Waste Transfer Notes & the Duty of Care — What Trades Must Document (2026)

The Waste Duty of Care

The duty of care for waste comes from section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. It applies to anyone who produces, imports, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste — which covers virtually every trade business. It is a legal duty, not best practice, and it sits on you from the moment the waste is created until it is properly disposed of.

In plain terms, the duty of care requires you to take all reasonable steps to:

• Keep the waste safe and secure so it can't escape, blow away or cause pollution while it's in your control
• Only transfer it to an authorised person — typically a registered waste carrier, a licensed waste site, or a local authority
• Provide a written description of the waste so the next person can handle, recover or dispose of it safely and lawfully
• Keep records of the transfer (the Waste Transfer Note) and be able to produce them on request

The duty is shared along the chain. You don't get to wash your hands of the waste simply because someone else has taken it — you have to take reasonable steps to check that whoever you hand it to is allowed to take it. This guide deals with general, non-hazardous waste. Hazardous waste (asbestos, certain solvents, fluorescent tubes, some paints and oils) follows a stricter consignment-note regime that is covered separately.

The Waste Transfer Note (WTN)

The Waste Transfer Note is the document that must accompany every transfer of non-hazardous controlled waste from one party to another. If you fill a skip and a skip company takes it away, that's a transfer. If you load your own van and tip at a licensed transfer station, that's a transfer. Each one needs a WTN, completed and signed by both parties.

A valid WTN must contain enough detail for the next holder to deal with the waste lawfully. The required information is:

• A clear description of the waste — what it actually is (e.g. "mixed construction and demolition waste", "timber offcuts", "mixed general waste")
• The relevant EWC / List of Wastes code(s) — the six-digit European Waste Catalogue code that classifies the waste type
• The quantity of waste (weight or volume — e.g. "one 8-yard skip" or "approx 1.5 tonnes")
• How the waste is contained — loose, in a skip, in bags, in a sealed container
• The names and addresses of both parties (the person transferring it and the person receiving it)
• Your business SIC code (Standard Industrial Classification — the code for your trade)
• Whether the transferor is the waste producer, importer or carrier, plus the relevant declarations
• The date and place of transfer
• The signatures of both parties

You must keep a copy of every Waste Transfer Note for at least two years, and produce it if an enforcement officer asks. Many skip companies and licensed carriers will issue the WTN for you and pre-fill their own details — but it's your job as the producer to check the description and EWC code are accurate and that the note is complete before you sign it. A blank or vague WTN is not much better than no note at all if it's ever tested.

Season Tickets — One Note for Regular Collections

If you transfer the same kind of waste, between the same parties, in the same way, on a regular basis, you don't need a fresh note every single time. A single Waste Transfer Note can cover multiple transfers over a period of up to 12 months — commonly called a "season ticket".

This is genuinely useful for a trade with a standing arrangement — say a regular weekly skip exchange or a fortnightly collection of the same mixed waste. The description, EWC code and parties stay the same across the period, so one correctly completed note covers the lot. The condition is that the waste and the arrangement really are the same each time; if the type of waste changes, you need a new note that reflects it. You still keep the note for two years after the last transfer it covers.

Registered Waste Carriers — and Checking Theirs

There are two sides to the carrier rule, and trades often miss the second one.

First, your own registration. If you transport waste as part of your business — including your own waste in your own van — you generally need to be a registered waste carrier with the Environment Agency. There are two tiers:

• Lower tier registration is free and is intended for businesses that only carry their own waste in limited circumstances (and certain bodies like charities). It does not need renewing in the same way as upper tier.
• Upper tier registration is paid, renewable (typically every three years), and is required if you carry, transport or deal in other people's waste, or if you carry construction and demolition waste — even your own. Most builders, joiners, electricians and plumbers who carry rubble or strip-out waste fall into upper tier.

If you're unsure which tier applies, treat construction and demolition waste as the trigger: carrying it almost always means upper tier. The penalty for carrying waste without the correct registration is a fine, and it undermines any duty-of-care defence.

Second, check the people who take your waste. When you hand waste to a skip firm, a clearance company or a "man with a van", you must take reasonable steps to confirm they are a registered carrier or are otherwise authorised. The Environment Agency keeps a public register of waste carriers you can search by name or registration number. Checking it takes a couple of minutes and is exactly the kind of "reasonable step" that protects you if the waste later goes astray. Note the carrier's registration number on your records.

The Move to Digital Waste Tracking

The UK is moving away from paper transfer and consignment notes toward a mandatory digital waste tracking service (often referred to as "Track"). The aim is to record every waste movement electronically in a single national system, making it far harder for waste to disappear into illegal dumping or unregistered operators.

Once digital tracking applies, you'll record the same core information — description, EWC code, quantity, parties, carrier — but through the online service rather than a paper pad. The rollout is being phased in, and exact start dates and which waste streams are covered first can change. Because the timeline has shifted before, don't assume a specific date from memory: check the current Environment Agency / GOV.UK guidance for the live requirement and your start date, and make sure whoever handles your waste paperwork knows it's coming. Until digital tracking is mandatory for your situation, the paper WTN rules above still apply.

Fly-Tipping Liability — Why the Paperwork Matters

This is the part that turns a filing chore into something worth getting right. If waste you produced is fly-tipped — dumped illegally — the authorities will try to trace it back to its source. If they find an address label, an invoice, a delivery note or any other identifying paperwork in the dumped pile, the trail can lead straight to you.

If you cannot show that you passed that waste to an authorised person with a valid Waste Transfer Note, you can be prosecuted under the duty of care even though you didn't do the dumping. The original producer carries liability because they failed to take reasonable steps to ensure the waste was handled lawfully. Penalties include fixed penalty notices, substantial fines and, in serious cases, prosecution.

The flip side is your protection. If you can produce a completed WTN, the carrier's registration number, and evidence that you checked the public register, you've demonstrated reasonable steps and the liability sits with the operator who actually broke the law. The two years of notes in your file are, in effect, your insurance against being blamed for someone else's fly-tipping. That is the single best reason to keep them properly.

What a Waste Transfer Note Must Include

Practical Tips for Trades

• Check the carrier register before you hand over waste. Search the Environment Agency public register by name or registration number, and note the number on your records. It takes two minutes and is the clearest evidence of a reasonable step.
• Keep every WTN for at least two years. File them by job or by month — a shoebox of crumpled notes is no use if an officer asks for a specific transfer.
• Get an accurate description and EWC code. Don't sign a note that just says "waste". A vague or wrong description weakens your position and can invalidate the note.
• Don't use a "man with a van" who can't show registration. A cheap clearance with no paperwork is the classic route to your waste being fly-tipped — and to you carrying the liability. No registration, no job.
• Use a season ticket for regular collections. If the same waste goes to the same place the same way, one note can cover up to 12 months — less paperwork, same protection.
• Confirm your own carrier registration tier. If you carry construction and demolition waste or other people's waste, you almost certainly need upper tier. Renew it before it lapses.
• Get ready for digital tracking. Check the current GOV.UK requirement and start date, and make sure the person who handles your waste records knows the switch is coming.