London Borough of Waltham Forest
Waste & Recycling
Guidance for Developers
Storage and Collection
Requirements
August 2015
All previous
Documents are void
For consultation and advice on any scheme, please contact:
Major Contracts and Delivery
Room 100, Waltham Forest Town Hall
Forest Road
London
E17 4JF
Tel: 020 8496 3000 E-mail: wfdirect@WalthamForest.gov.uk
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Information required with the planning application
Sufficient storage space for waste and recyclable material for seven days is
required. This provision must be clearly marked on the plans submitted with the
planning application with access routes for collection vehicles.
Buildings will be expected to have an off-street collection area at ground floor
level. In most cases waste should be contained in an enclosed store.
In major residential or commercial developments the Council may require a
waste management plan to be submitted. This should indicate:
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Estimated volumes and types of waste produced by the development.
The size and location of waste and recycling storage areas.
How recyclable material and other waste is delivered to these stores.
The proposed collection point and the method for transferring waste to
this location.
Where clinical waste is likely to be generated, separate storage and collection
arrangements are required for clinical and non-clinical waste.
This is a general guidance only and seeks to provide basic advice on the storage
and collection requirements for waste and recyclable material. Detailed
discussions concerning the provision of waste storage accommodation should
take place with Waste Management.
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General Requirements
When considering the amount of storage space needed, the following
requirements will help to calculate the volume of waste generated. This is a
guideline only, as individual developments may have specific storage needs.
Purchasing of containers
All developers are required to purchase bins themselves from a registered
supplier. Bulk bins must only be metal and comply with the European
Standard EN840. All bins both wheeled and bulk must be in the correct
colours and have standard council logos (bulk bins must also have the
predetermined graphics printed on them which are available from the council).
Bins not matching the before outlined criteria will not be emptied.
Collections from sites will not occur until containers are in place. It is the
responsibility of the developer to collect and remove any waste at their own
cost until such as a time as the Council is satisfied that all waste requirements
have been met. All complaints in regard to non-collection due to the fault of
the developer will also be passed onto the developer for response.
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To inform the council that collections need to commence, please do so via the
email below. The council should be informed of this at least one week prior to
collections taking place. wfdirect@WalthamForest.gov.uk
For households
The Council operates a three colour, two wheeled bin system with a weekly
collection.
Black 140 litre wheeled bin for refuse, green 140/240 litre wheeled bin for
recycling and a brown 140/240 litre wheeled bin for organic waste.
It is at the developer’s discretion to choose the size of the bins required for
recycling dependent on the size of the house. We would recommend for
households of two or more bedrooms that a 240ltr bin is used for recycling.
Developments of more than five households
The Council operates a communal bulk waste container collection. Black for
refuse and green for recycling.
The measure of refuse and recycling is 140 litres of each per household.
Large residential developments <250 dwellings
In addition to the above, storage space is required for redundant bulky
household goods, such as furniture, cookers, beds, etc.
Large residential developments >250 dwellings
Please approach the waste management department for advice specific to
your development.
Schools
The council provides recycling and organic collection services for schools
only. Refuse collections should be arranged with a private contractor.
1,100 litres recycling storage for every 100 pupils.
1,100 litres kitchen/canteen waste for every 100 pupils
Commercial
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Commercial waste collection is a private matter, to be arranged by the occupant
with a collection and disposal company details of such can be found on the
Waltham Forest website. For mixed use developments storage areas for
commercial waste must be separate to those used for domestic waste by
residents.
2 Refuse Stores
Wherever possible, refuse containers should be located within an enclosure to
prevent nuisance from the spread of rubbish, odour and noise, especially in the
case of multi-storey developments. The enclosure should be constructed of
material in keeping with the surroundings and screened as much as possible,
using boundary walls, fencing or planting. Doors/gates to any such enclosure are
not permitted to open out over the public highway.
