Waste carrier licence: who needs one and what it costs
It is called a licence but it is a registration, and it is the one piece of paperwork that separates a legitimate waste business from a man with a van. It is also cheap enough that there is no excuse for not having it.
Waste carrier registration: key facts
| Registration | £191.02 |
|---|---|
| Upper tier renewal | £130.25, every 3 years |
| Lower tier | Does not expire and does not need renewing |
| Change of management | £49.62 |
| Penalty for not registering | An unlimited fine |
| How to check one | The Environment Agency public register. Numbers begin CBDU |
Who needs to register
Three activities trigger it. Carrying waste, meaning transporting it. Dealing in waste, meaning buying, selling or disposing of it. Brokering, meaning arranging for someone else to buy, sell or dispose of it. Regulation 25 of the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 is blunt: no person may act as a broker of or dealer in controlled waste unless registered with the appropriate body.
The scope is wider than people expect. A landscaper taking away green waste is carrying waste. A builder removing their own rubble is carrying waste. A scrap dealer buying metal is dealing in waste. A consultant arranging disposal on a client's behalf is brokering. None of those sound like a waste business, and all of them need to be registered.
Upper tier and lower tier
You do not choose; you are told which applies when you register. The practical difference is straightforward: an upper tier registration must be renewed every three years at £130.25, and a lower tier registration does not expire and never needs renewing.
Broadly, carrying only waste you produced yourself tends to fall into lower tier, and registration is usually free in that case. Carrying other people's waste as a commercial service is upper tier. The precise criteria are not set out in the regulations themselves, so the honest position is that the Environment Agency determines it from what you tell them, and lists of qualifying categories circulating online should not be relied on as law.
If your business changes, so does your registration. A change of management costs £49.62 and a change of business type costs the full £191.02, and operating outside what you registered for is the same problem as not registering at all.
Checking somebody else's registration
This takes a minute and it is the single most useful piece of due diligence available to any business that produces waste.
- Ask for the registration number. In England it begins CBDU followed by digits.
- Search the Environment Agency public register by number, business name or postcode.
- Check the name matches the business you are actually dealing with, not an associated company.
- If anything does not add up, call the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506. In Wales, Natural Resources Wales on 0300 065 3000.
Do it before the first collection and keep a note of when you checked. If waste of yours is later fly-tipped, section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires you to have taken reasonable measures to prevent contraventions by others, and an unchecked carrier is precisely the gap a prosecution aims at. You are not automatically liable for the dumping, but you can be prosecuted for the failure to check.
The rest of the UK
Registration is with the Environment Agency in England, Natural Resources Wales in Wales, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in Scotland, and DAERA in Northern Ireland. A carrier working across borders needs to be registered in each relevant nation, which is worth asking about if your waste crosses one.
What registration does not cover
An important limitation. A carrier registration lets a business transport waste. It does not let them keep it, treat it or dispose of it, which needs an environmental permit or a registered exemption for the site. A carrier arriving to collect your cardboard needs a registration; the yard they take it to needs a permit.
It is also not a quality mark. Registration is an administrative process with a fee, not an inspection. It tells you the business exists and is accountable, which is worth a great deal, but it is a floor rather than a recommendation.
Our directory lists companies collecting recyclable waste by postcode, filtered against the public registers, with phone numbers and websites where we have found them.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a waste carrier licence cost?
Registration is £191.02. Upper tier registrations must be renewed every three years at £130.25. Lower tier registrations do not expire and do not need renewing.
Do I need to register if I only carry my own waste?
You still need to register, but carrying only waste you produced yourself usually falls into lower tier, where registration is often free and does not need renewing.
What is the penalty for carrying waste without being registered?
An unlimited fine. Operating outside the scope of what you registered for is treated the same way as not registering at all.
How do I check a waste carrier is registered?
Ask for the registration number, which begins CBDU in England, and search the Environment Agency public register by number, name or postcode. In Wales use Natural Resources Wales.
Does a carrier registration mean a company can also dispose of waste?
No. Registration allows transport only. Keeping, treating or disposing of waste requires an environmental permit or a registered exemption for the site, which is a separate thing entirely.