If you get someone to take away your rubbish for you, it is your responsibility to make sure they are not going to dump or fly-tip it. Because if they do, the law says you could end up with a fine.
Fly tipping can attract a fixed penalty fine up to £400 and this includes rubbish other people have dumped on your behalf.
If you hire someone to dispose of your rubbish you should:
- ask the person who collects your waste to see their registration – it should start with CBDU, followed by a set of numbers. Take a photo if possible.
- use this Government checker to make sure your waste carrier is a genuine registered company.
- ask where they’re proposing to take your waste and if they have a waste transfer note.
Also. you should not pay cash. Ask for an invoice and pay by a secure payment method or cheque, so payments can be traced if the waste is fly-tipped.
It is also a good idea to get more than one quote and expect to pay a reasonable fee.
Why is this important?
Criminals have been known to go door to door offering rubbish removal services for cash-in-hand. That rubbish is then being fly-tipped and if any of it is traced back to you, it could mean a fine of up to £400.
By checking you can make sure that a deal that sounds too good to be true, end up being an expensive mistake!