Any enclosure, compound or storage area should allow room for filling and
emptying of bins and provide a clear space of 150mm between and around
containers and be a minimum of 2m high. Communal storage areas should have
an impervious floor and permit the washing down and draining of runoff into
adequate channels; please note that this the council are not responsible for this.
Where residents or caretakers are responsible for moving their waste to the
collection point on collection day, access for collection must be provided between
6am - 9pm. Any location of refuse/recycling storage should not obstruct the
public highway at any time or interfere with pedestrian or vehicle access.
Where multi-storey residential developments are proposed, the developer must
provide a purpose built area for the storage of wheeled steel Euro bins
(complying with BS EN 840). The bin store must be capable of housing the
maximum number of containers required, based on an assessment of projected
arising’s determined at the time of planning.
Some of the larger waste storage areas require access for heavy vehicles, which
may not always be acceptable in environmentally sensitive locations such as
Conservation Areas or in the vicinity of listed buildings. Design constraints mean
that provision of access and accommodation for such vehicles is only likely to be
possible in new, purpose-built developments, which could be designed to
accommodate off-street servicing. In all instances consideration must be given to
the sensitivity of location, the requirements for a vehicular crossover and the
likely constraints of headroom and turning space.
Any locks to storage areas must be have a standard ‘Fire Brigade’ FB14 pattern.
Where there are electronic gates and/or barriers controlling access to such
areas, codes should be provided to the Council. In new buildings, the siting of
storage containers should, wherever possible, allow movement of containers to
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the nominated collection point without being taken through a building, unless it is
a porch, garage or carport or other open covered space.
If it is proposed to locate bulk waste storage containers, such as Euro bins, in a
basement area inaccessible for a standard waste collection vehicle, a suitable
ground floor collection area must be indicated on drawings submitted for
approval. In addition, a written statement must be attached describing the
proposed method for transporting the containers to ground level, including
parking arrangements for a tractor unit and trailer, if these are required.
If the waste containers are to be transported to ground level by a goods lift, it
must be large enough to accommodate the waste container as well as the porter.
In large schemes more than one waste container will need to be accommodated.
The lift doors must be sized to allow free access for the waste containers. In
addition, a written statement must be attached describing the proposed method
for transporting the containers to ground level, including parking arrangements
for a tractor unit and trailer, if these are required.
Particular care needs to be taken when designing access to bin storage areas
above ground floor level, which have to be accessed by the collection vehicles
using a ramp. Any access ramps need to be capable of supporting vehicles with
a gross weight (i.e. vehicle plus load) of 26 tonnes and minimum single axle
loading of 11 tonnes.
Storage areas for waste and recyclable material should be clearly designated for
this use only, by a suitable door or wall sign and, where appropriate, with floor
markings.
3 Above Ground Containers
 A dropped kerb should be sited within 10m of the facilities and the pulling
area should be free from obstructions and have a sound surface
 The developer must ensure that they do not obstruct sight lines for
pedestrians, drivers and cyclists
 The facility should not obstruct any utility service points
 Receptacles should be sited away from windows and ventilators to
minimise odour and noise nuisance, and away from perimeter walls to
deter illegal access from being gained
 It should be observed and advertised where possible that the hours of
deposit/emptying are 6am-9pm
 Consideration should be given to installation of wheel locks or another
suitable type of locking device to secure bins
 Where any communal facilities are proposed for direct use by residents,
designs of the facility should be forwarded to the Crime Prevention Design
officers at the Metropolitan Police for comment. The positioning of facilities
should permit safe use and ensure there is no potential to encourage
crime.
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4 Collection Limitations and Requirements
The following limitations and requirements should be noted in relation to the
storage and collection of waste and recyclable material.
Waste collection operatives should not be required to:
 Carry waste sacks or move wheeled bins (up to 240 litres) more than 25m
in total
 Transport a Eurobin, or similar wheeled waste container, more than 15m
in total
 Transport sacks or bins from basements or above ground floor level
The path between the container housing or chamber and the nearest vehicular
access should:
 Have a minimum width of 2 metres
 Be level, unless the gradient falls away from the housing or chamber, in
which case it should not exceed 1:12
 Be free of steps or kerbs (a dropped kerb may be required)
 Have a solid foundation
 Be rendered with a smooth continuous finish (a cobbled surface is
unsuitable for any type of wheeled container)
Chute systems are not permitted.
