Office Clearance Potters Bar

The Brief · Potters Bar

Office Clearance for Potters Bar

An office in Potters Bar cannot use the recycling centre down the road on Cranborne Road. Hertfordshire County Council turns away business waste at all of its household recycling centres, and that includes desks, chairs and computers from a company that is moving out or downsizing. The county does run a paid drop-off for firms, but only at Ware and Welwyn Garden City, on weekdays, and by booking. Hertsmere Borough Council is also listed as offering business waste collections for a fee, so ask it what a one-off clear-out would involve. So for most office clearances, the real choice is between hauling the load to Ware or Welwyn Garden City yourself and using a licensed carrier. Either way, the paperwork stays with the business that produced the waste. Here is what that means in practice.

Under Hertfordshire's guidance, every business has a duty of care for its waste. It must manage the waste until it is recycled or disposed of, use a registered waste carrier or register to carry its own, and keep the paperwork for at least two years. If waste is fly-tipped, whether by the firm or by someone acting for it, the county warns of a £400 fixed penalty or an unlimited fine.

The county's business drop-off sites are at Westmill Road in Ware and Tewin Road in Welwyn Garden City. Both open Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm, and every visit must be booked. Waste is charged by weight or by item.

Electrical equipment has its own rules. Under the WEEE Regulations 2013, the producer pays to collect and treat business electrical waste from kit sold after 13 August 2005. For older kit, the producer of a like-for-like replacement pays. A firm can agree a different arrangement with the producer, so check purchase contracts before paying for disposal of monitors and servers.

Data is the other risk. The Information Commissioner's Office says many security incidents come from abandoned old computers, or paper records that are lost, stolen or disposed of wrongly.