Central Bath business waste restrictions pilot

New business waste rules are being piloted in central Bath for 12 months, from 6 October 2025. The aim is to keep the city centre cleaner and more welcoming by ensuring all business waste is securely contained to prevent litter and deter gulls. Use this page to check if your business is within the restricted area, and what you need to do to comply.

Check if the regulations apply to you

If your business is within the city centre boundary on the map, you need to comply with the new rules.

Map showing the area for business waste collection restrictions

View a list of the streets where the restrictions will apply 

The streets inside the area are:

• Abbey Church Yard
• Abbey Green
• Abbey Street
• Abbey Gate Street
• Argyle Street
• Bartlett Street
• Barton Street
• Bath Street
• Beau Street
• Beauford Square
• Bridge Street
• Broad Quay
• Broad Street
• Green Street
• Broad Street Place
• Brougham Hayes
• Brougham Place
• Brunel Square
• Burton Street
• Chapel Court
• Chapel Row
• Cheap Street
• Church Street
• Corn Street
• Dorchester Street
• Duke Street
• Edgar Buildings
• Edgar Mews
• Gay Street
• George Steet
• Great Stanhope Street
• Green Street
• Harrington Place
• Henry Street
• Hetling Court
• High Street
• Hot Bath Street
• James Street West
• John Street
• Kingsmead Square
• Kingsmead Street
• Kingston Buildings
• Lower Borough Walls
• Manvers Street
• Milk Street
• Milsom Street
• Monmouth Street
• New Bond Street
• New Merchants Passage
• New Orchard Street
• New Street
• Newark Street
• Newmarket Row
• Grande Parade
• North Parade
• North Parade Buildings
• Northgate Street
• Northumberland Buildings
• Northumberland Place
• Old Bond Street
• Old King Street
• Old Orchard Street
• Orange Grove
• Parsonage Lane
• Philip Street
• Pierrepont Place
• Pierrepont Street
• Princess Buildings
• Princes Street
• Pultney Bridge
• Pultney Mews
• Queen Square
• Queen Street
• Railway Street
• Rosewell Court
• Saracen Street
• Saw Close
• Somerset Street
• South Parade
• Southgate Street
• Southgate Place
• Spring Gardens Road
• St James’s Parade
• St Johns Place
• St Lawrence Street
• St Michael's Place
• Stall Street
• Terrace Walk
• The Ambury
• Trim Bridge
• Trim Street
• Union Passage
• Union Street
• Upper Borough Walls
• Westgate Buildings
• Westgate Street
• Wood Street
• York Buildings
• York Street

What you need to do

The changes aim to ensure that business waste:

• is only out on the streets outside the hours of 10am to 6pm
• is properly contained, to prevent litter and deter seagulls 

We may fine you, if the new restrictions apply to your business waste, and you fail to comply with them

Select a topic below to check what you'll need to do, to meet the new restrictions. 

Collection times for bagged waste

We use 'collection windows' to limit the amount of time that bagged business waste is outside, where it might cause litter or disruption. This means restricting when you can put this waste outside to be collected. There is no time limit for waste contained in bins, as these don't present the same hazards. To balance business needs and public realm improvements, the evening business waste collection window is 6pm to 8.30pm. The morning collection window has not changed. 

Collection windows for bagged business waste

	Collection window (from 6 October 2025)
Morning	7:30am to 10am
Evening	6pm to 8:30pm

You are responsible for arranging your waste collection with your chosen waste collectors within the permitted collection times. 

If your business is closed during the evening collection window, you may wish to consider the following options:

• Making arrangements with your contractor to get your waste collected directly from within your business premises (within the time window, when your business is closed)

• Switching to the morning collection window

There are a number of business waste contractors operating in the city centre that can help you to explore the options available. 

Labelling your bagged waste

You must clearly mark or label all of your business waste and recycling with your company name and address, before putting it out for collection. This includes recycling sacks, reusable rubbish bags and any loose cardboard. Use a bold marker pen or labels to ensure there is a clear label on all containers. 

The containers you should use

Residual business waste (non-recyclable items) must be bagged and placed in a gull-proof Reusable Rubbish Bag (RRB) or a wheeled bin, if you can store it off the street between collections. Dry recycling can be presented in plastic bags or gull-proof bags. Cardboard is permitted to be presented neatly stacked and secured with tape supplied by your contractor. Food waste must be presented in a suitable lockable caddy or bin provided by your contractor.

Enforcement

We may take enforcement action (under section 47 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and or other appropriate legislation) for waste presented for collection that does not comply with the new guidelines. We will monitor compliance through regular inspections and will work with businesses to ensure you understand and adhere to the new guidelines.

We will not fine businesses for empty gull-proof sacks left on the street overnight. However, to reduce the risk of sacks becoming lost or stolen, and to keep the streets clear of hazards, we recommend asking your waste contractor to return empty containers to a suitable safe location. Please ensure you have spare gull-proof sacks, in case any should become lost or stolen, to ensure you can contain your rubbish and recycling appropriately.

The development of this policy

We consulted on these changes from 20 February to 7 April 2025. In response to feedback, we have extended the evening collection window (from the current end point of 8pm to a new end point of 8.30pm) and we decided to implement the changes initially as a 12-month pilot. 

We will closely monitor the implementation of these new regulations, to assess how they meet our vision of minimising the impact of business waste on street cleanliness and the experience of visitors to Bath city centre. 

Get in touch

To arrange a council provided business waste collection, or to find out more about our business waste services, email us at businesswaste@bathnes.gov.uk or call us on 01225 39 40 41.