Environment Agency
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Want to work in waste like The Apprentice?

So you’ve watched The Apprentice and want to start your own waste removal business. Well it’s not quite as easy as Lord Sugar’s candidates made it seem.

What you didn’t see was all the work that was done behind the scenes by the programme makers to ensure that all the necessary licences and permits were in place and that the candidates didn’t break any of the strict regulations that ensure waste is collected, treated, recycled and disposed of in a way that protects the environment and human health.

The producers contacted the Environment Agency long before the cameras started rolling to get advice from our waste permitting officers and to apply for the relevant licences to ensure everything was done safely, legally and in an environmentally-friendly way.
 
First you’ll need to register as a Waste Carrier if you want to be moving waste in a commercial capacity.  You’ll then need to ensure that any place to which you take the waste to be stored, sorted, treated and/or recycled is a legitimate waste site with the correct Environmental Permits in place.

Finally you need to understand that once you take possession of that waste you have a legal Duty of Care to ensure that it is handled, treated, recycled and disposed of properly – even if you sell it on or pay a third party to get rid of it. This includes using Waste Transfer Notes so that the waste can be tracked from waste producer to disposal.

If the waste you are handling is “hazardous” – and this can include apparently innocuous items such as nickel-cadmium batteries, cathode ray televisions and fluorescent lamps – then the tracking and reporting systems are more complex.

There is more information on this website about waste management, hazardous waste and where you can apply to register as a waste carrier. Or simply ring the Environment Agency’s National Customer Contact Centre on 03708 506 506.

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