---
id: KB-NO-012
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/regulation/packaging-and-waste-in-a-small-company
idioma: en
categoria: normativa
subcategoria: residuos
audiencia: usuario
nivel: basico
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-NO-002, KB-NO-009, KB-NO-026]
citadoPor: [KB-NO-003]
---

# Packaging and waste in a small company

_The minimum you must be able to show without setting up a department for it._

**Responde a:** packaging obligations for small companies · small business waste documentation · packaging declaration what to keep · waste contractor paperwork

Packaging and waste obligations are almost always explained with large industry in mind, which leads a fifteen-person company to conclude either that none of it applies or that all of it does. Usually the first is partly true and the second far less than feared.

## The three fronts, in a small company

| Front | What you must be able to show | How often |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What you place on the market | How many packages and of what material | Annually, if you must declare |
| What you generate | Which wastes, how much, and to whom | Every collection |
| Who you give it to | That they are authorised and the authorisation is current | Periodic checking |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The third is the only one that can become a serious problem and the easiest to solve: request the contractor's authorisation, keep it with its expiry date, and have it warn you when renewal is due. Handing waste to someone unauthorised is your responsibility, not theirs.

## What to keep for each collection

**En corto**

- The document evidencing the transfer, with a date.
- What was collected and how much.
- And who collected it, with their authorisation current that day.

With that, an inspection's three questions are answered by opening a file. Without it, they are answered by hunting for delivery notes in an invoice folder.

## How to organise it without assigning anyone

1. **One file per contractor** — With their authorisation and its expiry inside.
2. **Each collection, with its document linked** — A photo of the note at collection is fine: what matters is that it does not stay in a pile of paper.
3. **An annual reminder for anything to declare** — It is the forgotten one, because it happens once a year.
4. **And packaging figures, if applicable, as you invoice** — Reconstructing a whole year in December is what makes it seem impossible.

> [!WARNING]
> Do not assume "the accountants handle it". They file declarations with the data you give them; checking that the waste contractor is authorised and keeping the transfer documents are yours.

> [!NOTE]
> If you sell packaged product to other countries, obligations vary by country and sometimes require local registration. It is where most small companies discover an obligation late.

**Does it apply if we only have an office?**

Office waste has its own route; the burden is far lighter.

**How long must documents be kept?**

Years. It is among the most requested in inspections.

**What if the contractor loses authorisation?**

You must stop handing them waste: hence the expiry date matters.

## Ejemplos

**A fifteen-person company files waste notes with its invoices.**

- Opens a file per contractor with authorisation and expiry
- Links each collection to its document

→ Answers an inspection in minutes and catches an authorisation expiry in time.

**A long procedure is set up for a company of eight people.**

- Keeps what is already generated and organises it

→ The essentials are covered without a department.

**Receipts sit in a physical folder.**

- Captures and stores them in the file

→ They are found without going to the cabinet.

**Nobody knows what was removed last year.**

- Checks the history by period

→ The figure exists when it is asked for.

**A receipt is lost and cannot be chased.**

- Keeps its own copy on receipt

→ You do not depend on the contractor's archive.

**What is missing is discovered on the day of a visit.**

- Reviews the file once a quarter

→ Gaps are closed with time to spare.