A waste transfer note is a legal document that must be signed by both parties between whom the waste is being transferred.
From 28th September 2011, a transfer note must conform with the new requirements laid down by the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011.
It must include the following:
- A brief written description of the waste being transferred.
- The correct EWC code for the waste.
- An indication of how the waste is contained. E.g. loose, sack, skip, euro bin
- The amount of waste being passed on, for example the number of sacks or other containers, the volume of waste or its weight.
- A SIC 2007 code.
- A tick box to state that the waste hierarchy has been used.
- Your company name as the producer of the waste.
- The name of the person you are transferring the waste to and their status, e.g. a registered waste carrier, including their registration number.
- Give the address where you transferred the waste to the other person as well as the date and time that you gave them the waste.
- Be signed by both parties and be kept for at least two years.
For repeated transfers, where the description of the waste and all the circumstances remain the same, a ‘season ticket’ i.e. one transfer note which can last up to 12 months, can be used to cover all transfers.
Generally, your waste collection company should generate the transfer note, but although they might complete it, you still have to sign it and are then liable if the information on it is wrong.
The most common error with waste transfer notes is the waste description. They should include both a written description and a European Waste Catalogue (EWC) code. The waste description and code must always be specific to what is being stored and collected. A common type of waste is general mixed commercial waste. This is covered by the EWC code 20 03 01. However, if an office is having refurbishment work then builders should not use the general waste bin for their waste. They would need a different description and code, typically construction waste, EWC code 17 01 07.
The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 have applied the requirement for the Waste Framework Directive Waste Hierarchy to be applied. This prioritises:
- Prevention
- Preparing for reuse
- Recycling
- Recovery (waste to energy, anaerobic digestion etc)
- Disposal (landfill)
Pulse Environmental takes care of all the administration and archiving of waste waste transfer notes. If your waste streams, storage arrangements or volumes change then we will issue a new up to date waste transfer note as part of the service. Legally they must be kept for a period of 2 years and can be demanded by representatives of the Environment Agency or Local Authority. Pulse Environmental will fulfil this obligation for you.
