Environmental services tenders cover cleaning, waste collection and recycling, street cleansing, pest control, drainage and environmental remediation, bought by councils, schools and other public bodies. This page shows live notices, explains the registrations and duties that can rule a firm out (waste carrier registration, duty of care, COSHH) and sets out how a smaller contractor can compete. It also covers staff transfers, splitting work into lots and small single-site contracts. Our tender eligibility checker is coming soon. Until then, tell us your trade and postcode to join the free weekly list of live tenders, starting soon.
Find your service
This division covers more than one trade, and the buyer’s questions change with the service. Start with the page that matches your work.
- Cleaning: buildings, schools and public estates, usually bought by site or group of sites. See cleaning tenders.
- Waste collection and recycling: rounds, bulky waste, food waste and recycling streams. See waste collection and recycling tenders.
- Street cleansing, pest control, drainage and environmental remediation: these don’t have their own page yet, so their notices appear in the live list on this page.
If your work is landscaping or tree work, see landscaping and tree work tenders. If cleaning is one part of a larger bundle of services, see facilities management tenders.
Whichever you pick, the sections below apply. They cover the registrations and duties that can rule a firm out, and how a smaller contractor can compete.
What buyers usually ask environmental services contractors for
These are the points with a legal or policy basis. The pack covers anything extra.
Waste carrier registration
In England, a business that transports waste, or buys, sells or arranges its disposal, must register as a carrier, broker or dealer. When you register you are told whether it is upper tier or lower tier, and upper tier registrations must be renewed every 3 years. If you’re unsure which tier you need, ask the Environment Agency before you bid. This is the England route, so check the pack for a job elsewhere in the UK.
Waste duty of care
Under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, anyone who imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste has a duty to take reasonable steps over how it’s handled and who receives it. Expect questions on how you handle waste transfers and who you hand waste to.
COSHH for cleaning chemicals
Cleaning chemicals can be hazardous substances. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 are the rules for controlling them at work, so expect questions on risk assessments, safe storage and staff training.
TUPE on re-let cleaning and waste contracts
When a cleaning or waste contract is re-let, a service provision change can transfer staff to you if the activities are fundamentally the same. Ask for staffing information early and price for it.
Environmental management and Carbon Reduction Plans
On central government contracts worth more than £5 million a year including VAT, bidders are normally asked for a Carbon Reduction Plan as a condition of participation, where it is relevant and proportionate. ISO 14001 may come up in some tenders, but we make no claim about how often. Check the pack.
Insurance and financial standing
Cover levels and turnover tests are set contract by contract, and we can’t source typical figures. Check the pack. If a buyer wants a higher level than you hold, find out early whether you can raise it before award. See public liability cover for tenders.
Only about 6% of live notices state certifications in the notice itself (29 of 470 in the week to 10 Oct 2026, as of 10 Oct 2026). The detail is usually in the pack.
How to win environmental services contracts
Choose lots you can staff
Buyers must consider lots, or give reasons for not using them. A cleaning or waste contract may be split by area, building type or service. Bid for the lots where you already have people and vehicles nearby. A lot that needs a second depot isn’t a small win.
Read the specification closely, and price mobilisation and TUPE
Cleaning and waste contracts are priced on things like frequency, hours, volumes and access. Check the specification, any site visit dates and the quantities the buyer quotes, and send clarification questions early. If the volumes look wrong, ask rather than guess.
The first weeks of a new contract carry costs a bid can overlook: uniforms, equipment, vehicles, training and any transferred staff. Price them in, and don’t assume the incumbent’s rates were sustainable. Ask for staffing information through clarification questions as early as the deadline allows.
Think about social value
Central government departments, their agencies and non-departmental public bodies must give social value at least a 10% weighting on above-threshold contracts where it is relevant (PPN 002), and local employment is a natural fit for cleaning and waste work. Other buyers set their own weighting, so check it. Be specific: how many local people, what training, how you’ll measure it. Our guide covers social value.
Look at below-threshold, single-site contracts
Schools, depots and single buildings can be small enough to fall below the thresholds. From 1 January 2026, services contracts fall under the full Act rules at £135,018 including VAT for central government and £207,720 for other authorities. Below that, when a buyer invites tenders it can’t restrict who may tender by assessing suitability (Welsh devolved buyers follow their own rules, and call-offs from frameworks are excluded).
If a buyer advertises a below-threshold contract worth £12,000 or more (central government, including NHS trusts) or £30,000 or more (other authorities), including VAT, it must first publish a below-threshold tender notice.
But advertising is not the only route. The same guidance says there is no requirement to publish a below-threshold tender notice where the buyer invites quotes from a closed group of suppliers, as long as the procurement isn’t advertised in other ways. It also lets buyers award a below-threshold contract to a pre-selected group of suppliers without competition, though a contract details notice must still follow after award.
So a school or depot may never advertise a small cleaning or waste job. That makes being known locally matter. Introduce yourself to the people who manage the sites you could realistically serve, and be ready to quote quickly when they ask.
Questions
Do I need a waste carrier registration to bid for cleaning or grounds contracts that produce waste?
If you transport waste in England, your business must register as a waste carrier, broker or dealer. Whether the contract needs it depends on whether you will carry waste away. The tender pack should say who removes waste, so check before you price.
Upper tier or lower tier: which do I need?
The gov.uk registration service tells you which tier applies when you register, and upper tier registrations must be renewed every 3 years. If you're unsure, ask the Environment Agency before you bid. We don't give a rule of thumb because it depends on your waste.
What happens to the current cleaning staff when I win the contract?
On a re-let contract, a service provision change under TUPE can transfer the staff who mainly worked on it to you, if the activities are fundamentally the same. Ask the buyer for staffing information early and include the cost in your price.
Can I bid for just one area or building?
Often, if the buyer splits the work into lots. Buyers must consider lots or give reasons for not using them, so look for the lot you can staff. Some site-level contracts, such as a single school, are small enough to bid for directly.
Do councils need ISO 14001 or a Carbon Reduction Plan?
On central government contracts worth more than £5 million a year including VAT, Carbon Reduction Plans are normally asked for where relevant and proportionate. Otherwise there is no general rule we can source, so check the tender pack for what that buyer asks.