Commercial Waste Pilot Project FAQs

Dundee is a vibrant bustling city with a wide variety of attractions and activities. This new approach will help make Dundee a cleaner, greener and safer city centre whilst encouraging more visitors to spend time in the city. Waste permanently stored on our streets attracts vermin, causes litter and obstruction issues for people with mobility issues. Improving the appearance of our streets will benefit all who use them - and be good for businesses too.

Your business waste is your responsibility and will need to be stored within your property or on private land. Under no circumstances should this be within the fire escape routes. Please speak to your commercial waste contractor in the first instance. Some useful ways to manage this may include having your waste collected from within your business, increasing the frequency of collections and using collapsible bins. There are a number of commercial waste contractors operating in Dundee that can help you explore the options available.

Safe and Hygienic Storage of Waste Inside Food businesses - Guidance for Businesses Affected by Trade Waste

Food businesses must have adequate provision for the storage and disposal of food waste and other refuse. To comply with the collection windows, it will be necessary to temporarily store food waste within food premises. The legislation that is relevant includes EC Regulation 852/2004 on the Hygiene of Foodstuffs and The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The following will help you to comply with food hygiene and health and safety requirements and protect against rodent and insect pests:

1. Any changes to your food waste storage and handling procedures must be risk-assessed. This should take into account the individual circumstances of your premises, the waste you store, the impact that it will have and the level of risk involved
2. Consider different ways of food waste disposal. This could include more frequent uplifts of smaller quantities of waste.
3. Encourage a litter conscious attitude and code of conduct amongst staff at every level. Train new staff to follow these guidelines.
4. Ensure bins are a sufficient size for the quantity of litter produced
5. Food waste and refuse must be removed from designated food storage and preparation areas regularly.
6. Internal refuse stores must be away from food storage/handling areas.
7. Food waste must be stored in closable rigid pest and leak proof containers within the premises.
8. Food waste must not be allowed to accumulate or decompose. It should not be stockpiled for any more than 2 days. This time can be extended if refrigerated refuse stores are provided or if storage areas are very cold during the winter months.
9. Areas used as refuse stores must be designed and managed in such a way as to enable them to be kept clean and free of animals and pests. Walls and floors must be washable/easy to clean.
10. Carry out regular clean ups, including the rear of premises, car parks and delivery and storage areas.
11. Waste cooking oil must be up-lifted by a SEPA approved carrier for recycling. It must not be poured down drains and must be kept separate from other food waste.
12. Under Waste (Scotland) Regulations it is no longer permitted to discharge food waste to a public drain or a sewer by using, for example a macerator.
13. Hand hygiene is essential when handling food waste. Staff must always wash their hands thoroughly after handling waste.
14. You should, wherever possible, avoid manual handling of loads if there is a possibility of injury.  If manual lifting is the only option then there are a number of things that can be done to reduce the risk of injury to people, including;
    • assessing the manual handling activity to identify any specific risks
    • making the load smaller or lighter and easier to lift
    • providing lifting aids/equipment
    • improving the environment - e g better lighting, flooring or air temperature can sometimes make manual handling easier and safer
    • ensuring the person doing the lifting has been trained to lift as safely as possible.

Having waste collected more frequently may carry an increased cost; however, recycling more may result in cost savings. Waste (Scotland) Regulations require you to follow the waste hierarchy:

By analysing the waste you produce and following the waste hierarchy you may lower the amount of waste you produce and the collections you therefore require. More information is available on the Zero Waste Scotland website.

No, unfortunately like all other businesses you would be expected to comply with the policy and plan for your bins / waste to be presented during the presentation window. You should talk with your waste contractor in the first instance to see what help they can provide. If they cannot help then there are other contractors who may be able to.

Failure to comply with the policy can result in enforcement action.

If for some reason, your trade waste contractor cannot collect your waste you will have to take it off the street and re-arrange collection. It is not acceptable to put out your waste and leave it when your business is closed; this is a failure in your duty of care.

No. Trade waste sacks/bags are not suitable for glass, which may get broken and burst the bag. Placing glass waste in bags is not acceptable due to the risk of injury to your staff, members of the public or trade waste contractor personnel. Please speak to your trade waste contractor to look at alternative options including smaller containers which can be stored on your property and/or the frequency of your uplifts.

No, if your bins are collected from within your premises or on your private land then these changes will not affect you.

You can store them on a private land but only present waste on a public road or footway for 90 minutes during the two allotted times.

Check list of public roads.

Speak to your waste contractor in the first instance if they are unwilling to collect your waste within the allotted times and presentation window, you may wish to look at another provider.

It is your responsibility to find a waste contractor that will be able to collect your waste within the times. 

All commercial waste collectors operating in the area have been consulted about the policy and must have a permit that only allows for their containers to be presented only during the allotted times and presentation windows.

We will work with you and your business as much as possible to help you comply with these changes. Should your trade waste bins be found on the street or pavement out with the allotted time slots, or for longer than permitted, enforcement action may be taken which could lead to a fine of up to £1,000.   If trade waste bags are left on the street out with the allotted time slots, or for longer than permitted your business may be issued with a fixed penalty notice of £500.  All trade waste must be suitably contained as not to cause litter. Enforcement action may be taken for any litter caused by overflowing bins or burst bags presented by your business. 

The development of this approach has been informed by similar initiative from 5 urban centres in Scotland who have implemented "bins-off-streets" policies - Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and St Andrews. View the case studies from Glasgow and Edinburgh below.

Apex Hotel, Glasgow (PDF)
Malones Bar and Restaurant (PDF)