The most vital piece of paperwork in any waste transaction is the description of waste transfer note. It is a criminal offence to not produce a valid and accurate transfer note, to not ensure there is one (if you are not the one producing it) and to not keep the waste transfer notes for the required period of time after the transfer.
Therefore, it is very important to get the details right.
First, if the waste is non-hazardous then it must be accompanied by a waste transfer note. Hazardous waste requires a consignment note. A consignment note is very similar to a waste transfer note, but generally should be in the standard Environment Agency form and requires more information than a waste transfer note. Here, we will be considering waste transfer notes for non-hazardous waste rather than consignment notes.
A waste transfer note must contain the following information:
- An accurate description of the waste – this includes a description in words eg soil, the European Waste Code number or List of Waste Codes number, how the waste is contained eg loose, baled, sacks etc and the volume of waste eg number of sacks or weight
- A statement that the persons signing the waste transfer note have fulfilled their duty of care to apply the waste hierarchy as required by regulation 12 of the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011
- The details of the transferor – the person holding the waste before the transfer – including, name, address, role in the transaction (producer of waste, importer of waste, haulier, local authority, broker etc), registration number, permit/exemption/waste carriers licence number
- The details of the transfer location, date and time of transfer – this will be the place of pick up or the destination of the waste depending on which part of the journey it is for.
- The details of the transferee – the person receiving the waste - including, name, address, role in the transaction (producer of waste, importer of waste, haulier, local authority, broker etc), registration number, permit/exemption/waste carriers licence number
- The details of the broker who arranged the transfer (if any) – including name, address, registration number
- The signatures and printed names of both the transferor and transferee
If you are completing multiple transfers where the details are all the same except for the dates of transfers and amounts of waste, then you can produce an annual transfer note for a 12 month period which contains all the required information and a separate schedule which contains the dates of transfers throughout the period, locations of transfers (if not included in the season ticket) and the exact amounts of each load.
You must keep a copy of your transfer notes for 2 years following the transfer.
If an authorised officer from the Environment Agency or other authority properly requests to see copies of the transfer notes, you must provide them to the officer.
It is very rare for us to see a properly and fully filled in waste transfer note from any client, so this is usually an easy win in terms of enforcement action for the EA.
If you have any concerns or queries about your waste transfer notes or any you have received, or are being investigated by the EA for waste issues, please contact our Regulatory Team who will be happy to help.