Farm waste management services
While farms generate a range of organic and inorganic waste, including manure, animal byproducts, and so on, there are also more traditional waste considerations that need to be considered. At Waste Managed, we are perfectly positioned to help our agricultural customers keep on top of these waste processes: from the provision of bins to the creation of collection schedules, to the collection, transport, and disposal of the waste itself.
If you’d like help managing the waste output of your farm or other agricultural business, we can help. Read on to find out how or get in touch with our team.
What Is Agricultural Waste?
Agricultural waste is any and all waste produced as a result of farming or agricultural activity. Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, agricultural waste is classified as controlled waste, which means it cannot simply be burned, buried or left to accumulate on site. Instead, your waste must be stored safely, collected by a licensed carrier, and disposed of or recycled in accordance with current regulations.
Types Of Agricultural Waste
The waste produced by farms and agricultural businesses broadly falls into the following categories:
Farm plastics
Farm plastics is one of the highest-volume waste streams in UK agriculture. Around 135,500 tonnes of agricultural plastic waste are generated in the UK each year, much of which can be recycled through specialist schemes where the materials are clean and free of residue.
- Examples include: silage wrap, fertiliser bags, crop covers, polythene sheeting and pesticide containers.
Hazardous waste
Mixing hazardous and non-hazardous waste is a regulatory offence, meaning hazardous waste must be segregated from all non-hazardous waste and collected by a licensed hazardous waste management service.
- Examples include: pesticides, herbicides, sheep dip, waste oils, and any containers that have held chemical products.
Animal by-products
Animal by-products are governed by the Animal By-Products Regulations as well as waste legislation. Slurry and manure typically require specialist contractors for land-spreading compliance or treatment.
- Examples include: manure, slurry, carcasses and other materials derived from livestock.
Organic and crop waste
Uninfected organic waste can often be composted, but diseased plant material must be incinerated in an authorised incinerator. This will often require an exemption registered with the Environment Agency.
- Examples include: spoiled or surplus crops, plant tissue, food processing residues and composting materials.
General waste and recycling
General waste and recycling waste streams are subject to the same commercial waste rules that apply to any UK business.
- Examples include: packaging, paper and cardboard, food waste from farm offices or canteens, glass and standard mixed recycling.
Machinery and electronic waste
Machinery and electronic waste falls under WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) regulations for electronic items, and separate hazardous waste rules for oils and chemicals.
- Examples include: oils, lubricants and equipment that has come to the end of its life.
Understanding what each waste stream requires greatly aids farmers and agricultural businesses in producing a compliant agricultural waste management plan. If you’d like help working out what applies to your business, contact our team, who will be more than happy to talk you through it.
Agricultural Waste Collection And Disposal
Agricultural Waste Collection
The first step to managing agricultural waste properly is by separating it correctly at the point it’s produced. Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 states that you have a legal Duty of Care to store your waste safely and securely. This means keeping different waste streams apart and in appropriate containers before your waste is collected.
As part of our service, Waste Managed will supply you and your business with the right bins for each waste stream. We’ll also assess what your farm produces, recommend the correct combination of bin types and sizes, and even set up a collection schedule that matches your waste output.
Agricultural Waste Disposal
Once your waste has been collected, it will need to be disposed of, or processed, in a way that meets UK regulatory requirements. For general waste and dry mixed recycling, that typically means transferring the waste to a licensed treatment facility. For hazardous agricultural waste, it means a licensed hazardous waste disposal route. And, for farm plastics, this usually means recycling where the materials are clean enough to be accepted.
At Waste Managed, we work exclusively with licensed and trusted disposal suppliers across the UK. We prioritise recycling wherever the waste stream allows, in line with the Circular Economy principles that increasingly underpin UK waste regulation. We’ll also ensure you receive the correct documentation for every collection, including Waste Transfer Notes, which are a legal requirement under the Duty of Care regulations.
Get a quote and we’ll confirm exactly how we’d handle disposal for your specific waste streams.
Agricultural Waste Regulations
Agricultural waste is tightly regulated in the UK, and the rules are more specific than the general commercial waste framework most businesses are familiar with. Here’s all the regulatory information you need to know in order to develop an agricultural waste management system that stays within the rules and regulations.
The Environmental Protection Act 1990
The Environmental Protection Act 1990 established the Duty of Care framework that governs how all businesses, such as farms, must handle their waste. From the moment waste is produced, as the business owner, you are responsible for its safe storage, its transfer to a licensed carrier, and its compliant final disposal. If you, or someone representing you, fly-tips your waste, you can be held liable, even if you passed it to a third party.
The Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2006
The Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 set out the licensing and permitting framework that governs who can legally collect and dispose of waste. For agricultural businesses and farmers, you must only use carriers registered with the Environment Agency (EA) in England or Natural Resources Wales (NRW) in Wales.
Waste Transfer Notes
Waste Transfer Notes are a legal requirement for every waste collection that leaves your site. These documents confirm what the waste is, who it was passed to, and that the receiving party is authorised to take it. You must keep records of Waste Transfer Notes (WTN) for at least two years. If you produce hazardous waste, a consignment note is required in place of a standard WTN, and records must be retained for three years, instead of two.
COSHH
COSHH, short for The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, apply to hazardous agricultural waste, including pesticide containers, sheep dip, and waste chemicals. These materials require segregation, appropriate containment, and collection by a licensed hazardous waste operator.
Agricultural burning
Agricultural burning is largely prohibited under UK law. This means that the open burning of most waste types is illegal. There are limited exemptions that exist for specific types of crop residue in certain circumstances, but these are strictly controlled and require prior consent or registration of an exemption with the Environment Agency.
When you work with Waste Managed, we handle all of the documentation on your behalf, so you have what you need to demonstrate compliance. Find out more about how we work.
What Our Experts Say
Agricultural waste is one of the most varied and tightly regulated waste categories we work with. The range of materials on a working farm, whether that’s animal by-products
silage wrap, or even simple general office waste, means there’s no single solution that fits every site.
What we see time and again is that farmers who’ve sorted their waste separation from the start face far fewer problems down the line, such as rejected loads and various compliance notices.
Glen Darrell – Head of Commercial
Types and Sizes of Bins for Agricultural Waste
Finding the right bin/s for your business is about having the correct container for each waste stream, having them positioned correctly and effectively on your site, and emptied on a schedule that matches how quickly your waste is produced.
For general waste and dry mixed recycling, we supply 240L, 360L, 660L and 1100L commercial wheelie bins, meaning there’s a perfect sized bin for your volume and ideal collection frequency.
If you’re unsure which size or type suits your waste output, we have a handy bin size guide that clearly breaks down the capacity of each available option we provide.
For larger agricultural operations producing higher waste volumes, you may be better suited to a commercial skip hire or a roll on-roll off (RoRo) container.
All bins are provided free as part of your contracted waste management service, and if your waste output changes, we’ll happily adjust your bin provision to match.
View the full range of waste types we cover to see what applies to your site.
What Our Clients Say
Waste Managed Are Experts In Agricultural Waste Management
With over 15 years’ experience and more than 40,000 customers across the UK, we’ve built up a detailed understanding of what agricultural businesses need from a waste management partner.
We work with licensed suppliers up and down the UK and provide complete nationwide coverage. This means that no matter where your farm or agricultural business is based, we can arrange a compliant, reliable service that will fit in with you and your business.
