Waste license?

bluedrop

Hi all,
I have a few doors, a part of my old fence, an old shelf, old kitchen worktop, some kitchen cabinets and some cardboard. I want to get rid of them....someone came around to quote. I asked if he has waste license and he says it's only needed for commercial waste. It's not needed for taking domestic waste in a small van to a tip?

Do I need someone with a waste license or just a man with a van?

andyhop

All traders who remove waste must have a license. Does not matter if its one bag or a large skip full

No license and he could be dumping at the side of the road!

Stooby2

If he's earning money taking waste to a tip then he needs a waste licence to transport it. I'd find someone else who is licensed as this guy may well take your waste then dump it in the local woods.

Nick_C

Anyone carrying waste on a commercial basis, or waste produced by a commercial activity, must have a waste carrier's license.

You have a legal duty to ensure that anyone who removes waste from your home (other than the Council or their contractor) is a licensed waste carrier. If you allow someone who is not licensed to take your waste away, you are guilty of an offence and could be prosecuted.

You should check the public registers at http://epr.environment-agency.gov.uk/ePRInternet/SearchRegisters.aspx

The requirement is not just for people/businesses who collect and dispose of waste as their main business. It also applies to any tradesman doing work at your home - plumbers, builders etc, if that work generates waste which they take away themselves for disposal.

keystone

andyhop wrote: »

No license and he could be dumping at the side of the road!

Stooby2 wrote: »

If he's earning money taking waste to a tip then he needs a waste licence to transport it. I'd find someone else who is licensed as this guy may well take your waste then dump it in the local woods.

Even if he has a Waste Carriers Licence you still have no absolute guarantee that it's not going to be flytipped. The Licence is for Carriage not Disposal. In any event the tip are unlikely to check. Its the enviro-stasi from the government stopping the vehicle at the side of the road you have to watch out for. In that respect it's just not worth not having one. It's £ 150 ish for 3 years.

Cheers

leveller2911

Agree 100% with Keystone.I have a small Joinery workshop and have a contract for a skip in my yard all year round.Its emptied when Its full and I have never had a WCL and don't believe I should have to have one. Having one doesn't mean a tradesman will not fly-tip and not having one doesn't mean they would fly-tip. Its just a money making exercise for the local Authority.

In over 15 years I have never been stopped and checked to see if I'm carrying rubbish and my van is sign written so its pretty obvious what I do for a living. Having said all of that re the OP I don't think I would trust the guy who came round because he clearly doesn't know the rules and may well fly-tip. I always make my customers aware of my situation (skip back at my yard) and let them make the decision.I can produce the skip companies invoices if they wish to see them and also pop to my yard and see for themselves where the rubbish goes.

Nick_C

leveller2911 wrote: »

I have a small Joinery workshop and have a contract for a skip in my yard all year round.Its emptied when Its full and I have never had a WCL and don't believe I should have to have one. Its just a money making exercise for the local Authority.

You have to have one because it is a legal requirement.

It's not a money making exercise for the Local Authority. It is the Environment Agency that issues the licenses. It is £154 to apply for your first license, and the renewal fee after 3 years is currently £105.

Personally, I would have thought £1 a week was a small price to pay to comply with the law.

Apart from the fact that you are breaking the law on a regular basis, have you considered that if you were in accident in your vehicle, your violation might affect your insurance cover?

Nick_C

keystone wrote: »

Even if he has a Waste Carriers Licence you still have no absolute guarantee that it's not going to be flytipped. The Licence is for Carriage not Disposal.

That is true, you have no guarantee that a Licensed Waste Carrier will dispose of the waste properly. However, as a householder, you have a legal duty (Section 34 of the Environment Protection Act, as amended by the Waste Regulations (1995)) to take reasonable measures to make sure that anyone transporting waste from your premises is doing so legally.

If you employ a tradesman who is a licensed waste carrier, it is not your problem if he subsequently flytips the waste. If he is not licensed and the waste is flytipped, you could be prosecuted.

leveller2911

Nick_C wrote: »

You have to have one because it is a legal requirement.

It's not a money making exercise for the Local Authority. It is the Environment
Agency that issues the licenses. It is £154 to apply for your first license,
and the renewal fee after 3 years is currently £105.

The fact is it is yet more bureaucracy that business has to contend with. Rather than clamping down on the flytippers with harsh sentances they would rather have a revenue raising scheme that penalises everyone from the customer to the contractor.

Business already pay £1,000,s each year to the Local Authority for business rates. Money for which they receive no services at all, not even their rubbish cleared so whey should they pay a penny more?.

Apart from the fact that you are breaking the law on a regular basis, have you
considered that if you were in accident in your vehicle, your violation might
affect your insurance cover?

In truth we all break the law in some way every day ,from doing 35 mph in a 30 mph limit to dropping litter in the local park. Can you post some links to where insurance claims have been rejected due to a van driver having a bag of wooden offcuts in the back of his van?..

Please explain how this licence scheme will stop fly-tippers? Until it can be proved then its unjust. It may well be the law but its bad law and should be resisted IMO.

I'm sure your intentions are cight but your very naive if you think some scumbag fly-tipper will give a flying fig about the enviroment.As I mentioned I have a skip contract and have one permanantly in my yard.Why shouldn't this fact be enough to prove I would not fly-tip?.

I don't think even the Enviroment Authority are that keen on it ,as I said In over 15 years I have never known a single contractor in my locality that has been checked.

southcoastrgi

I haven't got one & have no intention of getting one, just more red tape & someone trying to get money off of me for no reason, another rip off Britian scam

ValHaller

Nick_C wrote: »

Personally, I would have thought £1 a week was a small price to pay to comply with the law.

That would be a bargain. but your £1 only gets you compliant with a single law on its own. There are more laws than any of us have £1's in a week ....