Trade guide
Business Waste and Duty of Care: What Every Owner Must Know
The legal duty of care for commercial waste, the paperwork you must keep, and how compliant skip hire protects your business.
What duty of care actually means for your business
Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, every business that produces waste is legally responsible for it from the moment it is created until it reaches a licensed disposal site. This is called the duty of care. It does not end when the skip is collected. If your waste is later found fly-tipped or sent to an unlicensed site, your business can be prosecuted even if you paid someone else to remove it.
The duty of care applies to all businesses, trades and sole traders. It covers offices, building sites, shops, factories, rental properties and any other commercial operation. Domestic householders are not subject to the same rules, but the moment you are removing waste in connection with a business activity, commercial rules apply.
The paperwork you must keep
When a licensed waste carrier collects your commercial waste, they must provide a waste transfer note (WTN). This document records who produced the waste, who is carrying it, what type of waste it is (described using the European Waste Catalogue codes), and where it is going. You are legally required to keep a copy of every waste transfer note for at least two years. Waste carriers must keep their copy for the same period. Regulators can request these at any time.
A single waste transfer note can cover multiple collections of the same waste type over a 12-month period, which is called a season ticket arrangement. This is useful for businesses that use skip hire regularly. You do not need a new form every time, but both parties must have signed the original.
How to check your skip hire company is licensed
Before you hand your waste to any carrier, you must take reasonable steps to verify they are registered. In England, waste carriers must be registered with the Environment Agency. You can search the public register at environment.data.gov.uk/public-register. The carrier registration number should appear on their paperwork and website. Using an unregistered carrier is a criminal offence for the business that commissioned the collection, not just the carrier.
What happens if things go wrong
Penalties for duty of care breaches range from a fixed penalty notice of up to £400 for less serious cases to an unlimited fine and criminal prosecution in the courts for serious or repeated offences. Where waste is found fly-tipped, the Environment Agency traces it back through the waste transfer note chain. Businesses that cannot produce valid paperwork, or that used an unregistered carrier, face the strongest enforcement action.
Skip hire and duty of care
Hiring a skip from a licensed company and keeping the waste transfer note is the most straightforward way for most small businesses to meet their duty of care. Valley Skip Hire is a licensed waste carrier. Every commercial hire comes with a waste transfer note. We segregate and process waste at a licensed facility, and we can confirm our Environment Agency registration number on request. Over 92% of the material we collect is recycled or recovered, which also satisfies the requirement to take reasonable steps to recover value from waste before disposal.
Trade accounts and regular collections
If your business generates waste regularly, a trade account removes the admin of arranging a new hire each time. We hold your business details, agree a standard waste description for your season ticket WTN, and can arrange skips on short notice. Builders, shopfitters, landlords and facilities teams find this especially useful when projects overlap or schedules change at short notice.
What you still need to do on site
Skip hire handles collection and disposal, but you remain responsible for what goes into the skip. Prohibited items such as asbestos, electrical items containing refrigerants (fridges and freezers), televisions and monitors, tyres, batteries, plasterboard, paint and other hazardous materials cannot go in a general skip. Mixing these in exposes your business to additional liability. If your site generates these materials, we can advise on separate licensed disposal routes.
FAQs
Do I need a waste transfer note for every skip collection?
Yes, but a single signed waste transfer note can cover multiple collections of the same waste type over 12 months. This is called a season ticket. You must keep your copy for at least two years.
What if I am a sole trader doing a house clearance for someone else?
If you are paid to remove waste, it is commercial waste and duty of care applies. You need to use a licensed carrier and keep waste transfer notes. The domestic householder exemption only applies when the owner clears their own property themselves.
How do I check that Valley Skip Hire is a registered waste carrier?
You can search the Environment Agency public register at environment.data.gov.uk/public-register. We can also provide our carrier registration number directly. It is reasonable to ask any skip company for this before booking.
Can my business put general office waste in a skip?
General office waste such as furniture, cardboard, broken equipment and fitout materials can go in a skip. Fluorescent tubes, batteries, electrical items and anything classified as hazardous waste must be disposed of separately through a licensed hazardous waste route.