How to fill in a hazardous waste consignment note

Most carriers fill in a consignment note a few times a year, which is exactly why it goes wrong: nobody remembers the order of the parts or which code goes where. This guide walks through one note, for one load of asbestos cement sheet off a farm building, from the first box to the last. It covers England. Wales and Scotland have their own forms, and we say where they differ at the end.

When you need a consignment note instead of a transfer note

Whenever the waste is hazardous. The consignment note does the job of the transfer note for that movement, so you do not need both. The duty of care code of practice is clear on this.

The everyday hazardous loads a skip or haulage firm meets are asbestos, waste oil, lead-acid batteries, fridges and freezers, fluorescent tubes, some paints and some contaminated soil. The giveaway is the asterisk on the end of the EWC code. Some codes come in pairs, one hazardous and one not, and only a test tells you which applies. Those are called mirror entries, and soil is the one that catches people out.

The worked example

The consignment note code

Every note has a code that is unique to that load and goes on every copy. Since premises registration ended in England in 2016, you make the code up yourself in a fixed format, set out in the consignment note guidance:

• The first six letters or numbers of the name of the business the waste is collected from, with spaces and symbols taken out. If the name is shorter than six, fill the gap with Q.
• A forward slash.
• Five letters or numbers of your own choosing, different for every load. Most firms just count up: A0001, A0002.

For Hillside Farm that gives HILLSI/A0001. Normally the producer sets the code, but in practice the carrier often does it for them, which is fine as long as each code is only used once.

Part A: where the waste is coming from and going to

• A1, the consignment note code.
• A2, the name and address of the premises the waste is being removed from: the farm.
• A3, where it is going: the transfer station's name and address.
• A4, the producer, if that is someone other than the business at A2.

Part B: the waste

This is the part that gets the most attention at the receiving site, so take your time. It asks for the process the waste came from and its SIC code, then a line for each type of waste in the load: a description, the EWC code, the quantity in kilograms, what it is made of, its physical form, its hazard codes and how it is contained. If the load needs transport labelling under the dangerous goods rules, the UN number and shipping details go here too.

For the example, that reads: replacement of a barn roof; asbestos cement sheet; 17 06 05*; 1,800 kg; cement with chrysotile asbestos; solid; HP7 (can cause cancer) and HP5 (harmful to organs with repeated exposure); double-wrapped in heavy polythene and sealed.

The hazard codes come from the Environment Agency's waste classification guidance, which treats every form of asbestos as hazardous once it is 0.1% or more of the material.

Part C: the carrier

The carrier checks parts A and B against what is actually being loaded, then fills in its own details: the firm's name and registration number, the vehicle registration, and the date and time of collection. The driver signs.

If you are collecting from several places on one journey and taking it all to the same site, that is a multiple collection. Part C then carries a round number of up to 15 characters, a slash, and a two-digit collection number for each stop: 01, 02 and so on. If more than one vehicle or carrier is involved, add a schedule of carriers. Waste should normally reach the site within 24 hours of collection.

Part D: the consignor's declaration

The person handing the waste over signs to say that parts A to C are correct. Here, that is the farmer. The consignor keeps one copy, and gives one to the producer if that is someone else. The rest travel with the driver.

Part E: the receiving site

At the gate the driver hands over the copies, normally two, and the site fills in part E: the EWC codes and kilograms actually received, whether each part was accepted or rejected, what will be done with it (a recovery or disposal code), the date and time, the vehicle registration, the reason for any rejection, and the site's permit or exemption number.

If the site rejects the load, it is back on your wagon and back to being your problem. That is why it pays to ring ahead and check the site takes that waste, in that packaging, before you collect it.

How long everyone keeps the note

One year is the legal minimum for a carrier, but your customers have to keep theirs for three, and they will ask you for a copy when they lose theirs. Keeping yours for three years too costs nothing if they are stored digitally.

The quarterly return the receiving site sends

Every quarter, a site that receives hazardous waste sends a consignee return to the Environment Agency and to each producer, listing what it took in. Returns are due by the end of the month after the quarter: July to September is due by 31 October. The Environment Agency charges £10 for each consignment sent electronically, or £19 on paper, and £5 or £10 for each collection in a multiple collection (gov.uk).

This is why a carrier should care about the receiving site's paperwork. A missing code or a wrong weight on your note stops the site completing its return, and the phone call that follows is to you. LoadSnap prepares consignee returns for receiving sites from the notes it already holds.

Wales and Scotland do it differently

Wales has its own Hazardous Waste (Wales) Regulations 2005, regulated by Natural Resources Wales. The note looks similar but the code is built differently, with a premises code or EXE for exempt premises. NRW has its own step-by-step guide.

Scotland calls it special waste, under the Special Waste Regulations 1996, and SEPA issues the consignment note codes. Notes are kept for at least three years.

Questions people ask

What order do I fill it in?

A and B before the waste is loaded, C when it is on the vehicle, D when the consignor signs it off, and E at the receiving site.

Can I use my own consignment note form?

Yes, as long as it carries all the information the official form does, in the same structure. Our free blank consignment note follows the official layout.

Do I need a transfer note as well?

No. For hazardous waste, the consignment note does the job. If a load is part hazardous and part not, the non-hazardous part goes on a transfer note of its own.

LoadSnap team

UK waste compliance

Written by the team building LoadSnap, the UK waste compliance platform for carriers and receivers.