Your waste, your responsibility: the household waste duty of care
By the Offrano editorial team · · 4 min read
When a house clearance company, a skip firm or a man with a van takes away your old furniture, it can feel as though the rubbish is now their problem. Legally, it is not quite that simple. Householders have a duty of care to make sure their waste goes to someone authorised to take it, and councils can fine people whose waste is fly-tipped by an unregistered carrier. This guide explains the duty, the checks that satisfy it and the paperwork worth keeping.
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What counts as household waste
Household waste is any waste that comes from your household. Government guidance lists usual household rubbish, unwanted items such as old mattresses, furniture and electrical goods, garden waste, oils and paints, scrap metal such as car parts, septic tank sludge, and DIY waste such as rubble, timber and bricks. A full house clearance is household waste too, even when the volume is large.
Most of it can go in council bins or to the council's recycling centre, and many councils run special collections for large items such as sofas and fridges. Old electrical items can also be handed to a retailer when you buy a new item with the same function.
Source: gov.uk
The duty itself
Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, occupiers of domestic property must take all reasonable measures available to them to make sure they only transfer their household waste to an authorised person. Government guidance for councils explains that putting waste out for collection by the council, or its contractor, meets that duty, because the council is an authorised person.
The risk arises when someone else takes it. If fly-tipped waste is traced back to you and you cannot identify who took it, or the carrier you name was not authorised, the council can reasonably conclude that you did not meet the duty. Councils can offer a fixed penalty notice as an alternative to prosecution.
Source: gov.uk
How to check a carrier
If you use a private business to collect waste, such as a skip company or a clearance service, government guidance says you must check that it is on the public register of waste carriers, selecting the upper tier. In England the register is kept by the Environment Agency. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own registers, run by Natural Resources Wales, SEPA and NIEA.
Ask for the registration number before the job and search for it yourself, rather than relying on a number printed on a flyer or van. The name and address on the register should match the business you are dealing with.
- the business's name, address and waste carrier registration number
- a check of that number on the register for your nation
- a written quote describing what will be removed
- a receipt or waste transfer note showing who took the waste and where it is going
- the vehicle registration, if a van collects on the day
Source: gov.uk
Warning signs
Cold-call offers to 'take anything away today' for cash, no written quote, no registration number, or a price far below what licensed disposal could cost are the pattern behind much fly-tipping. An authorised carrier can still fly-tip, as the guidance for councils notes, but a householder who checked the register and kept a receipt has taken reasonable steps and can show it.
If you see waste being dumped, you can report fly-tipping to the council; large-scale dumping and other waste crime can be reported to the Environment Agency.
If you use a skip, remember the skip itself may need a council permit if it stands on the road, which the skip company usually arranges. Ask whether it is included in the price and who is responsible for lights and cones at night.
Source: gov.uk
Items that need special handling
Some items cannot go with general waste. Upholstered domestic seating such as sofas and armchairs may contain persistent organic pollutants and has to be handled so those substances are destroyed, which affects how clearance companies dispose of it. Paints, oils and chemicals, fridges and freezers, and asbestos-containing materials also have their own routes. A good clearance company tells you in the quote how it deals with each and what that costs.
Source: gov.uk
Getting a clearance quote
If you need a clearance, describe the property and what has to go in our request form. It goes to exactly one clearance company in your area that buys it; before that company receives your details, we email you its name, address and phone number. The request is free for you. Offrano checks that buyers are registered businesses, not their waste carrier registration, so check the register yourself before the job.