Under the Environmental Protection Act (1990), as a waste producer you have a legal “duty of care” to take all reasonable steps to store and dispose of waste safely.

The duty of care applies to all businesses and if the duty of care is broken you may be prosecuted and fined an unlimited amount.

Email commercialservices@bedford.gov.uk if you would like further information about your waste responsibilities.

Any business that normally transports its own waste must register as a lower tier waste carrier to comply with the Waste England and Wales Regulations.

Registration is usually free of charge and lasts indefinitely, unless your situation changes (for example if you dispose of other people's waste).

An unlimited fine could be issued to any business not registered.

When transfer and payment has been completed we will provide you with a copy of the waste transfer note. The waste transfer note is your proof that you have transferred your waste to an authorised body (HW Martin Waste Ltd).

Please keep this document safe in case you are asked to produce it by the Environment Agency or another regulatory body.

Information you must provide for the waste transfer note:

• Type of waste (mixed municipal waste)
• Type of premises where waste was produced (for example from a shop, factory, house)
• How it is contained (for example loose, sacks, boxes)
• Quantity of waste (van full, number of bag or boxes)
• Name of person disposing of waste
• Name and address of company
• Address waste was collected from
• Waste Carrier Licence number
• Vehicle registration number
• Date and time of transfer

Please report to the site office on arrival and pay for disposal of your waste before unloading your vehicle.

All payments must be made via credit or debit card only. We do not accept cash.

When you make payment and dispose of waste we will give you a copy of the waste transfer note which proves you have transferred your waste to an authorised body. See more details about the waste transfer note and your duty of care further down this page.

Please drive with caution and obey the site speed limit of 5mph.

You must pre-sort all waste before bringing it to the site to ensure that the maximum can be recycled/reused and to reduce queues.

If it took two people to load any heavy items into your vehicle, then you should ensure two people visit site, as staff will be unable to provide assistance unloading commercial vehicles.

Children, young people under the age of 16 and animals are not permitted to leave the vehicle whilst on site.

Any abuse or violence towards staff will not be tolerated and will result in the offender being banned from site indefinitely. The site is monitored by CCTV for the purposes of crime prevention and public safety. The images are controlled by the site contractor.

Do not visit the site if you, or a member of your household, have symptoms of COVID-19. Bring gloves when you visit site. Put them on when you get out of your car and take them off before you get back in. If they are reusable, bring a plastic bag with you to take them home in. If you use disposable gloves or wipes please put them in the general waste container on site after you have deposited your last item.

The site can accept the following waste types only:

• general rubbish (black lidded bin)
• small items of furniture
• mattresses
• sofas
• garden waste (green lidded bin)
• recycling (orange lidded bin)
• textiles
• hardcore and rubble – (including broken ceramic tiles, bricks, ceramic sanitary ware eg sinks/toilets)
• soil – maximum of 240l bin equivalent (accepted in the green garden waste skip)
• metal
• wood
• glass
• oil – cooking only, maximum of 5 litres per month

If you bring items not on this list you may be asked to take it back with you again.

The following will not have access to the site:

• Any vehicle with more than 4 wheels
• Any car towing a trailer more than 1.8m long by 1.2m wide (vans with trailers are not permitted)
• Any twin axle trailer
• Any tipper vehicle

We will monitor the use of this service and if misuse is identified, the Council and its site contractor reserve the right to refuse access to tip waste, issue warnings or ban users from the site.

Loads, whether made up of recyclable materials or not, will all be charged at the ‘Mixed municipal unsorted waste’ price as listed in the table below. All prices include VAT.

Staff will not negotiate on price, any attempt to do so will result in the maximum load price being charged.

When you book your appointment you will be asked to confirm that you have read and will comply with the rules for commercial waste appointment.

Please ensure you have read and understood all the information on this page before you book your appointment

Book a commercial waste appointment at the HWRC