Every UK business that creates, moves, or handles waste carries a legal “duty of care” for that waste. This checker maps your role and your waste type to the specific documents and registrations the law requires, so you do not get caught out by a missing transfer note or an unregistered carrier.
How it works
The duty of care comes from section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, expanded by the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 and the Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005. The rules attach to your role in the chain:
- A producer must describe the waste, apply the waste hierarchy, and only pass waste to an authorised next holder.
- A carrier who transports controlled waste in the course of business must register with the Environment Agency. Lower tier is for carrying only your own non-hazardous, non-construction waste; everything else is upper tier.
- Any transfer of non-hazardous waste needs a Waste Transfer Note kept for two years. Hazardous waste instead needs a Consignment Note kept for three years, plus a quarterly consignee return.
The tool combines these rules to produce the exact obligations for your scenario.
Worked example
A landscaping firm carrying its own non-hazardous green waste needs only a lower-tier carrier registration and a transfer note when the waste is tipped at a permitted site. If the same firm starts collecting paint tins (hazardous waste under the Hazardous Waste Regulations), it now needs upper-tier carrier registration and a consignment note rather than a transfer note — and must keep that note for three years instead of two.
What the EWC code is and why it matters
Every type of controlled waste has an European Waste Catalogue (EWC) code — a six-digit classification used on waste transfer notes and consignment notes to describe the waste. Producers are responsible for identifying the correct EWC code for their waste. An asterisked code (for example, 08 01 11*) indicates hazardous waste and triggers the more demanding consignment-note regime. The Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales publish guidance on EWC codes, and many waste contractors will help you identify the right code during collection.
Carrying your own waste: what “lower tier” really means
A business can carry its own non-hazardous, non-construction waste without upper-tier registration — this is called lower-tier registration, which is free, permanent, and does not require renewal. However, “own waste” is interpreted strictly: it must be waste your business produced in the course of its activities, not waste you collected from customers or clients. The moment you transport waste on behalf of another party — even informally — you need upper-tier registration.
Lower-tier carriers do not need to carry a registration certificate on the vehicle, but they must still complete a waste transfer note when the waste changes hands at the disposal site.
Penalties for non-compliance
The Environment Agency and local authorities can prosecute businesses that fail to meet their waste duty of care. Penalties for carrying or disposing of waste without the required registration or documentation can include unlimited fines in serious cases. Fly-tipping — depositing waste illegally — is a criminal offence with potentially severe consequences for both the person who dumped the waste and, in some circumstances, the business whose waste it was.
Businesses that transfer waste to an unregistered carrier may also be held liable if that carrier illegally disposes of the waste, since part of the duty of care requires passing waste only to authorised handlers.
Notes
There is no minimum quantity for the duty of care — even a single bag of business waste is covered. This guidance applies to England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have parallel legislation with some differences. This is not legal advice — confirm your specific obligations with the Environment Agency or the relevant devolved authority.