Know what to do with your waste

Householders must ensure that household waste is properly disposed of.

Your duty of care

Anyone you are paying to collect waste on your behalf needs a waste carriers licence and should provide evidence of disposal at a properly licenced site. By checking that the person you are giving your waste to has one of these you are ensuring your waste won’t end up in the wrong place.

The householder duty of care is provided by Section 34 (2A) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (inserted by the Household Waste Duty of Care Regulations 2005). A breach of the household duty of care would also attract an unlimited fine if convicted. 

Why does it matter?

If you give waste to a third party waste carrier and they fly tip, you are liable for a fine and prosecution, know what to do with your waste and check if your waste carrier has a licence. 

Is your waste household or business waste?

It can be convenient to find someone online that offers ‘tip runs’ at a very affordable price, but as soon as you pay for your waste to be taken away it becomes business waste which is not accepted at the County Councils Household Recycling Centres.

Also, if you hire a company to do work at your property (such as building, gardening, scrap collection, or fitting a new kitchen), you and the company are both responsible for the waste they produce, including transport and disposal. It is also automatically business waste and needs to be disposed of at a licenced site that is not a County Council Household Recycling Centre.

Examples of business waste:

• Anyone that you pay to do a service in your home eg gardener, cleaner, builder
• Waste that you have paid to be taken away from your home eg skips, 'tip runs'

Waste that you generate yourself, in your own home is household waste and is accepted at the Household Recycling Centres.

Examples of household waste:

• Waste that you make by doing your own renovation or diy
• Waste that you help drive a family member to a HRC if they are unable to drive?
• Clearing a family members home on their behalf if they have passed away or moved etc?

What should you do to protect yourself?

Suspect all waste carriers. Don't let them take your rubbish until they provide proof of registration. Note their vehicle's registration plate.

How to check a waste carrier:

• Visit the Environment Agency register here.
• Or call 0800 80 70 60 (24 hour service)
• You can also check the public registers online here to search for environmental permits and licences, exemptions, waste carriers, brokers and dealers, and scrap metal dealers
• Report suspicious operators to the Environment Agency here.

Are you accidentally fly tipping?

There are other ways that some of us fly tip without meaning to. This could be anything from leaving a charity shop donation by their door because they aren’t open, to leaving recycling next to a bring bank because it is full. While good intentioned, these actions can cause just as many problems as intentionally fly tipping so make sure you know what to do with your waste.

What should you do with your waste instead?

Ask the Waste Wizard- an online tool that you can put your postcode in to and the item you are trying to get rid of and it will tell you the best way to get rid of it.

Take it to a Household Recycling Centre- we have 5 of them in the county that can take most household waste. Find out what you can take, where your nearest site is and how to book here.

Use your kerbside collection for smaller household items- you can recycle a large variety of materials in Gloucestershire and most items that aren't recyclable can go in your refuse. Visit your district council's website for full details on which bins to use.

Book a bulky waste collection for big items with your district council- most collect 3 items for under £30 on a day of your choosing. Find out more here.

Donate any unwanted items to a local reuse organisation such as a charity shop or sell online on a peer to peer group.