Every carrier that takes waste away for profit has to be registered with the Environment Agency. The register is public and free to search, and checking it takes about two minutes.
How to check:
- Search the Environment Agency public register for waste carriers, brokers and dealers.
- Enter the company name, or the registration number if you have it.
- Confirm the registration is active, and that the name matches the business you are paying.
- Note the registration number down, or keep a screenshot.
Lower-tier registrations cover carriers of their own waste only. If someone is taking your waste away for money, they need an upper-tier registration, and the register will say which one they hold.
Four questions worth asking before you pay anyone:
- What is your registration number?
- Will you email me a Waste Transfer Note after collection?
- Where does the load actually go?
- Are you insured to be in my property?
A legitimate carrier answers all four without hesitating. Someone who deflects on the first one is the person whose load ends up on a verge with your address in it.
We publish our registration on every quote and invoice, and we email the transfer note automatically. You can see how that works on rubbish removal in Islington, house clearance in Kensington and office clearance in Westminster.
If a carrier cannot produce a registration number, do not hand over the waste. It costs you nothing to walk away, and it can cost you GBP 400 or more if you do not.
