Waste duty of care
The duty does not end when the waste leaves the yard. If it is fly-tipped down the road, the question is what you did to check who took it.
What the law requires
Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 imposes a duty of care on anyone who imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste. That includes taking all reasonable measures to prevent unauthorised deposit, to prevent escape of the waste, and to ensure that it is transferred only to an authorised person. A written description of the waste must be provided on transfer, and transfer notes must be kept — ordinarily for two years for waste transfer notes, and three years for hazardous waste consignment notes. A statutory Code of Practice sets out what the duty means in practice.
Legislation referred to on this page: Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 34 · Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 · Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005. Named so you can read the source. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and whether a duty applies to your organisation is a question for you and your adviser.
Who it applies to
- Any business producing controlled waste, which includes ordinary commercial waste from an office.
- Checking that the carrier is registered with the Environment Agency is part of the duty, not an optional extra.
- Hazardous waste — including fluorescent tubes, batteries and some electrical equipment — carries additional requirements.
What you have to be able to show
The list an inspector, insurer or auditor actually works through.
- Waste transfer notes for the retention period, matching actual collections.
- The carrier's registration, and when you last checked it was current.
- A written description of the waste, accurate for what was actually transferred.
- Consignment notes for hazardous waste, and the returns that go with them.
- Where the waste ended up, where you are expected to know.
How DutyHub records it
DutyHub does not carry out any of the work below. It records who did, when, and what they found.
Carrier registration as an expiring check
The registration is held against the supplier with its expiry, so a lapsed carrier is caught before the next collection rather than after an incident.
Transfer notes filed against the collection
Each note is evidence for a dated collection, which makes a missing month visible.
Retention that disposes on time
Two years and three years are different retention rules, applied per document type rather than by one blanket policy.
Start with what applies to you
Add your premises and answer a short set of questions about them. DutyHub works out which duties land on which building, and shows you the gaps before anybody else finds them.
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