Not every shop needs an environmental permit, but many commercial and service businesses have environmental impacts their owners overlook: laundries and carpet cleaners, printing houses, small metal and carpentry workshops, laboratories, salons using chemicals, and offices disposing of electronic equipment. The rule in the Implementing Regulation for Environmental Permits is that it applies to any commercial or service facility expected to have environmental effects, new or existing. The National Center for Environmental Compliance (NCEC) decides, after reviewing the classification form, whether your activity needs a permit and its category.
Five questions that settle your business's position
- Does your activity produce waste beyond ordinary office waste? Solvents, inks, oils, chemicals, medical waste, electronic devices.
- Does it produce emissions, odors, dust or noise? Dryers, compressors, cutting, spraying, extraction.
- Does it discharge contaminated water or use large quantities? Washing, cooling, cleaning.
- Is your site close to homes, schools or hospitals? Proximity to sensitive receptors is a classification criterion.
- Have you changed or expanded your activity? The regulation requires a new operating permit before any change to the type or size of the activity.
If you answered yes to one or more, your activity most likely needs an environmental review.
Common commercial and service activities and their environmental aspects
| Activity | Main aspects |
|---|---|
| Laundries and carpet cleaners | Wastewater with detergents and sand, dry cleaning solvents, dryer noise |
| Printing houses | Inks and solvents, recyclable paper and cardboard |
| Metal, aluminum and carpentry workshops | Dust and sawdust, noise, paints |
| Laboratories | Medical and chemical waste |
| Offices and companies | Electronic devices, batteries and old air conditioners |
Obligations that apply to everyone
Even if your activity does not need an environmental permit, the waste producer duties in the Waste Management Law apply to you: reducing waste, storing it in designated places, sorting recyclables, and never leaving, burning or dumping it outside designated places. Anyone handing waste to a party not licensed by the National Center for Waste Management (MWAN) is jointly liable for damages. Businesses inside shopping centers also follow the center's waste system, which the law requires to be contracted to a licensed provider.
Noise in commercial areas
The Noise Regulation sets 65 dB by day and 55 at night for commercial areas, and 60 by day and 50 at night for mixed residential-commercial areas, with night from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. A business running noisy equipment at night near homes is prone to complaints, after which NCEC may require noise modeling and a reduction plan.
Guides for commercial and service businesses
- Environmental permit for laundries and carpet cleaners
- Environmental requirements for printing houses
- Metal, aluminum and carpentry workshops
- E-waste in companies and offices
- The right order of environmental permit, CR and municipal license
How Abak Green helps commercial businesses
Send us your activity, location and size, and we will tell you whether it needs an environmental permit, the expected category and the requirements. If a permit is needed, we manage the file; if not, we set up waste management procedures and records that protect you at inspection. Start with an initial review on WhatsApp.
