their customers with proper paperwork. This paperwork must include their contact details and a description of the waste that needs to be disposed.
Duty of care
Businesses have a duty of care when collecting and disposing of their business waste. Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, businesses must take reasonable steps to prevent harmful waste management, including keeping the waste in secure containers, preventing it from escaping, and providing an accurate description of the waste when transferring it. Failure to meet these standards can lead to legal action.
A duty of care certificate must accompany each load of business waste. This documentation will help businesses track the waste’s journey from its creation to disposal. It is also mandatory for companies that collect waste to use a licensed waste carrier.
Fly-tipping
The current data on fly-tipping are not comprehensive, and are only published quarterly. As a result, they do not allow for detailed analysis and do not consider the effect of seasonal changes. Additionally, they do not account for the amount of fly-tipping occurring on private land. Therefore, they do not provide the full picture of the problem.
Fly-tipping incidents are reported to local authorities in line with their enforcement policy. Local authorities can issue fixed penalty notices and other forms of legal enforcement to deter fly-tipping. They can also pursue prosecutions against those responsible for fly-tipping incidents using their existing powers of prosecution. A conviction for fly-tipping may lead to an unlimited fine, or even prison.
