied forward from an old note after the registration has changed or lapsed.