Guide
Waste carriers licence check: is a carrier registered?
Updated
If your waste is fly-tipped, the question you will be asked is who you gave it to and what you checked. A waste carrier registration check takes about a minute and it is free. Check a waste carriers licence on the public register before the waste leaves your site.
The public registers
- England: the Environment Agency's public register of waste carriers, brokers and dealers, searchable by registration number, business name or postcode. The duty of care code also gives the Environment Agency's phone line, 03708 506 506.
- Wales: the NRW public register, or 0300 065 3000.
- Scotland: for a SEPA waste carriers licence check, SEPA's register of waste carriers and brokers. SEPA notes that transporters and brokers based in England and Wales must be registered with the Environment Agency or NRW instead.
What the duty of care actually asks of you
The duty of care sits in section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and the statutory code of practice explains how to meet it. Failure to comply is an offence "with no upper limit on the courts' power to fine", and in some cases a fixed penalty notice can be issued instead of prosecution (gov.uk).
There is no legal requirement to keep the check itself
This is the part most guidance gets wrong. The code says in terms: "There is no legal requirement to keep records when you check a carrier is registered or a site is permitted or exempt, and a lack of records does not prove you did not meet your duty of care." It then says that records help you prove it if the waste is later fly-tipped, and suggests recording the registration, permit or exemption number, keeping a receipt showing the operator's business details, photographing the carrier's registration, or noting the vehicle registration, make, model and colour.
What you must keep
The written description of the waste is different, and it is compulsory. The code sets out the retention periods: 2 years for non-hazardous waste and for season tickets, three years for hazardous waste consignment notes, and longer for landfill operators. If an authorised officer asks for the written description and you cannot produce it, they can issue a fixed penalty notice.
The two-minute version
- Ask for the waste carrier registration number, the waste carrier number that should be on the carrier's paperwork. An upper tier number starts CBDU, which is what people mean by a CBDU number.
- Search it on the regulator's public register for the nation the carrier is based in, and check the name matches the business you are actually paying.
- Check the registration is current, not expired, and that it covers the activity, carrier, broker or dealer.
- Complete the waste transfer note, keep your copy for 2 years for non-hazardous waste, and note the registration number and vehicle details while you are there.
Cheap and cash-only, no paperwork, and a number that does not appear on the register are the three signals that end with your waste in a lay-by and your name on the invoice inside it.