Any person or business who creates, stores, purchases, transports or disposes of waste is responsible for the management of the waste, and has a duty of care to ensure that each method is done so legally and responsibly.
If you have hired a service provider to transport and dispose of waste, whether it be commercial waste, old furniture, sacks of domestic rubbish, DIY waste, or any other form of waste, you must ensure that the individual/company who is collecting and transporting the waste is licensed.
A Waste Carrier Licence must be applied for and is issued by the Environmental Agency.
If the service provider does not have a licence, or the licence has expired, then they are not permitted to transport your waste.
Under the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989 Dec 5B, it is an offence to provide a waste transport/disposal service without a Waste Carrier Licence. It is a further offence under Environmental Protection Act 1990 Sec 34 to carry out the service without the use of Waste Transfer Notes/Receipts, which outline what waste is being transported/disposed of, where its destination will be, amongst other criteria.
To check whether your waste carrier is licensed, go to:
https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers
If you arrange for waste to be transported and disposed of by an unlicensed waste carrier, you, as the waste owner may be subjected to investigation, which can see duty of care penalties issued to the value of over £400 per incident, or prosecution at court for up to £50,000 and/or imprisonment.
