If your business produces hazardous waste, every load that leaves your site needs a consignment note. It works like a waste transfer note, but with more detail and stricter record keeping. It follows the waste from your premises to the site that treats or disposes of it. Get it wrong and the liability stays with you, even after the waste has gone.
This guide explains what a consignment note is, who completes each part, how long to keep it, and how the rules differ across England, Wales and Scotland. It also covers what’s changing now that digital waste tracking is live.
What is a hazardous waste consignment note?
A consignment note is the legal record of a hazardous waste movement. In England and Wales it’s required under the Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005. It replaces the ordinary waste transfer note for any waste with a hazardous code, such as:
- asbestos sheets and lagging (see asbestos disposal)
- waste oils, fuels and oily rags (see oil and fuel disposal)
- contaminated soils (see contaminated soil disposal)
- lead acid batteries, fluorescent tubes and some electricals (see battery and WEEE disposal)
- paints, solvents, adhesives and chemicals
The note records what the waste is, its waste code, how much there is, how it’s packaged, who’s carrying it and where it’s going.
Who fills in which part?
A consignment note has five parts. Each person in the chain completes their own section.
| Part | Completed by | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| A: Notification details | Producer or holder | Consignment note code, where the waste is going, where it’s being removed from |
| B: Description of the waste | Producer or holder | The process that produced it, waste codes, quantity, components, hazardous properties, packaging |
| C: Carrier’s certificate | Waste carrier | Carrier’s details and registration, plus confirmation they’ve checked parts A and B |
| D: Consignor’s certificate | Producer or holder | Confirms the information is correct and the waste was handed to the carrier |
| E: Consignee’s certificate | Receiving site | Confirms receipt, quantities accepted or rejected, and the treatment or disposal operation used |
You’ll normally need three copies: one for you, one for the carrier and one for the receiving site.
How the consignment note code works
Every note has a unique code. In England and Wales it’s the first six letters or numbers of your company name, a forward slash, then five characters you choose. For example, Acme Builders Ltd might use ACMEBU/A0001, then A0002 for the next load. If your company name is shorter than six characters, pad it with the letter Q.
Where one carrier collects from several sites on the same round and takes everything to the same receiving site, a multiple collection format is used instead. Your waste contractor will normally set this up.
How long do you need to keep consignment notes?
- Producers and holders: at least three years from when the waste leaves you.
- Carriers: at least 12 months under the 2005 Regulations. Most keep them for three years to match the producer.
- Receiving sites (consignees): must keep records and send a quarterly return to the Environment Agency (England) or Natural Resources Wales. Returns are due within a month of each quarter ending: 30 April, 31 July, 31 October and 31 January.
Keep your copies somewhere you can find them. If an inspector asks for them, you need to be able to produce them yourself.
When you don’t need a consignment note
The main exception is household hazardous waste taken to an initial collection point, such as a council recycling centre. Asbestos is the one exception to that exception: it still formally needs a consignment note, even when it comes from a home.
Everything a business produces with a hazardous code needs a note, however small the amount. That includes a single drum of oil, a box of fluorescent tubes or a bag of asbestos floor tiles.
How the rules differ across the UK
England: No premises registration is needed. You complete a consignment note for each movement.
Wales: If your premises produce or store more than 500kg of hazardous waste a year, you must register as a hazardous waste producer with Natural Resources Wales. Registration is free and lasts 12 months, so put the renewal date in your diary.
Scotland: Hazardous waste is called special waste, under the Special Waste Regulations 1996. You get the consignment code from SEPA, not from your company name. If special waste is moving into or out of Scotland, you must pre-notify SEPA at least 72 hours (and no more than one month) before it moves. Keep the notes for three years.
Northern Ireland: You must pre-notify the NIEA at least 72 hours before hazardous waste leaves your site.
If you run sites in more than one nation, check which rules apply to each movement.
What happens if the load is rejected?
The receiving site can reject some or all of a load, for example if the waste doesn’t match its description or contains something the site can’t accept. It records this in Part E and tells you and the regulator. You’re then responsible for arranging somewhere else for the waste to go. An accurate Part B is the easiest way to avoid rejected loads and the extra haulage costs that come with them.
Digital waste tracking: what’s changing
The UK’s digital waste tracking service becomes mandatory for waste receiving sites in England and Wales from 1 October 2026. Scotland and Northern Ireland follow in January 2027. Carriers, brokers and dealers join in a second phase, expected from spring 2027.
For now, consignment notes aren’t being replaced. Paper or electronic consignment notes and quarterly consignee returns carry on alongside the new service until the government says otherwise. For a waste producer, the practical change is that your contractor and the receiving site will record your waste digitally, so the descriptions and codes you give them need to be accurate.
Our waste reporting service keeps your transfer notes and consignment notes in one place, with totals for each site, so you’re ready when the producer phase arrives.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using a waste transfer note for hazardous waste. Anything with an asterisked waste code needs a consignment note.
- Vague descriptions. “Mixed chemicals” isn’t enough. List the components and hazardous properties.
- Mixing hazardous waste. It’s illegal to mix hazardous waste with non-hazardous waste, or with other types of hazardous waste. Keep drums, bags and containers separate.
- Losing the paperwork. The three year retention rule applies to you, not only to your contractor.
- Forgetting Wales registration. Crossing the 500kg threshold without registering is an easy mistake on a busy site.
Need hazardous waste collected?
Select A Skip arranges compliant hazardous waste collection across the UK through licensed carriers. Every load comes with the right paperwork, from a single drum of waste oil to a full asbestos removal. Get a quote or call 01743 341 000.
Sources: GOV.UK hazardous waste consignment note guidance; Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005, Part 7; NetRegs; Natural Resources Wales.