The tank is full and the collector has not been
The waste oil tank in the corner of the yard is almost full. The drum of used oil filters beside it is overflowing, and there is a stack of old batteries on a pallet waiting for the battery collector. Worn tyres are piled behind the workshop. Each of these goes to a different contractor, on a different schedule, and each contractor leaves a different piece of paper.
Somebody books the oil collection when they notice the level. Somebody else keeps the tyre collector's tickets in the office drawer. The battery collector emails a note that lands in the owner's inbox. When your insurer, landlord, or a local authority officer asks to see your waste records, nobody is certain where the last year of notes are, or whether they are all there.
Why waste records scatter
Waste is nobody's main job. It arrives in small amounts from every car, gets put wherever there is room, and is collected by several firms who all run their own paperwork. Some leave a carbon copy. Some email a PDF. Some use their own online portal. One may only issue a ticket if you ask.
Your garage management system knows nothing about any of it. So the evidence of where your waste went is split across a drawer, two inboxes and a contractor's website, and nobody checks it until they need it.
What scattered waste records cost
| Gap | What happens |
|---|---|
| Collections booked late | Containers overflow, spills and untidy storage |
| Notes not kept | No evidence of where waste went when you are asked |
| Contractors not checked | You cannot quickly confirm who is licensed to take what |
| No totals by waste type | Surprises in collection charges, no way to compare contractors |
| Different staff, different habits | Records depend on who happened to be in |
The rules on how long to keep waste paperwork and what it must show are set by your regulator and your own advisers. The problem this solves is simpler: when the records are needed, being able to find them.
How we build a waste log for the workshop
- Each waste stream is listed once: waste oil, oily filters, batteries, coolant, brake fluid, tyres, contaminated rags and any others you produce, with the contractor who collects it.
- Contractor details are stored with the documents you hold for them, and an expiry date where a document has one, so an expired document is flagged.
- Staff record container levels with a quick tap on a workshop tablet when they empty oil or add filters, or you set a regular reminder to check.
- When a container reaches a level you choose, the collection is requested from the right contractor by email or through their portal, and the request is logged.
- When the collection happens, the note or ticket is photographed or forwarded to a dedicated email address, and filed against that collection automatically.
- A records screen shows every collection by waste type and date, with its paperwork attached, and flags any collection without a note.
We do not tell you what your obligations are. We make it easy to keep the records your advisers say you need, and easy to find them.
When someone asks for the records
The waste oil tank reaches the level you set, and the collection request goes to the contractor that morning. When the tanker comes, the driver's note is photographed and filed. The tyre collector's ticket is forwarded from the office email and attached. The battery collector's portal note is pulled in.
Months later, when your insurer asks for evidence of waste handling, the owner opens the records screen, filters by date, and sends a tidy list with every note attached.
- All waste streams and contractors in one place
- Collections requested before containers overflow
- Every note filed against its collection
- Missing paperwork flagged, not discovered later
Is your waste paperwork in a drawer?
- Waste collections are booked when someone notices the level.
- Collection notes are split between a drawer and several inboxes.
- You are not sure you have a note for every collection.
- Nobody checks when contractors' documents run out.
- Finding a year of waste records would take an afternoon.