Duty of Care Waste Records: What UK Businesses Must Keep (2026)

Quick answer: The waste duty of care under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires every UK business that produces, carries, or disposes of waste to manage it responsibly and keep records proving it. That means: store waste safely, transfer it only to registered carriers, describe it accurately, apply the waste hierarchy, and keep waste transfer notes (2 years) and consignment notes (3 years). Failure is an offence with unlimited fines, and can implicate you in fly-tipping prosecutions if you can't show where your waste went.

Update, October 2026: Two changes, neither of which alters what a waste producer must keep today. First, digital waste tracking became mandatory on 1 October 2026 for permitted and licensed waste receiving sites in England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland follow in January 2027; carriers, brokers and dealers are due in October 2027). Defra's guidance says waste transfer notes and hazardous waste consignment notes continue until further notice, with no switch-off date as of 12 October 2026. See what changed on 1 October 2026, and what did not. Second, in England the waste carrier, broker and dealer registration system is being replaced by environmental permits under regulations made on 22 July 2026, with the main provisions in force from 22 July 2027. Existing registrations remain valid until replaced, so the carrier check described below is unchanged for now. Details of both are in the sections that follow.

What the duty of care is

Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 places a "duty of care" on everyone in the waste chain, producers, holders, carriers, and disposers. The principle: you remain responsible for your waste until it reaches a legitimate end point. You can't just hand it over and forget it.

The five duty-of-care obligations

1. Store waste safely: prevent escape, contain it properly, secure against scavenging and fly-tipping
2. Transfer only to authorised persons: registered waste carriers, licensed sites
3. Describe the waste accurately: so the next holder can handle it correctly (EWC codes)
4. Apply the waste hierarchy: reduce, re-use, recycle before disposal
5. Keep records: transfer notes, consignment notes, carrier checks

The records you must keep

See our guides on waste transfer notes and hazardous waste consignment notes.

Checking your waste carrier

You have a positive duty to verify the carrier is registered:

• Check the Environment Agency public register (England), SEPA (Scotland), or NRW (Wales)
• Confirm the registration is current and covers the waste type
• Record that you checked (date, registration number)

If you hand waste to an unregistered carrier who then fly-tips it, you can be prosecuted, even if you believed they were legitimate.

Waste carrier permits from July 2027 (England)

The Environmental Permitting (Waste Controlling or Transporting) and Relevant Functions of Primary Authorities (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/873) were laid in draft in May 2026, approved by both Houses of Parliament and made on 22 July 2026. Preliminary and transitional provisions took effect on 12 August 2026. Everything else comes into force at the end of the 12-month period beginning on the day the regulations were made, which is 22 July 2027. They apply in England only.

The regulations replace carrier, broker and dealer registration with three categories of permitted activity under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016:

• Waste controlling activity: buying or selling waste, or arranging its collection, transport, recovery, disposal, end destination, temporary storage, assessment or classification, including on behalf of others and without ever taking possession of it (broadly, today's brokers and dealers)
• Waste transporting activity: moving waste between locations (today's carriers)
• Waste controlling-transporting activity: both, which is where most skip companies and collection firms will sit

Low-risk activities such as a business transporting only its own waste will be registered exemptions rather than permits. Existing registrations stay in force until a permit or exemption is granted or the registrant's compliance date arrives: most registered carriers move across when their current registration falls due for renewal, and certain specified registrants have 12 months from 22 July 2027. Defra has said applicants will face identity, criminal record and technical competence checks before a permit is granted, and that illegally transporting or dealing in waste will carry up to five years' imprisonment.

For your records, nothing changes until 22 July 2027. After that, the check you note down for an English carrier becomes a permit or registered exemption number rather than a registration number, and during the transition either may be valid. Keep dated evidence of what you checked and when.

The waste hierarchy

Businesses must apply and declare the waste hierarchy:

1. Prevention: produce less waste
2. Preparing for re-use: repair, refurbish
3. Recycling: turn into new materials
4. Other recovery: energy from waste
5. Disposal: landfill, as the last resort

The declaration appears on waste transfer notes.

Why this matters, fly-tipping liability

The biggest risk of poor duty-of-care records is fly-tipping liability. If your waste is found fly-tipped and you can't produce records showing you transferred it to a registered carrier, you can be held responsible, even though someone else dumped it. Good records are your defence.

Common duty-of-care failures

1. No waste transfer notes for commercial collections
2. Not checking the carrier's registration
3. Using a "man with a van" who isn't a registered carrier
4. Inaccurate waste descriptions / missing EWC codes
5. Discarding records before the retention period
6. Not applying or declaring the waste hierarchy

FAQs

Does the duty of care apply to small businesses?

Yes, every business producing waste, regardless of size, including sole traders and home-based businesses.

What if I use the council's commercial waste service?

You still need a waste transfer note (often a season ticket) and should keep it. The council is a registered carrier, but the duty-of-care records remain your responsibility.

Can I be fined for someone else fly-tipping my waste?

Yes. If you can't show you transferred it to a registered carrier with proper records. That's exactly why the duty of care and its records exist.

Is digital waste tracking replacing paper records?

Not yet. The government's digital waste tracking service records each load received at a permitted or licensed site as structured data, but Defra's guidance says waste transfer notes and hazardous waste consignment notes continue until further notice alongside it. The service entered public beta on 28 April 2026 and has been mandatory for receiving sites in England and Wales since 1 October 2026, with Scotland and Northern Ireland following in January 2027 and waste carriers, brokers and dealers due in October 2027. As of 12 October 2026 there is no switch-off date for the paperwork. Keep your transfer notes and consignment notes exactly as before.

What changes for waste carriers in 2027?

In England, carrier, broker and dealer registration is replaced by environmental permits (or registered exemptions for low-risk activities) from 22 July 2027 under SI 2026/873. Existing registrations remain valid until replaced. From then, record the carrier's permit or exemption number when you check them.

Related guides

• Waste transfer notes: UK business guide
• Hazardous waste consignment notes
• Duty of care waste records

Primary sources

Defra and Welsh Government, gov.ukDigital waste tracking: check if you need to report the waste you receive, published 7 August 2026, updated 25 September 2026legislation.gov.ukThe Environmental Permitting (Waste Controlling or Transporting) and Relevant Functions of Primary Authorities (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/873), made 22 July 2026letsrecycle.comStrengthened waste crime laws to be laid in Parliament this week, 19 May 2026letsrecycle.comDigital Waste Tracking goes live: what happens now?, 1 October 2026

Last reviewed 2026-10-12 by Jamie Dawson, Editor.