Household waste duty of care

Everyone has a legal responsibility to ensure their waste is properly disposed of by an authorised person. Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Section 34, a breach of the duty of care could lead to an unlimited fine in the Magistrates or Crown Court if convicted.

If waste originating from your property is found to have been fly-tipped, you must provide us with details of who you gave it to. We can then take the matter up with that person or company directly. If you cannot provide that information when asked, you may receive a fine.

How to dispose of your waste

You should be able to dispose of most of your household waste using the services that we provide, such as:

• kerbside rubbish, recycling and food waste collections (or bin store collections)
• household waste recycling centres
• mini recycling centres
• bulky waste collection service

If you choose to use someone else to collect and dispose of your waste, it is your responsibility to:

• make sure that the person or company holds a valid waste carriers licence with the Environment Agency - if they don't have one, don't use them
• keep a record of who collected your waste, what they collected, when they collected it, and where they will dispose of it

If you do use a licensed private waste company:

• don't be afraid to ask questions - legitimate, law-abiding professionals will not object to answering them
• beware of rogue traders
• say no to uninvited offers 

Get rid of your rubbish the right way.

Watch our video for more information about your duty of care.