Business and commercial waste
Any waste produced by a commercial activity is business waste.
If you use part of your home to run your business, any waste from that part is business waste. You should not leave it out with your household bins.
Your business rates do not include the cost of collecting your business waste and recycling. It must be paid for separately.
Find a registered waste carrier
Let us collect your waste
Lambeth Commercial Services collects rubbish and recycling from around 1,300 businesses in the borough, using our waste specialist partner Veolia.
Contact us to discuss what you need and pricing:
- Call 020 7926 2122 and select option 3.
- Email commercialwaste@lambeth.gov.uk.
Use another waste collection service
You do not have to use our waste collection services, but you must use a licensed waste carrier. You can find many of these by searching online or in the Yellow Pages.
Before you pay for any services, you should check if a waste carrier is licensed.
Pay an invoice for trade waste
You will need your invoice number to complete this payment.
Do it online
Your responsibilities
Your business is responsible for all waste and recycling from your business, until it is collected by a licensed waste disposal carrier.
You must:
- minimise waste by doing everything you reasonably can to prevent, reuse, recycle or recover waste
- make sure that all waste from your business is sorted and stored securely until it is collected
- complete a waste transfer note for each load of waste that leaves your premises, proving that a licensed waste carrier collected your waste.
Timed rubbish and recycling collections
There are timed collection areas in five of our town centres – Brixton, West Norwood, Streatham, Waterloo and Clapham. If your business is in one of these areas, your waste can only be collected between certain times. You cannot have a bin on public land and you must use waste sacks instead.
This is to:
- keep the main shopping areas free of rubbish for most of the day
- reduce the amount of illegally dumped waste
- make a cleaner, safer environment for people living, working and shopping in our town centres.
Timed collections affect all businesses, whether their waste is collected by Lambeth or any other contractor. Find out more about timed refuse collections.
Hazardous waste
We do not collect clinical or hazardous waste. If your business produces clinical or hazardous waste, you must use a licensed waste carrier to collect and dispose of it. Before you pay for services, check if a waste carrier is licensed for hazardous waste.
The City of London hazardous waste team provides a paint and chemicals collection service. Email hazwaste@cityoflondon.gov.uk for more information and pricing.
If you are not sure whether any of your waste is hazardous, contact us to check if it’s something we collect:
- Call 020 7926 9000 and select option 1.
- Email commercialwaste@lambeth.gov.uk.