Clinical waste regulations for UK businesses: Duty of Care and paperwork

Updated 6 November 2026 · By the Clinical Waste Removal team

Short answer: Any UK business that produces clinical waste has a legal Duty of Care to store it safely, use a registered carrier and make sure it reaches a permitted facility. Hazardous clinical waste needs a consignment note for each collection, kept for at least three years in England and Wales, while non-hazardous offensive waste needs a waste transfer note kept for at least two years. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own equivalent hazardous and special waste rules.

The main rules

Duty of Care under the Environmental Protection Act 1990
The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005, the Special Waste Regulations in Scotland and the Hazardous Waste Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005
HTM 07-01 guidance on safe management of healthcare waste, with equivalent guidance in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Health and safety law, including COSHH and the sharps regulations for healthcare employers

Your responsibilities

Classify and segregate each waste stream correctly
Store waste securely, away from the public, in suitable containers
Only use a carrier registered to carry the waste
Check the waste is going to a permitted facility
Complete and keep transfer and consignment notes

Records you must keep

Document	When it is needed	Keep for
Hazardous waste consignment note	Every collection of hazardous waste in England and Wales	At least 3 years
Waste transfer note	Non-hazardous waste such as offensive waste	At least 2 years

Digital waste tracking

Mandatory digital waste tracking began in England and Wales in October 2026, starting with waste receiving sites, with carriers and other parts of the chain due to follow. For now, producers still need their normal transfer and consignment notes.