What is the “Duty of Care”?
Every waste producer, including households, is under a legal obligation to ensure the waste they produce is managed correctly. If you pass any waste onto someone else for disposal and they subsequently dump the material, you will be guilty of the offence. Always ensure that anyone you contract to remove your waste is registered with the Environment Agency to carry such material and can demonstrate where it is to be taken. Please see the Environment Agency website for more information. As a general rule if someone quotes you a very low price for removing your waste that sounds ‘too good to be true’, it possibly is. For advice, please contact the Customer Helpline. Please see our A to Z of recycling for information on the Householders Duty of Care.Back to questions.
The duty of care is a law which says that you must take all reasonable steps to keep waste safe. If you give waste to someone else, you must be sure they are authorised to take it and can transport, recycle or dispose of it safely. For more information see the DEFRA Duty of Care leaflet or visit the DEFRA website.
. The Duty of Care is set out in section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and associated regulations. It applies to anyone who is the holder of controlled waste. Persons concerned with controlled waste must ensure that the waste is managed properly, recovered or disposed of safely, does not cause harm to human health or pollution of the environment and is only transferred to someone who is authorised to receive it. The duty applies to any person who produces, imports, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste or as a broker has control of such waste. Breach of the Duty of Care is an offence, with a penalty of up to £5,000 on summary conviction or an unlimited fine on conviction on indictment.
