Guides · 15 August 2026 · 4 min read

How to check any waste carrier in two minutes

Every business that transports waste in the UK must be registered as a waste carrier, and the registers are public and free to search. Two minutes on a government website is the difference between a receipt you can rely on and a fine for someone else's fly-tipping. Here is exactly how to do it, for us or for anyone.

The two-minute check

• Ask for the firm's waste carrier registration number. A legitimate firm produces it instantly.
• Search the Environment Agency public register for England, or the Natural Resources Wales and SEPA equivalents. Search by name or number.
• Check the entry matches: trading name, registration class, and that it has not expired. Upper tier registration is required for anyone carrying other people's waste as a business.
• Get the transfer note or receipt with that number on it, and keep it for two years, which is the legal retention period for householder duty of care.

The four other tells

Registration is necessary but not sufficient, a number can be borrowed or lapsed. The supporting signs: a real business address rather than just a mobile number. Prices that could plausibly include disposal fees, sub-£40 sofa collections cannot. A straight answer to "where does it go?". And reviews that mention repeat use over years, not five stars posted in one enthusiastic week.

We publish our answer to all of this on our recycling promise page, and if you would rather check the register first, good. That instinct, multiplied by a few million households, is what actually shrinks fly-tipping.

Reuse first, recycling second, energy recovery third, landfill last. That order, every load.