What is a hazardous waste consignment note?

Every time your contractor collects sharps bins or orange bags, someone hands over a form. That form is the hazardous waste consignment note, and it is the main evidence that your practice has met its duty of care.

What the consignment note is for

A consignment note records a single movement of hazardous waste: what it is, how much, who produced it, who carried it and where it went. It must stay with the waste until it reaches its final destination. In England the requirement comes from the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005.

Most clinical waste is hazardous, so it needs one. That includes:

• orange and yellow bags and sharps bins (infectious waste);
• purple cytotoxic waste;
• dental amalgam;
• some chemicals, such as X-ray fixer and developer.

Who fills in each part

In practice your contractor usually prepares the note and you check and sign the producer parts. Check the waste description and the code match what is in the containers. The code for infectious human healthcare waste is 18 01 03*, for example, and 18 02 02* for animal healthcare waste.

You will also need your business’s SIC code (Standard Industrial Classification, 2007) for the producer section.

How long to keep it

You must keep a register at the premises where the waste was produced, for three years. The register includes:

• your copy of each consignment note;
• any consignee returns the treatment site sends back;
• carrier schedules for multiple collections on one round;
• records of any rejected loads.

If a note is wrong or incomplete, record what is missing. Inspectors look for gaps.

Consignment note or waste transfer note?

Offensive waste in tiger bags is not hazardous, so it travels on a transfer note. If your contractor collects both, you should have both kinds of paperwork.

Common mistakes

Wrong or vague description

“Clinical waste” on its own is not enough. The note should say what the waste is, its container and its code, and mention sharps if there are any.

No copy kept

The note leaves with the driver. Make sure a copy, paper or electronic, comes back to the practice and goes in the register.

Notes in someone’s inbox

If the person who signs leaves the practice, the notes should not leave with them. Keep a single shared register.

Has digital waste tracking replaced it?

Not yet. The government’s digital waste tracking service became mandatory for permitted receiving sites in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in October 2026, with carriers and brokers due to follow in October 2027. The Environment Agency has said that consignment notes and transfer notes remain in use during the transition, so practices should keep issuing and filing them as now.

Questions people ask

Does every sharps bin collection need a consignment note?

Yes. Sharps from healthcare are hazardous waste, so every collection needs one, even if it is a single bin.

Who supplies consignment notes?

Usually the contractor, on paper or through a portal. You can also buy blank notes from the Environment Agency or write your own with the required information.

Can a contractor charge for consignment notes?

Some do, per note or as a yearly compliance fee. Ask for it as a separate line when you compare prices on our cost estimator.

For a contractor that handles the paperwork properly, see sharps bin collection or use the form below.