It takes about two minutes and it is the single best thing you can do before letting anybody take your waste away. Most people never do it, largely because the advice they find online sends them to the wrong place.
Step one: use the right register
Search for “check a waste carrier” and you will be told to use the Environment Agency’s register. That is the register for England.
In Wales, waste carriers register with Natural Resources Wales. This has been the position since the Natural Resources Body for Wales (Functions) Order 2013 substituted NRW for the Environment Agency throughout Welsh waste legislation.
The register is here: NRW waste carriers, brokers and dealers public register.
Step two: ask for the number
Ask the company for their waste carrier registration number before you book. Any legitimate firm will give it to you without hesitating – ours is in the footer of every page of this website.
If somebody will not give you one, that is your answer. Natural Resources Wales specifically warns about waste removers advertising on social media with no carrier reference number.
Step three: know what the number means
| Prefix | Tier | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| CBDU | Upper tier | Carrying waste produced by other people. This is what a rubbish removal or house clearance firm needs. |
| CBDL | Lower tier | Carrying only your own business’s waste, plus charities and waste authorities. Not sufficient for a clearance company. |
The distinction matters. Lower tier registration is free and never expires. Upper tier costs £184 to register and £126 to renew, and lasts three years. A company that only holds lower tier registration is not authorised to carry your waste, however genuine the certificate looks.
Numbers are typically six digits after the prefix, but older registrations have fewer – so do not treat a shorter number as a red flag on its own. Check it on the register instead.
Step four: check what the register actually tells you
Search by business name or by registration number. The entry shows you:
- Registration number
- Business trading name and address
- Business type and registration tier
- Company registration number, if they have one
- Registration date, status and expiry date
Three things to look at: that the name matches the business you are actually dealing with, that the tier is upper, and that it has not expired.
One honest caveat
A carrier whose principal place of business is in England registers with the Environment Agency, and will not appear on the NRW register even though they may lawfully work in Wales. So an absence from the NRW register is not automatic proof that somebody is operating illegally – but it is a reason to ask where they are based and to check the English register instead.
For a firm that tells you it is local to Caerphilly, Cardiff or Newport, it should be on the Welsh register.
Also worth doing
- Photograph the van and the number plate. Free, instant, and the most useful thing you can possibly have if something later goes wrong.
- Get a receipt with the business name and address on it.
- Ask what happens to the waste. A firm that can tell you where it goes is a firm that knows.
- Ask for written confirmation of what was taken. Businesses must be given a waste transfer note; householders do not need one, but any decent carrier will give you something in writing if you ask.
Why it is your problem as well as theirs
Because in Wales, failing to take reasonable steps to check can bring you a £300 fixed penalty if your waste is later fly-tipped. Not the fly-tipper – you. The full legal position is here.