Waltham Forest Council does not offer a skip roll on/roll off collection service.
Only wheeled bins/euro bins.
5 Refuse Collection Vehicles
Roads providing access to the building should have foundations and a hardwearing surface capable of withstanding a fully laden refuse vehicle of 26 tonnes
gross vehicle weight (GVW), with a maximum axle weight of 11 tonnes.
Roads should have a minimum width of 5m and arranged so that the collection
vehicle can continue mainly in a forward direction.
If turning space is necessary, the road layout should permit a turning circle of
18.5m, kerb to kerb or 21.1m wall to wall.
Any gates or arches on the vehicle route to the refuse/recycling storage area
should give a minimum clearance of 3.72m width and 4.3m height.
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6 Provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990
The Council is designated a “Waste Collection Authority” (WCA) under the Act,
each WCA is required, under part II of the Act, to collect household waste from
all residential properties in the borough and, if requested, make provisions for the
collection of commercial waste. Each collection authority may also, under section
46 of the Act, specify the type and number of receptacles to be used and where
they should be placed in order to ensure compatibility with Council collection
methods and to facilitate collections.
The Act imposes a ‘Duty of Care’ on persons concerned with controlled waste.
The duty applies to any person, who produces, imports, carries, keeps, treats or
disposes of controlled waste. Breach of the Duty of Care is an offence, with a
penalty of an unlimited fine if convicted on indictment. The purpose of this code is
to set out practical guidance for waste holders subject to the Duty of Care. It
recommends a series of steps that would normally be enough to meet the duty.
The code cannot cover every contingency; the legal obligation is to comply with
the Duty of Care itself rather than with the code.
Anyone subject to the Duty of Care who has some “controlled waste” should
establish what the waste is. Waste left for collection outside premises, whether
on the public highway or private land, should be in containers that are strong and
secure enough to resist not only wind and rain but also animal disturbance,
especially food waste. All containers left outside for collection will therefore need
to be secured or sealed (for example drums with lids, bags tied up, skips
covered). To minimise the risks, waste should not be left outside for collection
longer than necessary. Anyone subject to the Duty of Care must ensure that, if
waste is transferred, it is transferred only to a registered waste carrier. Further
information regarding the Duty of Care can be obtained from the HMSO, quoting
ISBN 0-11-752557-X.
7 Specification for Containers for Waste & Recyclable Material
Refuse and Recycling Euro bins
These are co-mingled wheeled bins with four wheels, which conform to British
Standard BS EN 840: 2012. They have a fixed lid supplied with a push-tolock, and a smaller flap for insertion of the recyclable materials by residents.
Capacity (litres)
Width
Length
Height
660
720
1250
1310
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1100
980
1250
1370
1280
985
1260
1470
REFUSE AND RECYCLING
Wheeled Bins
These are plastic wheeled bins with two wheels and should conform to British
Standard BS EN 840:2012.
Capacity (litres)
Width
Length
Height
140
580
740
1100
240
665
880
1100
Vehicle Dimensions
Waste Collection Vehicle
(Three Axle 21.2-26.00 tonnes)
DIMENSIONS (m)
Width 2.5
Overall length 12.5
Height 3.8
KERB TURNING CIRCLE (m) 19.6 Ø
SWEPT CIRCLE (m) 21.1 Ø
WALL TO WALL TURNING CIRCLE 21.28
AXLE WEIGHTS – 1st & 2nd 8000 kg, 3rd 10500 kg
Note: any part of a building through which a waste collection vehicle passes
must have a minimum clear height of 4.5m, to allow for overhead fixtures and
fittings. In addition to this property thresholds must not be obstructed by
vehicles at the point of collection.
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