Remember your waste obligations

Holiday accommodation providers in the county are being reminded by Powys County Council of their responsibilities for the waste they produce.

Any waste or recycling produced from these premises is classed as commercial. Businesses including self-catering holiday accommodation providers have a legal duty of care to store, transport and dispose of their commercial waste in a professional manner, said the council whose Waste and Recycling Team has been writing to hundreds of businesses across the county to remind them.

For most, all they need to do is simply show the documentation they receive when they use an authorised waste carrier or licensed facility. The documentation provides an audit trail which verifies that they have exercised their duty of care and their waste has ended up in an appropriate recycling or disposal facility.

The council are ambassadors for the ‘right Waste, right Place’ campaign, which aims to help small businesses comply with the law around waste which safeguards public health and the environment and ensures waste ends up in the right place.

Cllr Phyl Davies, Cabinet Member for Waste and Recycling, said: “It’s great that Powys is such a beautiful place to visit and attracts a lot of holiday accommodation but this does generate extra waste and recycling for which there is an additional cost to the taxpayer.

“Most businesses in the county comply with the law and pay for their commercial waste to be collected by the council or an alternative registered company. It’s important that holiday accommodation owners do provide proper commercial waste and recycling services for their guests as it helps to avoid unfortunate incidents where their guests have sometimes ended up disposing of waste inappropriately.

“It’s also really important that we create a level playing field and be fair to all businesses and reduce the impact on our household waste service. This is not new legislation and we are taking an educational approach to remind these businesses of their legal duties and that the waste produced from their commercial activities is not household waste and cannot be disposed of by using the household waste service.

“This is helping us to reduce inappropriate disposal, maximise recycling and minimise the cost of the service to local residents.”

For further information, contact the council’s Trade Waste and Recycling Team on 0845 6027035 / 01597 827465 or email trade.recycling@powys.gov.uk.