What is trade waste?

Trade waste is the everyday name for commercial waste: rubbish produced by a business on its premises. Councils use "trade waste" for their paid business collections, and the law uses "commercial waste", but they mean the same thing. It includes general waste, recycling, food waste, cardboard and packaging from shops, offices, restaurants, salons and sites. It does not include household waste, and waste from a manufacturing process is industrial waste. Whatever the name, the rules are the same: a business must use a registered waste carrier, get a waste transfer note for each load, and must not put trade waste in household bins.