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Waste duty of care: what receivers, carriers and brokers must do

By the Tippa team · Last reviewed

In short: everyone who handles business waste, or arranges for someone else to handle it, must keep it under control, pass it only to someone authorised to take it, and describe it accurately in writing. Receivers must check that each load matches its paperwork and their permit, carriers must be registered and take waste only to authorised sites, and brokers and dealers share the responsibility even though they never touch the waste.

What the waste duty of care is

The duty of care is set out in section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. It applies to anyone who imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste, or who has control of it as a dealer or broker. Most household, commercial and industrial waste is controlled waste.

In England and Wales, practical guidance comes from the statutory Waste duty of care: code of practice. Courts can take it into account. It says you must take all reasonable steps to:

  • prevent unauthorised or harmful deposit, treatment or disposal of waste
  • prevent anyone else breaching the need for an environmental permit, or breaching a permit condition
  • prevent the escape of waste from your control
  • make sure anyone you transfer waste to has the correct authorisation
  • provide an accurate description of the waste when you transfer it

An authorised person is someone with a valid registration as a carrier, broker or dealer, or a waste operator with a permit or registered exemption to accept that waste. Your duty does not stop at the gate: take reasonable steps to make sure waste is managed correctly throughout its complete journey to disposal or recovery.

Businesses must also prevent, reuse, recycle or recover waste (in that order) as far as they reasonably can, and the written description must include a statement confirming you have applied the waste hierarchy.

Describing waste and keeping records

Every transfer needs a written description agreed and signed by you and the next holder. For non-hazardous waste this is a waste transfer note, or another document with the same information, such as an invoice. The code lists what the description must include:

  • the List of Wastes (EWC) code
  • quantity and nature, and whether the waste is loose or in a container (and what type)
  • the time and place of transfer
  • the SIC code of the business handing the waste over
  • names, addresses and signatures of both parties (electronic signatures are fine if an enforcement officer can view them)
  • the capacity each party acts in, with their permit or registration number

For regular, identical collections you can use a season ticket lasting up to a year, with a schedule recording the date, time and quantity of each transfer. Hazardous waste moves on a consignment note, which must stay with the waste until it reaches its final destination.

The code says to keep descriptions for 2 years for non-hazardous waste and season tickets, and three years for hazardous waste consignment notes (receivers of hazardous waste differ, see below). Record any checks you make, as they can be used as evidence that you met your duty of care.

Receivers: permitted and exempt sites

Check every load

If you receive waste, you must make sure it matches the written description and that your permit allows you to accept it. On an exemption, you must make sure accepting it does not break the exemption's criteria, such as waste limits. You must also check that the previous holder has met their duty of care. Checking the carrier's registration on the EA or NRW public register is a good start.

When you should not accept waste

If you suspect the previous holder has breached their duty, for example by misdescribing the waste, the code says do not accept it and report your suspicions to the EA or NRW. If you find you have already accepted misclassified waste, isolate it and report the details to the regulator.

For hazardous waste in England, you may commit an offence if you do not reject waste that arrives without a consignment note, with an incomplete or incorrect note, or that you are not permitted to accept. Decide before signing part E: you cannot change your mind afterwards. Rejected loads must also go on your consignee return.

Records

Keep transfer notes for 2 years. For hazardous waste in England, GOV.UK sets periods by site type:

SiteRecordHow long
Landfill (D1 to D6, D12)All recordsAs long as you have a permit
Other permitted siteConsignment notes5 years
Other permitted siteSite inventory and other recordsAs long as you have a permit
Exempt siteAll records3 years

Digital waste tracking

If your site is permitted or licensed to receive controlled waste in England or Wales, you must use the Report receipt of waste service from 1 October 2026. Each load must be reported within 2 working days, starting the day after you receive it. Transfer notes, consignment notes, waste returns and consignee returns all continue alongside it. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the service starts in January 2027.

Carriers

Registration

In England you must register with the Environment Agency if your business transports waste. You'll be told whether your registration is upper or lower tier, and upper tier must be renewed every 3 years. Report changes to your details or activities within 28 days. NRW guidance, for example, puts carrying construction or demolition waste, or waste created by someone else, in the upper tier. You must show evidence of registration when a police officer or regulator asks. Failing to do so without reasonable excuse is an offence.

On collection and on the road

Records

Keep transfer notes for 2 years. For hazardous waste, the code says three years for consignment notes, while GOV.UK asks carriers in England to keep their register for one year at head office. Three years meets both.

Changes coming in England

Defra plans to replace carrier, broker and dealer registrations in England with environmental permits. Upper tier registrants will apply for a permit when their registration is due for renewal. The regulations were made on 22 July 2026, and most of them come into force 12 months after that.

