What the law asks of you
Under the household waste duty of care in England, you must take reasonable steps to make sure anyone who takes your waste away is authorised to do so. In practice that means they are registered with the Environment Agency as a waste carrier.
The duty sits with you, the householder. It is not transferred by paying someone, and it is not satisfied by them telling you they are licensed. If your waste is later found fly-tipped and traced back to you, the question asked is what steps you took to check.
The maximum fixed penalty for breaching the household waste duty of care in England is £600. Councils set their own amount up to that limit, and may offer a reduction for early payment.
Why this catches people out
The usual story is not somebody being reckless. It is a card through the door or a post in a local group offering to clear a garage for cash, a van that turns up promptly, and a job done cheaply. Weeks later the council finds the same waste dumped on a track, and inside it is an envelope with an address on it.
The price is the tell. Licensed disposal costs real money — the transfer station charges by the tonne — so a quote that undercuts everyone else by a wide margin is often a quote that has left that cost out. The waste still has to go somewhere, and if it is not the tip, it is a layby.
How to check, in under a minute
Ask for the carrier's registration number, then look it up yourself on the Environment Agency's public register. Do not rely on a number printed on the side of a van or quoted in a message — check that the number exists and that the name on the register matches who you are dealing with.
- Ask for the waste carrier registration number before they start
- Search it on the Environment Agency public register, linked below
- Check the business name on the register is the business you are hiring
- Ask for a waste transfer note or a receipt showing where the waste went
Ours is CBDU654723, and the licence information page links straight to our entry on the register so you can confirm it rather than take our word for it.
What happens to someone who does dump it
For the person doing the fly-tipping, the penalties are substantial: on conviction, an unlimited fine or up to five years' imprisonment. Councils can also issue fixed penalty notices for smaller incidents.
None of that helps you if the waste traces back to your address and you cannot show you checked. The thirty seconds on the register is the whole defence.
Report it if you see it
Fly-tipping on public land is reported to your local council — Buckinghamshire Council for most of our area. Waste dumped on a large scale, or anything involving hazardous material, goes to the Environment Agency instead.
Where these facts come from
Checked on . Rules change — if you're relying on this, follow the links and confirm it still says what we've said it does.