Terms and conditions for commercial waste

Read the terms and conditions of our commercial waste and recycling contract.

Definitions and interpretations

The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames of Civic Centre, 44 York Street, Twickenham, TW1 3BZ (the Council' shall provide a commercial waste and/or recycling service to 'the Customer' subject to the following terms and conditions which form part of the contract between the Council and the Customer (the Contract):

Credit checks

1. The Council will undertake a credit check on all businesses or individuals if the business is not a limited company (less sack collection customers) requesting a new or amended contract.
2. The Council will set up an account or contract once a credit check has been completed and approved by Environment Finance.

Payment

• Commercial waste and recycling sack collections must be paid for in full prior to delivery.
• All new applications for commercial waste and/or recycling bins must be paid by invoice, BACS, debit/credit card, cheque or Direct Debit (subject to credit check). Cash payments will not be accepted. 
• In some cases the Council may, as a result of credit checks, require a deposit or payment in advance.
• Where the invoice value is:
  • £500 or less, payment must be made in full prior to delivery of the service.
  • between £500.01 and £1000, payments may be spread over up to six months (by Direct Debit), subject to credit check.
  • over £1,000, payments may be spread over up to 10 months (by Direct Debit), subject to credit check.
• Any outstanding balance will become immediately payable should the Customer default on a Direct Debit payment at any point, or a cheque is referred to drawer.
• Payments shall be made within 28 days of the date of the Council invoice. Prices quoted exclude VAT. VAT is not payable on this service.
• Late payment resulting in a suspended contract or repeated changes to contract arrangements may incur an administrative fee.

Duties and responsibilities

• The Council shall arrange for the collection of the agreed waste and recycling as specified in the Contract for a minimum period of 12 months and is a rolling contract.
• The Council shall arrange for the collection of a minimum of 54 commercial waste sacks and 54 recycling sacks when purchased in accordance with paragraph 1 above.
• Sack collections will be prepaid and ordered by the Customer online or over the telephone. Once payment is received sacks will be dispatched to the Customer by the Council. Payment shall be made by debit/credit card.
• The Council will include either a customer/trade number or a business registration number on all new and amended Contracts and Agreement Forms.
• The Customer must provide full address details of where the waste is to be collected from (and a billing address if different). The Customer must also provide their company Registration number; SIC Code and contact persons name, daytime telephone number and an email address.
• The Customer shall present the agreed type of waste or recycling within the agreed container/bag, within the agreed period for collection, all as stated within the Customer’s Contract and shall ensure that such containers are accessible for collection at a reasonable and safe distance from road access. If required the Council will assess and agree such suitability (or otherwise) on site and shall not collect from locations the Council deem unreasonable or inaccessible. An additional Customer charge may be made where collections cannot be made due to access problems which result in collections having to be repeated.
• Uncontained or contaminated waste/recycling shall be disposed of as landfill waste and may result in an additional Customer charge. The Customer agrees not to overload the containers. Container lids should close and weight limits as specified by the Council must be adhered to. Where the Customer is in breach of this provision, the Council shall issue a warning to the Customer following the first occasion. If this reoccurs the Council may charge the customer for landfill waste instead. On the third occasion within the contract period, the Council may convert the Customer’s recycling contract to a waste contract and charge the Customer the higher rate for waste collection and disposal.
• Any equipment provided by the Council remains the property of the Council. The Customer is responsible for insuring against any defacement or accidental damage or loss to the Council’s equipment however caused while hired by the Customer. The Customer shall inform the Council of any loss or damage immediately. The Customer shall be responsible for the full cost of replacement if the bin is lost, stolen or damaged beyond repair.
• Missed collections and/or faults should be reported to the Council using the online form.

The Contract

• The Customer agrees to provide contact details for a named individual who is authorized to sign the Controlled Waste Transfer Note (CWTN).The Customer agrees to return this information to the Council on demand. Late return may incur an administrative charge. The Customer shall be provided with a copy of the CWTN for its records which should be retained by the Customer for inspection purposes.
• The Council will include a contract agreement number on every new or amended Contract.
• The Customer must ensure that their CWTN includes the Customer’s Standard Industrial Classification code (SIC) that classifies the business type.
• Should more than one company or trader share the Contract, the Customer must notify the Council and provide such details as requested in order that those companies/traders may be issued with a Waste Transfer Notice. The Council has no objection in principle to Customers sharing containers/contracts but shall make an administrative charge for the additional notice(s).
• The Council’s aggregate liability to the Customer for breach of the Council’s obligations (including negligent breach) or any and all other acts or omissions of negligence by the Council under the Contract shall be limited to the amount paid by the Customer to the Council for the services provided by the Council under this Contract, except that nothing in this Contract shall exclude or restrict the Council’s liability for death or personal injury caused by its act, omission or negligence or the Council’s liability in respect of any matter for which it is illegal to exclude liability.
• The Council shall not be under any liability to the Customer in respect of any failure to carry out or delay in carrying out any of its obligations hereunder attributable to any cause of whatever nature outside its reasonable control.
• No failure or delay by the Council to exercise any right, power or remedy will operate as a waiver of it nor will any partial exercise preclude any further exercise of the same, or of some other right, power or remedy
• The rights and obligations under the Contract are personal to the Customer and shall not be assigned or transferred by the Customer without the prior written consent of the Council
• If any term or provision in the Contract shall in whole or in part be held to any extent to be illegal or unenforceable under any enactment or rule of law that term or provision or part shall to that extent be deemed not to form part of the Contract
• The Contract shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales and the parties to the Contract agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Variations and terminations

• The Council reserves the right to update the terms and conditions of Contract. Such changes shall be notified to the customer as soon as practicable and will be enforceable immediately upon publication on the Council’s website.
• Any changes to the size or type of containers or their collection frequency must be agreed in writing in advance with the Council by authorized representatives of both parties. This may incur an administrative charge.
• The Council may terminate the Contract at any time in the event of breach by the Customer, or in the event of the Customer making any voluntary arrangement with its creditors, or being the subject of an administration order, or becoming bankrupt, or having a receiver appointed or going into liquidation.
• The Customer may terminate their account immediately or giving a 3 month notice period end date. In either case the customer is required to supply written confirmation of their wish to terminate the contract. In both cases the customer will be subject to paying a termination fee of 3 months or 40% of their un-expired fee, whichever is the greater.
• In cases where the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames reserves the right to terminate the contract where a breach of contract has taken place. In the event of non-payment or failure to return their Commercial Waste Transfer Note, the Council may remove bin(s) from a site. In these circumstances the Customer shall be liable to a charge for the removal, cleaning and return of the bin(s).
• The Council reserves the right to vary its charges or to make such operational changes as it deems necessary, and shall endeavour to give the Customer a minimum of one month’s written notice except in those circumstances where it is unable to do so such as extreme weather conditions/industrial action/acts of God when the service may be suspended or delayed without notice.