Hazardous Waste Collection & Disposal Services at Annual Household Hazardous Waste Events and Incidental Hazardous Waste Arisings

Norfolk County Council, as a Waste Disposal Authority, is required by the Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 51, to provide reasonably accessible sites for the free disposal of household waste by its residents.

The seven District, Borough and City councils in Norfolk as Waste Collection Authorities have a statutory duty to provide a collection service for household hazardous waste. In terms of hazardous waste disposal, Norfolk County Council has met this obligation by holding 'Hazardous Waste Events' on set weekends, at specific Recycling Centres (RC). Such events have been held annually since 2003. This is an opportunity for householders to deposit hazardous waste such as domestic paint and thinners, pesticides, fertilisers, fire extinguishers and household cleaning products.

Visitor numbers across the network of RCs for 2025 was over 910,000. Many households therefore visit the Household Hazardous Waste Days (HHWD) to dispose of such material. There were over 12, 495 visitors to the 14 HHWD in 2025 (two events).

The HHWD take place during dedicated weekends where an area of the participating RC is designated to receive household hazardous waste. Whilst the RC is normally only open 9am - 4pm, for the purposes of the HHWD, RC will have extended opening hours of 8am to 4pm. All visits to the RCs are made via a booking system. Without a valid booking, members of the public will be refused entry.

These events are primarily designed for the receiving of hazardous waste, and therefore normal waste is restricted. The site Contractor will still be making bin collections and exchanges, but these are kept to a minimum. Any HGV movements at Hempton RC ONLY will require it to be closed for safety reasons. Norfolk's service standard is that these exchanges must not exceed 30 minutes. Any closures will be kept to a minimum.

In addition to the hazardous waste events, the Council has a responsibility to respond to unplanned incidents where hazardous waste arises due to, for example, small or larger scale fly tipping or coastal pollution incidents, ensuring that appropriate arrangements are made for the treatment or disposal of the waste.

A market engagement notice has not been issued as this is a straightforward requirement that the Council has been purchasing for a significant number of years.

The procurement has not been lotted as to make this commercially attractive, to ensure consistency across the County and to ensure contract management costs are kept to a minimum, one provider is needed to cover the whole of the County.

Please note on 19 November 2025, the Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness made a written statement [UIN HCWS1071] saying that three proposals for unitary local government in Norfolk had been received - these could entail the creation of one, two or three unitary councils.

The Minister announced a consultation exercise, which ended on 11 January 2026. The Minister stated that "once the consultations have concluded, the Government will assess the proposals against the criteria in the invitation and decide, subject to parliamentary approval, which, if any, proposals are to be implemented, with or without modification". The Government has confirmed that it is minded to create three unitary Councils, subject to parliamentary approval.

On 4 December 2025, the Secretary of State for Local Government made a written statement [UIN HCWS1128] stating that the government intends to establish a Mayoral Strategic Authority for Norfolk and Suffolk as soon as possible, and that it is minded to hold inaugural mayoral elections in May 2028.

Should these processes lead to unitary local government in Norfolk and/or to the establishment of a Mayoral Strategic Authority covering Norfolk (i) the contract may be transferred, assigned or novated to any successor authority(ies) to the council, or to any joint body incorporating or formed by any such successor and/or to any Mayoral Strategic Authority; and/or (ii) the council or a successor authority or joint body may order services on behalf of other local authorities serving any area within Norfolk's current geographical boundaries.