Householder's waste and duty of care

The Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations require all householders to:

• make sure their waste is only removed from their premises by registered waste carriers (includes any private waste collector who holds a waste carrier’s licence issued by the Environment Agency)

You can do this by:

• asking a carrier what exactly is going to happen to your waste and seek evidence that it is going to be disposed of appropriately
• asking for details of their waste carrier registration
• checking if they are registered waste carriers by searching the Environment Agency's public register of waste carriers
• taking note of their registration number
• asking for a proper invoice (do not pay cash)
• never accepting unsolicited offers to have waste taken away

Please note: if you do not check that the person you gave your waste to was authorised to accept it, and you can't provide this information when asked, then you may face charges.

Disposing your own waste

You can dispose your own waste at a Household Recycling Centre