Regulation and sustainability
The waste that's been in the yard for months
Storing your own waste until collection is normal. What is not normal is that nobody knows since when it has been there.
It starts with a pallet set aside «until the lorry comes». Then there are three. Then there is a corner of the yard everyone avoids looking at and nobody remembers when it filled up. There is no bad faith at any step: collection costs money, the lorry comes when there is volume, and volume takes time.
Why the date matters, not just the place
| What gets looked at | What is actually being asked |
|---|---|
| Where it is stored | Whether the place suits THAT waste |
| How much there is | Whether the amount matches what you produce |
| **Since when it has been there** | **The question almost nobody can answer** |
| Where it goes | Whether the manager is authorised for that code |
Important
The third row decides how a visit ends: **if you cannot say since when each thing has been there, you cannot show you have not been accumulating for years**. And «the collector never came» only works if it is written down: phone calls leave no record, emails do. A two-column log —what entered temporary storage and what left, with dates— turns a suspicious corner into explained storage.
What needs to be in place, and it is not much
- 1
A visible date on each stored batch of waste
A label with the day it started filling. It sounds trivial and it solves almost everything.
- 2
The in-and-out log for temporary storage
What, how much, since when and on which document it left.
- 3
The removal paperwork, filed under the real date
Not the date the lorry was requested: the date of removal.
- 4
And an alert before you reach whatever limit you set yourself
What does not warn you gets discovered full.
Watch out
Two things make this much worse and are easy to avoid: **mixing** and **leaving it uncovered**. Hazardous waste among general waste drags the whole container into its category, and from there the problem is a different size. And storing outdoors what should not be turns controlled waste into a spill when it rains — which is no longer about deadlines but about soil and water. If the right place does not exist, that gets solved before generating more, not after.
When the one not showing up is the collector
Worth knowing
How long each type of waste may be stored at the producer's premises, under what conditions and with what records is set by the waste rules, and it varies with type and quantity. **Your adviser settles that**; here we cover the part that is always yours: knowing since when each thing has been there and being able to show it.
›How long can I store it?
It depends on type and quantity. What depends on nothing is having to know since when it has been there.
›Is a dated photo enough?
It helps, but what is asked for is the log. The photo supports it; it is not it.
›What if the waste came from works at my premises?
Then the first question is whose it is. That gets agreed before anyone comes in.
A real case
The situation
An inspection asks since when a batch has been stored and nobody on site knows.
What you do
- Labels each batch with the date it started filling
- Keeps an in-and-out log
What you get
The corner of the yard goes from suspicious to explained, with dates.
The situation
The collector has not come for two months and temporary storage is at its limit.
What you do
- Requests collections in writing and keeps both the replies and the silences
What you get
The delay stops being yours: it is on record who asked, when, and what came back.
The situation
Tins of solvent turn up in the general waste container.
What you do
- Separates before storing and trains whoever throws away, not only whoever manages
What you get
A whole container stops changing category over four tins.
The situation
The waste has sat in the yard for months and nobody knows since when.
What you do
- Records the generation date when it is set aside
What you get
Elapsed time is a fact rather than an impression.
The situation
Several consignments pile up in the same place.
What you do
- Records each with its date
What you get
The oldest is identified without opening anything.
The situation
Nobody flags that it needs removing.
What you do
- Lets it warn when it has sat too long
What you get
Collection is requested before it becomes a problem.
This article answers
- how long can i store waste on site
- waste piling up at the company
- temporary storage of waste
- the waste manager is not collecting