Licensed Waste Removal – Legal Disposal, No Fly-Tipping

When you pay someone to take your waste away, the law makes you partly responsible for where it ends up. Using a registered waste carrier isn't just tidy — it protects you from a fine.

Why fly-tipping should worry you — even if you'd never dump a thing

Fly-tipping is a criminal offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Councils can hand out on-the-spot fixed penalty notices of up to £1,000, and serious cases go to court with unlimited fines and up to five years in prison. Vehicles used to fly-tip can be seized — and some councils now crush them as a deterrent.

Here's the part most people miss: as a householder you have a legal "duty of care" for your own rubbish. If you hand it to an unlicensed "man with a van" and they dump it, you can be fined up to £600 — even though you paid in good faith and never went near a lay-by. Councils trace dumped waste back through letters, packaging and paperwork, and the trail leads to the person who produced it. So the cheapest quote can turn into the most expensive mistake.

How I keep you protected

• I'm a registered waste carrier with the Environment Agency. You can check any carrier — including me — for free on the EA's public register before you hand over a thing.
• Legal disposal, every time. Your waste goes to a licensed facility, not a hedgerow.
• You get a waste transfer note. That's the document proving your waste went to a licensed carrier — keep it, and you're covered if anything's ever queried.

What I record when I collect your waste

Every time I collect waste, the law requires a waste transfer note — the document that tracks your waste and proves it was handled legally. To complete it, I'll record the following. Most of it I sort myself; I'll just confirm a few details with you on the day:

• the type of waste;
• the type of premises the waste comes from (home or business);
• how it's contained (bags, loose, etc.);
• the quantity of waste;
• the name of the person handing it over;
• the name and address (for a business);
• the address the waste was collected from;
• my waste carrier licence number;
• my vehicle registration;
• the date and time of the transfer.

You get a copy for your records — keep it, and you're covered. It's quick and painless, and it's exactly what protects you from the fines above.

Metal, radiators, cable and appliances

Scrap metal has its own rules under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 — brought in to fight metal theft, copper cable especially. So for anything metal — radiators, pipes, cable, or old appliances like washing machines and fridges — I may need to verify your identity (photo ID such as a driving licence or passport, plus proof of address) and record the details. And any payment for metal is always made by bank transfer, never cash. It's a legal requirement, not me being awkward — it keeps everything traceable and above board, which protects you as much as me.