Knowledge centre
Waste and rubbish removal glossary
Every term councils, the Environment Agency and collection crews use, defined in one place — with the Medway and Kent reality behind each rule.
- 37 terms across 5 categories
- Reviewed by Priya Raman, Compliance & Environment Manager
- Last updated 2026-08-02
Quick answer
What do the main waste collection terms mean?
This glossary defines the waste terms Kent households, landlords and businesses meet when booking a collection: duty of care is your legal responsibility for waste until it reaches a permitted site, a waste transfer note is the record of the handover, POPs waste is upholstered seating that must be incinerated, and a van load is the volume-based unit rubbish removal is priced by.
- Categories
- Law & paperwork · Waste streams · Pricing & loads · Councils & tips · Recycling & treatment
- Author
- Daniel Hartley, Operations Director & licensed waste carrier
Reviewed by Daniel Hartley, Operations Director & licensed waste carrier · Last updated 2 August 2026
Waste language is deliberately technical: it comes from legislation, Environment Agency permits and council policy rather than from the people paying for a collection. That gap is where most bad decisions happen — a householder hands rubbish to an unregistered van because nobody explained duty of care, or a landlord is surprised that a let property produces commercial waste.
These definitions are the ones we use with customers every day, written so you can check what a quote, a transfer note or a council refusal actually means. Where a term carries a legal duty, the law behind it is named.
Law & paperwork
- Duty of care
- The legal obligation under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to make sure your waste is handled and disposed of correctly, from the moment you produce it until it reaches a permitted site.Duty of care never transfers away from you. Handing rubbish to an unlicensed man with a van leaves you liable if it is later fly-tipped.Duty of care explained →
- Waste transfer note
- The written record of a waste handover. It must show the description of the waste, the EWC code, the quantity, both parties' details, the carrier's registration number and the date and place of transfer.Households do not need one, but landlords and businesses must keep transfer notes on file for two years.What a transfer note must show →
- Waste carrier licence
- Registration with the Environment Agency permitting a business to transport waste. Upper tier registration is required by anyone who carries waste produced by someone else, such as a rubbish removal firm.You can check any carrier's registration free on the Environment Agency public register before they load.How to check a carrier licence →
- Upper tier carrier
- The Environment Agency registration category for businesses that collect and transport other people's waste commercially. Lower tier covers only firms moving their own construction or demolition waste.Our licensing and insurance →
- Fly-tipping
- Illegally depositing waste on land without a permit. It is a criminal offence under section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, punishable by fixed penalties, unlimited fines and up to five years in prison.Councils trace tipped waste back to the person who produced it, so the householder can be fined even when a rogue collector did the dumping.Fly-tipping fines in Kent →
- EWC code
- The European Waste Catalogue code that classifies a waste stream on paperwork — for example 20 03 01 for mixed municipal waste. Every transfer note needs the correct code for the waste described.
- Environmental permit
- The authorisation a site needs to accept, treat, store or dispose of waste. Legitimate loads end at a permitted transfer station, materials recovery facility or energy-from-waste plant, never on private land.
- Hazardous waste
- Waste that is harmful to people or the environment — asbestos, solvents, clinical waste, gas cylinders, oils, paints and batteries. It requires specialist consignment paperwork and separate carriers.We do not carry hazardous waste; we tell you at quote stage and point you to a licensed specialist.Items we cannot take →
- Commercial waste
- Any waste produced by a business, charity, school or landlord in the course of their activity. It cannot go in household bins or to a household waste recycling centre, and always needs a transfer note.Business waste rules →
- Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977
- The law governing goods a tenant abandons. Landlords must give the former tenant reasonable written notice and keep a record of the items before disposing of anything left behind.End of tenancy clearance →
Waste streams
- Bulky waste
- Household items too large for a wheelie bin — sofas, mattresses, wardrobes, fridges, garden furniture. Councils charge per item and collect kerbside only; private carriers take them from inside the property.Bulky waste collection →
- WEEE
- Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. Anything with a plug, battery or circuit board must be treated at a permitted WEEE facility so metals, plastics and any refrigerant gases are recovered separately.Fridge and WEEE disposal →
- POPs waste
- Upholstered domestic seating containing persistent organic pollutants — sofas, armchairs, sofa beds, futons, beanbags and office chairs. Since 2023 it must be kept separate and incinerated, never landfilled or recycled.This is why a three-seater sofa costs more to remove than a wardrobe of the same size.POPs rules for sofas →
- Inert waste
