Term
Waste records
The duty of a waste producer to keep records of the types and quantities of waste its business generates and who it handed them to. Annual reports are filed from them, and they prove lawful handling at an inspection.
Updated
What it means
Waste records are the duty of a waste producer, meaning the company or sole trader whose activity generates the waste, to record what waste arose, in what quantity and how it was dealt with. The type of waste is determined from the waste catalogue, and each type has its own code.
The records concern business waste, not ordinary municipal waste, which the company hands over through the municipality’s system and pays the municipal waste fee for. Typically it is packaging, metals, construction waste, used oils, electrical waste or hazardous substances from workshops and production.
Annual reports are filed from the records to the waste management information system if the company exceeds statutory quantities or produces hazardous waste. Waste may be handed only to an authorised person holding a permit, which the producer should check.
How it works in practice
In practice the records rest on documents from the collection company: weighbridge tickets, invoices and receipts. We recommend filing them with the accounting documents and reconciling the totals with the annual report once a year to avoid discrepancies at an environmental inspection.
For packaging and products, waste duties overlap with extended producer responsibility. A company placing packaged goods on the market may have obligations as a packaging producer too, not just as a waste producer.
Waste collection and processing costs are deductible. Selling scrap metal creates revenue, and for some types of waste the VAT reverse charge applies, which must be reflected in invoicing.
What to watch out for
The most common mistake is handing waste to an unverified buyer without paperwork, such as “a friend with a van”. If the waste ends up in an illegal dump, liability can come back to the producer, and fines under the Waste Act are high.
The second risk is forgetting the annual report. Even if the company disposes of waste correctly, an unfiled report is a separate breach. The deadline belongs in the tax and administrative calendar along with the other obligations.
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