Term
Household waste duty of care: what the term means
The legal duty on occupiers of homes to take reasonable steps to ensure their waste is only passed to an authorised person.
The legal duty on occupiers of homes to take reasonable steps to ensure their waste is only passed to an authorised person.
Household waste duty of care in practice
Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, occupiers of domestic property must take all reasonable measures available to make sure they transfer household waste only to an authorised person. Councils can issue a fixed penalty notice as an alternative to prosecution where the duty is breached.
Putting waste out for the council's collection meets the duty. For private collections, checking the waste carrier register and keeping details of who took the waste is the practical way to show you took reasonable steps.
Source: gov.uk