Brokers and dealers

A broker arranges the transport and management of waste for someone else, and a dealer buys waste in order to sell it. Both have a duty of care, and both must be registered even if they do not take physical possession of the waste. In England you register with the Environment Agency.

Where you arrange a movement, you and the other parties each have a responsibility to make sure the waste only goes to an authorised person. In practice, check both ends: the carrier you book is registered (our free carrier check searches all four UK registers), and the destination's permit or exemption covers the waste (our permit check looks the permit up on its regulator's register). If in doubt, ask for evidence it arrived.

Where a broker or dealer is a party to the transfer, their details and registration number must be in the waste transfer information. For hazardous waste in England, ask the producer or holder for copies of their records and keep them for 3 years.

Common failings and penalties

Where things go wrong

Penalties

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Wales

The same code of practice covers England and Wales, but the regulator in Wales is Natural Resources Wales (NRW). Businesses based in Wales register as carriers, brokers or dealers with NRW. Digital waste tracking applies from 1 October 2026, under separate Welsh regulations.

Scotland

Scotland has its own duty of care code of practice, updated in March 2026, enforced by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). Carriers hold a Transporting waste registration from SEPA, and hazardous waste is called special waste, moved on a consignment note. Transfer notes are kept for two years, or three for imports and exports. In-scope permitted sites must enter receipts into digital waste tracking from 1 January 2027.

Northern Ireland

The duty comes from Article 5 of the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997, with its own DAERA code of practice. The regulator is the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA). Keep transfer notes for at least two years and consignment notes for three. Carriers register with NIEA, and upper tier registrations last three years.

Checklist by role

Receivers

  • Check each load against its description and your permit or exemption.
  • Check the carrier is registered, and record the check.
  • Reject waste you should not take, and report suspected breaches.
  • Keep notes for the right period for your site type.
  • In England and Wales, report each load through digital waste tracking within 2 working days.

Carriers

  • Keep your registration current at the right tier.
  • Check waste matches its description before loading.
  • Cover and secure every load.
  • Deliver only to sites authorised for that waste.
  • Keep notes for at least 2 years (3 for hazardous).

Brokers and dealers

  • Hold a current registration.
  • Check both the carrier's registration and the destination's permit.
  • Put your name and registration number on the transfer paperwork.
  • Keep records for at least 2 years (3 for hazardous).

Common questions

What is the waste duty of care?

It is a legal duty, set out in section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, on anyone who imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste, or has control of it as a dealer or broker. In England and Wales, the code of practice says you must take all reasonable steps to prevent the escape of waste from your control, make sure anyone you transfer it to has the correct authorisation, and provide an accurate description of it when you transfer it.

What does a waste receiver have to check?

In England and Wales, you must make sure each load matches the written description and that your permit allows you to accept it, and check that the previous holder has met their duty of care. If you suspect they have breached it, for example by misdescribing the waste, the code says do not accept it and report your suspicions to the EA or NRW.

Do waste brokers and dealers have a duty of care?

Yes. In England and Wales, brokers and dealers have a duty of care and must be registered even if they do not take physical possession of the waste, and where a broker arranges a movement, the parties each have a responsibility to make sure the waste only goes to an authorised person. A broker or dealer that is a party to the transfer must have their details and registration number in the waste transfer information.

How long do you need to keep waste transfer notes?

In England and Wales, the code says 2 years for non-hazardous waste and season tickets, and three years for hazardous waste consignment notes, but receivers of hazardous waste in England follow periods set by site type, such as 5 years for consignment notes at a permitted site other than a landfill. Scotland's code says two years, or three for imports and exports, and in Northern Ireland you keep transfer notes for at least two years and consignment notes for three.

What is the penalty for breaching the waste duty of care?

In England and Wales, breaching the duty of care is a criminal offence with no upper limit on the courts' power to fine, and fixed penalty notices can be used instead of prosecution. If you cannot produce the written description of the waste when an officer asks, they can issue a fixed penalty notice.

Check the official guidance

This guide is based on these pages. Rules change, so check them for the latest position.

How Tippa helps

Tippa keeps the records the duty of care asks for, for whichever of these roles you play, in one place:

  • Receivers: receipts with weighbridge weights, accept, reject or quarantine decisions, photos and signatures, and a pre-filled transfer note.
  • Carriers: collections signed for by the producer, with photos, drop-offs, and as many drivers as you need, free. Plan each driver's round with the Round Planning add-on.
  • Brokers and dealers: arrange collections with registered carriers, who are emailed the booking.
  • Everyone: every carrier checked on the public registers, and a full history of who did what, and when.
  • Reports and exports of everything when you need to show your records. Reporting add-on, £15 + VAT a month
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This guide is general information about UK waste rules, not legal or regulatory advice. You remain responsible for meeting the duties that apply to your business; check the official guidance above and take professional advice where you need it.