Waste and Recycling

Answers to frequently asked questions

Section 1:  Trade waste and HWRCs


Common questions in this section:


What are HWRCs?

Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) are sites provided for the disposal of household bulky items and recyclables. The sites play an important role in reducing the amount of waste going to landfill in the county through recycling and reusing as much of Hampshire’s unwanted household items and green waste as possible.

What is trade waste?

Trade waste is defined as waste arising from any trade or business, industrial or commercial activities. Anyone who has received any payment for carrying waste or produces waste from their work cannot take this waste to an HWRC.

What should I do with waste created by tradespersons working in my home?

Householders have a Duty of Care to ensure that any waste created by paid tradespersons working in their home is disposed of appropriately, safely and legally, either by themselves or by the tradesperson as a licensed carrier of waste.

If traders are contracted to dispose of this waste, householders have a duty to check that they are authorised to carry the type of waste and hold a valid waste carrier licence – to check, call the Environment Agency National Customer Contact Centre on: 08708 506 506. To find out more, or to apply for a waste carrier licence, visit the Environment Agency's website.

Should householders decide to dispose of soil, rubble or DIY  waste themselves at an HWRC they need to be aware that this waste type is not legally defined as household waste and some councils do not accept it at their HWRCs. However, we recognise that householders can produce small quantities of this type of waste so limited quantities of 0.5m3 are acceptable – approximately the equivalent of a medium-sized car boot full of waste or the contents of six 30 litre compost-sized bags – to be deposited no more than an average of once a month over a year, per household. The restriction applies whatever type of vehicle is being used to transport the material.

Why is trade waste not accepted at HWRCs?

HWRCs are provided by Hampshire County Council for recycling and disposing of bulky household and garden waste created by residents of Hampshire; they are not licensed to accept commercial and industrial waste, of which trade waste is a part.

Why are you introducing trade waste controls at HWRCs?

HWRCs are not licensed to accept commercial and industrial waste, of which trade waste is a part. However, existing trade waste controls, such as asking persons with commercial type vehicles to sign a Disclaimer Form confirming that the waste comes from their own household, have been shown to have only a limited impact. Disposal of trade waste at HWRCs negatively affects the service provided for Hampshire householders by adding to congestion, particularly on smaller sites. It also diverts staff away from their normal duties of running the site efficiently and extracting as much material as possible for recycling. Due to increasing landfill taxes and disposal costs, it is estimated that the overall bill to the council taxpayer for traders using HWRCs will soon be more than £1 million a year. Modernising and improving existing controls will bring them in line with accepted practices that have been tried and tested by neighbouring councils.

What are the benefits of introducing trade waste controls?

Reducing the number of traders entering sites will make the HWRC service more customer focused and quicker, easier and more pleasant to use, for example, by reducing congestion and queuing times, whilst increasing the amount of household waste recovered for reuse and recycling.

Are you preventing tax-paying householders from using the sites?

Householders are not being prevented from using HWRCs. Trade waste controls are being tightened up to restrict the amount of trade waste being brought to the sites, and measures are in place to ensure that it is only traders or those bringing in trade waste that are prevented from using the HWRC network, and not householders using the sites for their household waste and recycling.

Will these controls lead to an increase in fly-tipping?

These controls are used by the majority of neighbouring councils with no noticeable impact on fly-tipping. We will provide producers of trade waste with details of licensed alternatives for the reuse, recycling and disposal of their waste.

Will these controls alter recycling levels at the sites?

Evidence from similar authorities who have introduced trade waste controls shows no discernable negative impact on recycling rates.

How much will trade waste controls cost? Wouldn’t it be cheaper to allow traders to use sites?

By 2008, it is calculated that disposal of trade waste at HWRCs will cost taxpayers in excess of £1 million per year. This is in line with general trends for increases in waste volumes and costs of disposal due to higher landfill taxes. The payback period for introducing the full range of trade waste control measures will be less than two years.