Duty of care - your waste responsibilities
You need to check that anyone collecting or transporting your waste is registered correctly under the new two-tier registration system
Information from NetRegs
Who can deal with your waste?
You must ensure that anyone who handles your waste has the correct permit, registration or exemption. People who may collect your waste include:
· waste contractors
· scrap metal merchants
· recycling businesses
· your local authority
· skip hire businesses
If you transport your own waste, you can pass it to waste transfer stations, and waste treatment and disposal sites. Anyone who recycles, treats, stores, reprocesses or disposes of your waste must have either:
· an environmental permit
· a registered exemption from environmental permitting for your type of waste and what they do with it
Check your waste carrier is registered
Anyone who collects and transports your waste must be either a registered carrier of controlled waste or exempt from registration.
You must check that your waste carrier is registered or exempt. You need to keep evidence of this so you can prove you have checked if necessary.
On 29 March 2011 new regulations introduced a two-tier registration system for waste carriers, brokers and dealers.
If your waste carrier is in the upper tier, or if they were registered as a waste carrier before 29 March 2011, they will have a certificate of registration or a certified copy of it, which will show when their registration expires. Photocopies do not provide evidence of registration. You can take a photocopy of the certificate for your own records, date it and write on it that you have seen the original. Authorised credit card sized copies of the certificate are also acceptable proof of registration.
If your waste carrier is in the lower tier, they will have a letter confirming their registration. If they were registered before 29 March 2011, they will be on a register of professional collectors and transporters, and should also be able to show you a letter to prove their registration. Lower tier carriers are also known as 'specified persons'.
You can also check the registration of a waste carrier by:
- checking the Environment Agency's online register
- phoning the Environment Agency Helpline on Tel 03708 506 506