Commercial/Non-Domestic Waste & Recycling

Important Information

From 6th April 2024 the new business / non-domestic waste regulations come into force in Wales meaning that paper, plastics, cans, glass, cardboard and food MUST NOT be placed in the residual (refuse) waste bin. These recyclables must be presented seperately at the kerbside for collection.

For further details visit: www.gov.wales/workplacerecycling

Business / Non-Domestic Premises Waste and Recycling

Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council offers a chargeable, recycling led, commercial waste service which is already compliant with the latest Welsh Government legislation (kerbside separation of dry & food recycling and recyclable materials banned from residual waste {refuse}).

Legal Requirements Regarding Business / Non-Domestic Waste

Commercial / non-domestic waste is not included in business rates and all occupiers of such premises have a ‘duty of care’ under sections 33 & 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This puts a duty on producers of non domestic waste to ensure that waste produced is kept in a safe and controlled manner and is only transferred to a company or organisation licenced to collect and dispose of it. This is controlled via a Duty of Care/Waste Transfer Note (DOC/WTN). All DOC/WTNs signed by both you and your licenced carrier are to be retained for a minimum of 2 years.
The DOC/WTN requirements apply to waste from non-domestic premises, including those occupied by public bodies and charities. Non-domestic premises covers any premises except a domestic property or a caravan that someone lives in as a home.  Link for section 33 and section 34 of the EPA.

Latest Legislation Update

The regulations around commercial / non-domestic waste are changing in Wales. The new regulations are issued under section 45AB of the Environment Protection Act 1990 and are being brought in to drive up high quality recycling and ban certain materials from landfill or incineration (Energy From Waste).
Originally due to roll out in 2020, the new legislation requires business/non-domestic premises to separate their waste has been delayed due to the pandemic but the latest information received from Welsh Government (April 2023) is that the new regulations will now come into force on the 6th April 2024. After this date, mixed recycling in Wales will be outlawed. Link here to the new Regs Guidelines

These new regulations put a legal duty on both the business/non-domestic premises occupier to present their recycling separated at the kerbside and for all licensed commercial waste collection service providers to collect it and store/process it in that separated state. Fines for non-compliance by both producer and collector are included in the new regulations Workplace Recycling
*BGCGC’s trade waste & recycling service has been compliant with the new regulations since May 2021 and so our current customers are already taking the greenest option and will be unaffected by the change*.

Our Service

In line with the ethos of the new legislation, our fully compliant service is recycling led which means that we require all relevant recycling options to be prioritised so that what is left (residual waste or refuse) contains only non-recyclable material.
Around 70-80% of general waste can currently be recycled so with our much lower recycling costs, you save money and maximise that saving by keeping your residual waste requirements as small as possible. Residual waste (refuse) has the highest disposal cost and should not contain any of the recyclable materials we are currently able to collect.
  Service Booklet

Our service Offers:

  • Compliance with the latest Welsh Government Regulations (kerbside separation of waste)
  • A reliable weekly collection of dry recycling, food recycling & residual waste (refuse)
    Bespoke, well maintained multi compartmented recycling vehicles
  • A wide range of bin/receptacle sizes to cope with all requirements from a 55 Ltr crate up to an 1100Ltr, 4 wheeled bin so what ever the size of your business or organisation, we have options to suit
  • 12 month rolling contracts
  • A contact centre available 5 days a week with options for direct E mail contact with waste officers

For full details including all costs, please contact us on 01495 311556 or by Email at: waste@blaenau-gwent.gov.uk

New Service Proposal, Trader Access to Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC)

For some businesses, a contracted weekly collection service isn’t optimum as you may work from a van or your waste production may be irregular.
BGCBC will shortly be extending our commercial service by offering a chargeable option for traders/non-domestic premises occupiers to bring commercial RECYCLING ONLY to the borough’s newest HWRC at Roseheyworth which has the relevant permit for trade deposits. The trial will run until the end of the financial year (31st March 2024) when it will be reviewed and then depending on demand and success level, a decision will be made whether or not it will continue.

Traders will have the opportunity to purchase a permit/waste transfer note for either 12 or 24 annual visits (Pro-Rata for the trial period) or a one off option with the pricing based on number of visits and the size of the van declared when applying for the permit (small/medium/large).
The law requires that anyone carrying commercial/non-domestic waste must have a Waste Carriers Licence (WCL). These are available on-line from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and for the lower tier WCL, there is currently no charge. Acquisition of a WCL is a pre-requisite for application for the council’s HWRC permit. Link to NRW/Permits and Permissions.

For full details including costs, please contact us on 01495 311556 or by Email at: waste@blaenau-gwent.gov.uk

Where Does My Waste & Recycling Go?

All waste and recycling collected by BGCGC is disposed of with the intention of ‘zero to landfill’. Disposal is prioritised by recycling and then recovery as explained below.

Dry Recycling (Paper& Cardboard, Plastic Containers, Cans & Waxed Cartons and Mixed Glass Containers):
Through our compliant service, the quality of recycling when separated is high and enables us to keep disposal costs and therefore prices low. The recyclate collected is further separated at our waste transfer station and then goes to various re-processors to be made into new products.

Food Waste:
Food waste is sent to an anaerobic digestion plant within Wales. Anaerobic digestion is a process in which bacteria break down organic matter such as food waste, without oxygen. As the bacteria consume the food waste, they give off biogas which rises to the top of the digester. The gas is collected and either sent to grid or used to generate electricity. The resultant nutrient rich slurry is used as a high quality fertilizer for agriculture.

Residual Waste (Non-recyclable Refuse):
The residual waste is sent to an “Energy from Waste” plant near Cardiff where it is incinerated and the heat used to generate electricity. Metals are removed from the incinerator bottom ash and the ash itself is used mainly for road building and other construction type applications.

If you want to see more detail of tonnage and end destinations for the material we collect and process, click here:
1.My Recycling Wales/Local Authorities Blaenau Gwent

2. StatsWales.gov.wales/Catalogue