- Waste that does not decompose or react — soil, rubble, brick, concrete, hardcore and tiles. It is heavy, priced by weight rather than volume, and usually crushed for reuse as aggregate.Builders waste removal →
- Green waste
- Garden waste such as grass, hedge cuttings, branches, leaves, turf and weeds. Composted at a permitted facility, it is one of the cheapest streams to divert from landfill.Garden waste clearance →
- Plasterboard
- Gypsum board that must be kept apart from general waste because it releases hydrogen sulphide when it decomposes with biodegradable material. Sites accept it only as a separated load.Builders waste removal →
- White goods
- Large domestic appliances — fridges, freezers, washing machines, dishwashers, tumble dryers and cookers. All fall under WEEE, and anything with refrigerant must be degassed before dismantling.White goods disposal →
- Trade waste
- Another term for commercial waste. Kent household waste recycling centres refuse it, and using a domestic bin for trade waste is an offence for both the business and the site.Commercial waste collection →
Pricing & loads
- Van load
- The pricing unit for man-and-van rubbish removal. A load is measured by the volume the waste occupies in the van, so a quarter load is roughly the space of about eight to ten bin bags.Our fixed prices are £140 quarter, £210 half, £290 three-quarter and £400 full load, all-in.Van size calculator →
- Cubic yard
- The volume measure used to compare van loads with skips. One cubic yard is about 25 to 30 filled bin bags; a builder's 8-yard skip holds roughly two full van loads.Skip hire vs man and van →
- Wait and load
- A collection where the crew arrives, waits while you point out or pass out the items, loads and leaves — usually within an hour. It replaces a skip when there is nowhere to leave one standing.Wait and load service →
- Gate fee
- The per-tonne charge a transfer station or treatment plant levies to accept a load. Gate fees plus landfill tax are the largest part of any legitimate rubbish removal price.
- Landfill tax
- A per-tonne government levy on waste sent to landfill, charged at a standard rate for active waste and a lower rate for inert waste. It is the reason recycling routes are cheaper than dumping.
- Fixed-price quote
- A price agreed before the crew arrives, based on photographs or a description of the waste, that does not change on the day unless you add items. It is the opposite of pricing by weight on arrival.Get a fixed price →
- Single item collection
- A booking for one bulky object — a mattress, a fridge or a sofa — priced per item rather than by van load, so you are not charged for space you do not use.Single item collection →
Councils & tips
- HWRC
- Household Waste Recycling Centre, commonly called the tip. Kent's sites are run by Kent County Council, are free for household waste brought in a car, and refuse all trade waste.Tip vs collection →
- Van permit
- The advance permit Kent County Council requires before you may bring a van, pickup or trailer into a household waste recycling centre. Permits are limited per year and must be booked before arrival.Kent tip permits →
- Bulky collection charge
- The fee a district council charges to collect large household items from the kerbside, typically per item with a wait of one to three weeks and no entry into the property.Kent bulky waste charges →
- Side waste
- Bags left beside a wheelie bin on collection day. Most Kent councils refuse to take side waste, which is the usual reason rubbish sits outside a property for weeks.Wheelie bin collection →
Recycling & treatment
- Transfer station
- A permitted site where collected loads are tipped, sorted into streams and bulked up for onward recycling, treatment or energy recovery. Almost every van load passes through one.
- Landfill diversion rate
- The percentage of collected waste that is recycled, reused or sent for energy recovery instead of landfill. A credible carrier can evidence its rate; an inflated claim is a warning sign.Landfill diversion claims →
- Degassing
- Extracting refrigerant gas and blowing agents from a fridge or freezer at a permitted facility before the unit is shredded. It is a legal requirement and the reason fridge disposal carries a per-unit fee.Fridge disposal cost →
- Mattress recycling
- Stripping a mattress into steel springs, foam, felt and textiles so each material is recovered separately rather than compacted into landfill. Mattresses are banned from most compaction routes.Mattress recycling →
- Energy from waste
- Incinerating non-recyclable residual waste to generate electricity and heat. In Kent it is the main destination for POPs-containing upholstery and for residual material left after sorting.
- Reuse
- Passing serviceable furniture, appliances and household goods to charities or reuse networks instead of treating them as waste. It sits above recycling in the waste hierarchy.House clearance →
- Waste hierarchy
- The legal order of preference for handling waste: prevention, reuse, recycling, other recovery such as energy, then disposal. Businesses must apply it and confirm they have on their transfer notes.Duty of care →
Glossary questions people ask
Want the plain-English version for your own job?
Send a photo and a postcode. We'll tell you which rules apply, what it costs and what paperwork you get.
Quick enquiry
Get a fixed price in under a minute
A few details and a photo is all we need. Prices are all-in — labour, transport and licensed disposal — and confirmed before we load. Same-day collection across Kent when you book before 11am.
- Fixed price, no hidden extras
- Upper tier registered carrier
- Waste transfer note by email