Rubbish Removal

Learn more about Rubbish Removal in England

How much rubbish do we produce in England?

It is estimated that we produce more than 200 million tonnes of rubbish every year in the United Kingdom.

More specifically:

- England’s households produce 78,032,000 tonnes of waste
- England’s construction sites generate 141,428,571 tonnes of construction waste
- England’s Businesses created 34,740,000 tonnes of commercial waste
- England produced 7,200,000 tonnes of hazardous waste

England produces a lot of rubbish and to manage it properly as well as ensuring as much rubbish is processed for recycling there are a range of rubbish clearance and junk removal companies operating to assist business and residents with rubbish disposal.

What is my legal responsibility when hiring a waste contractor to carry out a rubbish removal in England?

Mainly you will need to consider your waste duty of care which puts most of the liability for the rubbish removal in your hands, not necessarily in the hands of the England waste contractor you hire. Most people are responsible and aim to operate within the law, however as the saying goes you do not know what you do not know. Handing over your rubbish to a non-authorised/licensed waste operator sets you up for a list of potential problems.

Understanding your liability and the impact of your decisions.

Your role in waste management is key and the information we have listed below will make it clear for you to manage your rubbish clearances by hiring the right contractor.

1. Your duty of care begins when you produce the rubbish
2. It continues all the way down the line, as just because a rubbish clearance company has cleared your waste, that does not mean that your duty stops
3. Your legal responsibility is to choose a reputable rubbish removal company that will dispose of your rubbish properly
4. If your rubbish is not dealt with responsibly and is found to be fly tipped, you will be investigated with more authority than the rubbish clearance company for illegal waste activity
5. To protect yourself form this you must have the correct documentation, such as a waste transfer note for each clearance performed by the junk clearance company
6. If you are being investigated and you cannot prove through the correct right waste documentation that you kept to your duty of care, you can receive a fine up to £5,000 and even a criminal conviction

Rubbish removal if not done properly can be costly, not just to you but for the environment, you are better off paying that little but more at the beginning to ensure you only paying once.

How do I choose the right contractor for my rubbish removal in England?

Knowing the risk associated with rubbish clearances in England can help you choose the right company for your rubbish disposal. In order to choose the best company, you need to consider the following.

1. Safety and professionalism

There is a range of risks that comes with bringing a contractor into your premises and around your family/staff/customers. One of the most important things to consider is how safe the team works when carrying out rubbish removal. You also need to check their experience and professionalism. A good rubbish clearance company will do the following things.

• Do their utmost to eliminate all risks associated with the rubbish clearance.
• Follow a certain management standard by having a thorough and routine training program around topics like health and safety.
• Operate their rubbish removals under a Health & Safety Management system, and if required can provide risk assessments for the work they are undertaking.
• Holds certain accreditations to prove their credibility’s, such as CHAS or Safe-Contractor.
• Is suitably insured for the work they are conducting to cover worst-case scenarios.

2. Compliance

One of the biggest topics to cover within the waste management world is compliance. Most operators have different levels of compliance. The following are ways a company becomes compliant with rubbish disposal regulations.

• Is licensed by the Environment Agency for their work
• Ensures they allow you to adhere to your Duty of Care by providing all the necessary paperwork from a waste collection. The paperwork needs to detail the waste trail to ensure transparency from producer to a carrier to disposal.

This include:

• A Waste Transfer Note for ALL rubbish clearances, which details the producer (you), the carrier (the waste contractor), and the disposal site (the waste transfer facility)
• A Consignment Notes for hazardous rubbish clearance (if disposed of from a business address)
• For more project-based or regular work rubbish and environmental reporting providing recycling, re-use, and landfill figures.
• Insurance is key for compliance as well. The level of insurance a rubbish clearance contractor is covered for should align with the level of work they are undertaking, which includes:
• Public liability insurance
• Employer’s liability insurance
• Vehicle insurance