In England and Wales, the Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 decide whether waste counts as household, commercial or industrial according to where it is produced and what it is, and that classification affects what councils can charge for collecting and disposing of it.

The three classes in the Act

The Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 sort waste into three legal classes, which shapes the Duty of Care, the route for disposal and the charges a council may make. The Regulations extend to England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules. Section 75 of the 1990 Act defines household waste as waste from domestic property, meaning a building or self-contained part of a building used wholly for living accommodation, from a caravan on a caravan site, from a residential home, from premises forming part of a university, school or other educational establishment, and from premises forming part of a hospital or nursing home.

Industrial waste is waste from factories, transport service premises, utility and telecommunications premises, mines, quarries and agricultural premises. Commercial waste is waste from premises used wholly or mainly for a trade or business, or for sport, recreation or entertainment, excluding household and industrial waste. Regulations can deem waste to be one type or another, which is what the 2012 Regulations do.

Classification by place

Schedule 1 of the 2012 Regulations lists places. Waste from private storage premises used for domestic articles, land connected with domestic property, places of worship, penal institutions, charity shops selling donated goods and premises used wholly or mainly for public meetings is household waste. A private garage produces household waste unless its floor area exceeds 25 square metres or it is not mainly used for a private motor vehicle.

Commercial waste comes from a hotel, a market or fair, a club or society, a camp site, a court or government department, a charity-occupied premises used mainly for charitable purposes, and any part of a composite hereditament used for trade or business. Domestic property used in the course of a business for self-catering accommodation also produces commercial waste, as does a caravan used that way. Waste from laboratories, animal-breeding premises and imported waste is industrial.

Classification by type of waste

Some waste is classified by its nature. Schedule 1 treats waste oil, waste solvent and scrap metal as industrial waste, except that when produced at a residential home, domestic property, a small private garage or a vehicle used wholly as living accommodation it is household waste. Construction and demolition waste is industrial, although it is treated as household waste for the limited purpose of the householder’s Duty of Care under section 34(2) and (2A). Clinical and offensive waste is industrial except that it is household waste when produced at a home or similar place.

Working from home

GOV.UK’s business waste guidance says any waste from a commercial activity is business waste, and that if part of a home is used to run a business, waste from that part is business waste. Business waste carries the responsibilities GOV.UK lists: keeping waste to a minimum, storing it securely, completing a waste transfer note for each load leaving the premises and checking the carrier is registered.

Household waste a council can charge to collect

Paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 lists household waste for which a collection charge may be made. It includes any article over 25kg, anything that will not fit a council-provided household receptacle (or, where none is provided, a cylindrical container 750mm in diameter and 1m long), garden waste, dead domestic pets, waste oil or grease, asbestos and waste that a notice under section 46 prevents being put in the receptacle.

The same table says disposal charges generally cannot be made for household waste, with exceptions such as waste from charity shops that originated from non-domestic property, residential homes, hospitals and nursing homes, and penal institutions.

FAQs

Is waste from a holiday let household waste?

No. Schedule 1 treats domestic property used in the course of a business for self-catering accommodation as producing commercial waste.

Is waste from a home office household waste?

GOV.UK says that where part of a home is used to run a business, waste from that part is business waste.

Is waste from a small garage household waste?

Schedule 1 treats a private garage as producing household waste, unless its floor area exceeds 25 square metres or it is not mainly used for a private motor vehicle.

Is a charity shop’s waste commercial waste?

Schedule 1 lists a charity shop selling donated goods from domestic property as household waste, but premises occupied by a charity and used mainly for charitable purposes as commercial waste.

Does this apply in Scotland?

No. The Regulations extend to England and Wales only.

Bottom line

In England and Wales, the law classifies waste by place and by type, so a holiday let, a hotel or a home-based business part of a house produces commercial waste, while a domestic garage under 25 square metres produces household waste. The class determines the duties that apply and what a council may charge. This is general information, not legal advice; the local council or the Environment Agency can confirm how a particular waste is classified.

Sources

This guide draws on the following primary sources, current as of 21 September 2026:

• legislation.gov.uk, “The Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, Schedule 1: Household, industrial and commercial waste”
• legislation.gov.uk, “Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 75: Meaning of “waste” and household, industrial and commercial waste”
• GOV.UK, “Dispose of business or commercial waste”

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