Wheeled bin washing
This guidance is for businesses that wash wheeled bins, and for anyone who washes bins as part of a business activity. It does not apply to householders washing their own bins.
Effluent and run-off from washing and cleaning activities can damage the environment and pollute rivers, streams, burns and groundwater. The cleaning agents you use (including those labelled biodegradable) can be very poisonous to river life. If you cause pollution, you are breaking the law and spoiling your environment.
Dirty water or run-off from wheeled bin washing and cleaning carried out as a business or industrial activity is called trade effluent. Whether you’re cleaning just one bin or a number of bins, you must arrange for collection and disposal of effluent to prevent pollution. It’s illegal to discharge trade effluent to the environment or into drains without permission.
What you must do
Control wash water from bin cleaning process
You must not allow wash water to enter surface water drains, surface waters or groundwater. This will cause pollution and you could be prosecuted.
Wash water from washing wheeled bins can contain high levels of pollutants such as:
- detergents
- suspended solids
- fats and grease
- other wastes
The wash water must be directed to a treatment system/holding tank. You may be able to reuse the water. This will reduce your water use and your impact on the environment.
If discharging to the public sewer, get the relevant consents
You must get a trade effluent consent or enter into a trade effluent agreement with your water and sewerage company before you discharge any wash water to the public sewer.
This is important even if you only discharge a small amount of liquid waste, as it could cause serious damage to the sewage system and create a risk of danger to public health.
The trade effluent consent will give details of:
- what can be discharged to the public sewer,
- the permitted rates and volumes.
See our guidance on disposal to public sewer for more information.
If you cannot discharge to the public sewer
If your wash water is unsuitable for discharging to the public sewer, or there is no public sewer available, you could:
- change your process so you do not produce the wash water or certain substances
- treat the wash water on site before discharging it to a sewer
- if you are in a rural area a discharge to a septic tank or other private sewage system may cause other problems so this should be avoided
- collect your wash water in a sealed unit and send it to an authorised disposal site. If you transport waste water to a site for disposal you may need to register with your environmental regulator:
- In Scotland as a waste carrier or professional collector of waste.
- In Northern Ireland as a waste carrier
- In Northern Ireland, if you are spreading the wastewater solids / sludge to land then you will need to contact the NIEA and determine if you need to apply for an authorisation under the Groundwater Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009.
If you cannot discharge wash water to the public sewer, it will be classed as waste. You must comply with your duty of care responsibilities when dealing with your waste.
See our guidance on waste duty of care for more information.
Good Practice
Use water efficiently
- Use washing facilities and equipment that filter and reuse water or set up a wash water recycling system.
- Use trigger-operated spray guns. Make sure they have an automatic water supply cut-off.
Cleaning chemicals
- Minimise the amount of cleaning chemicals you use and store.
- If you use detergents, choose biodegradable and phosphate-free products as they are less harmful to the environment.
- Store all cleaning chemicals safely and in an area where you can contain spills. This should be within a secondary containment system (SCS) such as:
- an impermeable bunded area
- a bunded pallet or spill pallet
- a bunded storage unit.
See our guidance on chemical storage for more information.
Train your staff
Train all staff to follow your cleaning procedures.