Hiring someone to clear your house or garden feels straightforward enough. You agree a price, they turn up with a van, and the rubbish disappears. Job done. Except it is not always that simple, and if the person you hired dumps your waste illegally, you could end up with a fine even though you never went near the fly-tip yourself.
This page explains exactly how the law works, what you need to check before you book anyone, and how to protect yourself.
Your Duty of Care Does Not End When the Van Drives Away
Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, anyone who produces waste, whether that is a household, a landlord clearing a rental property, or a business owner, has a legal duty of care for that waste. You are responsible for making sure it is handled, transported, and disposed of properly.
That responsibility does not transfer the moment someone loads your old sofa onto a vehicle. If the person you hired then fly-tips that waste in a lay-by or on farmland, you can still be held liable. The Environment Agency and local councils take this seriously, and they have the powers to back it up.
This applies equally to a homeowner booking a house clearance and a landlord emptying a property between tenants. It applies to businesses arranging commercial collections. The waste you produce is your responsibility until it reaches a legitimate disposal facility.
How to Check a Waste Carrier on the Environment Agency Register
The simplest and most important check you can do takes about two minutes. The Environment Agency maintains a public register of all licensed waste carriers. You can search it for free at gov.uk.
All you need is the company name or their licence number. A registered carrier will have a licence reference beginning with CB (for businesses) or an individual registration number. If they are not on the register, they are not legal, and you should not use them.
Any reputable waste clearance company will give you their licence number upfront. If they hesitate, deflect, or cannot produce one, that is all you need to know.
What Is a Waste Transfer Note?
Alongside the licence check, you should always receive a waste transfer note when waste is collected from your property. This is a document that records what waste has been taken, in what quantity, and where it is going. Both parties, the person handing over the waste and the carrier collecting it, sign it.
For most household and garden clearance jobs this is a straightforward piece of paperwork. You should keep your copy for at least two years. If waste from your property is later found fly-tipped and you cannot produce a transfer note, proving you acted responsibly becomes much harder.
The Penalties Are Real
Fly-tipping is not a minor offence. Councils can issue fixed penalty notices to householders who fail their duty of care. These currently sit at up to £600, but cases involving larger quantities or deliberate negligence can go to court, where fines are unlimited. Businesses face even greater exposure, including reputational damage that can affect contracts and trading relationships.
The Environment Agency and councils are actively pursuing these cases. It is not a theoretical risk.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
Not every man with a van and a cheerful manner is operating legally. Common warning signs include a cash-only price that seems too good to be true, no written quote, no licence number offered, and no mention of a waste transfer note. If someone is vague about where your rubbish will end up, that vagueness is not an accident.
For garden clearances in particular, where volumes of green waste, soil, and bulky material can be significant, the temptation for unscrupulous operators to dump rather than pay disposal costs is real. Do not let your waste become someone else’s crime scene.
Clear 365 Is a Fully Licensed Waste Carrier
Clear 365 Limited holds a valid Environment Agency waste carrier licence. We issue waste transfer notes as standard, we are transparent about how waste is disposed of, and we work across a wide range of locations including Kent, Medway, Gravesend, and Rochester.
When you book with us, your duty of care is covered. No guesswork, no paperwork headaches, no nasty surprises.
If you want a straightforward quote from a carrier you can actually verify, get in touch with Clear 365 today.
