By law, it is legal to transport personal waste without charge in England and Wales. If you carry, dispose of or trade in waste on behalf of somebody else though, especially as part of a business model, you will need an upper tier waste carriers licence.
This licence costs £154 (the lower tier licence is free, but restricted to non-commercial household waste), and must be renewed every 3 years at an additional charge of £105. You must also renew your waste carriers licence if your circumstances change, such as moving to a new address. If you switch a business model involving waste from a sole trader to a limited company, you must apply for an entirely new licence.
Always ensure that you have a relevant, active and up-to-date waste carriers licence. If you are unable to produce evidence of this document when asked, or have applied for a free lower tier licence when your business model demands an upper tier document, you could be liable for a fine of up to £5,000.
Even if you hold a Waste Carriers Licence, your use of waste remains governed by the waste (England and Wales) Regulations Act of 2011, and you must observe waste duty of care requirements under the Environmental Protection Act of 1990. In short, these rules include:
Depositing clearly-labelled waste in a licenced location that will not damage the environment (in other words – absolutely no fly tipping!)
- No depositing of hazardous or harmful waste without appropriate steps
- Ensuring that waste does not escape your presence while in transit
- Arranging separate collections of paper, metal, plastic and glass
- Obeying all domestic and local laws when importing and exporting waste to other countries
We strongly recommend studying these rules before applying for a waste carriers licence to avoid falling foul of the law.