For us, it’s vital that there’s as little rubbish as possible on the streets of Westminster. Unlike other businesses in Westminster, offices often don’t have internal waste and recycling bins and therefore use bagged collections. To avoid streets having an excessive amount of waste and recycling bags on them, there are some rules in place which prevent this from happening.
1. Place your bags out at the right time
For offices who are placing rubbish bags and card bundles on the streets for collection, there are set times in place for this (these set times apply for household and business waste, irrespective of who will collect them. If you don’t know the collection time for your street, you can find the times for every street in Westminster via this link.
It is important you only place out your rubbish bags 30 minutes prior to the start of the collection time. You can’t place rubbish bags on the street outside of collection times under any circumstance.
2. Your bags must be in the right place
You must place your rubbish bags outside of your own office, or as close to it’s building the line as possible. There are some types of waste that are not permitted to be placed on the street for collection. To find out more about this, click here.
3. Your rubbish must be in the right bag
If our collection crew notice that rubbish is not being placed in the correct bag, it can be left behind – you are completely responsible for ensuring your rubbish is in the right bag. Find out more about presenting your rubbish in the right bag.
4. Bags must be closed and tied up, with no leaks
The downside of using rubbish bags is that they come with a risk of leaking if they are not correctly tied up. This can cause staining and unsanitary patches on the street. You must ensure your rubbish bags don’t leak. See these tips on how to do this.
5. What happens if your rubbish is not presented correctly?
When rubbish is found out at the wrong time or placed in the incorrect bag, our enforcement officers will issue a fine or take prosecution action.
The Commercial Waste service doesn’t look after the enforcement of waste rules and laws. This is done through the Street Management service who can issue fines (FPNs) and notices when rubbish is mismanaged (fly-tipping). This service operates on a 24/7 basis and is happy to assist you with any enforcement related questions. Find out more about what they do via this link.
Find out more about presenting rubbish bags in Westminster