Can I use black bin bags for commercial waste?

You can use black bin bags for commercial waste only inside a bin you pay to have emptied. A plain black bag left on the pavement is not a collection: no registered carrier has agreed to take it, there is no waste transfer note, and the council will treat it as fly-tipping, with a fixed penalty of up to £1,000. On a sack service the collector supplies printed sacks so the driver knows which bags are paid for and which stream they belong to. Black bags are fine for lining an office bin or bagging waste for your wheelie bin. What matters is where the bag ends up, and who is registered to take it there.