As a householder your rubbish is your responsibility.
If your domestic waste is fly-tipped, the law states you could be held responsible and face prosecution, even if someone else has dumped it - such as a rogue trader who offered to dispose of it for you.
- #CrimeNotToCare
- Fly-tipping
- Arranging waste collections
- Disposing of your waste legally and responsibly
#CrimeNotToCare
We've joined forces with Keep Britain Tidy and their #CrimeNotToCare campaign, to help you avoid accidentally passing your waste to rogue traders and contributing to the million fly-tipping incidents per year.
Under Section 34(2A) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, anyone found handing over waste to unregistered waste carriers can expect:
- to be summoned to court
- a criminal record (which may need to be disclosed to employers)
- to be ordered to pay fines
If you're a business, different laws apply to you; see commercial waste disposal responsibilities for advice for businesses.
Fly-tipping
Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of waste. You can help reduce fly-tipping by making sure your waste is disposed of responsibly.
Report fly-tipping online - we'll clear up the waste and attempt to determine who is responsible.
Arranging waste collections
We can't accept bulky waste or extra bags as part of our normal household waste collections or recycling collections - you're responsible for disposing of this waste properly.
You can either arrange a bulky waste collection with us, or book a collection through an independent waste collection service. When choosing a waste collection service, make sure they're registered to legally dispose of waste.
You should:
- check the collector’s details - ask for their full name and business name
- ask for a receipt when they collect your waste
- ask for the collector's waste carrier number
- carry out a waste carrier registration check via the Environment Agency
A legitimate business person will not mind you asking questions. If a waste collector can’t or won't provide such information, or their name or business name doesn’t match their waste carrier number, do not use them!
If you suspect someone is transporting waste who is not a registered waste carrier contact Waste, Highways and Environmental Services to report it.
Disposing of your waste legally and responsibly
Never leave waste or scrap metal on the street, verge or edge of your property for anyone to take away. If you do this, you won’t know who takes it, what they'll do with it, or whether they're registered to collect/transport it - and, if they dump it, you could be prosecuted!
To dispose of your waste legally and responsibly, you can also:
- visit our Household Waste Recycling Centres at Hazel Court or Towthorpe/Strensall
- take your recyclable waste to a local recycling bank (you must follow recycling bank rules or you could be fly-tipping if you leave waste behind)
- check our recycle and reuse A to Z to see where you can drop off/donate items
- advertise your reusable household items via Freecycle or Facebook for local residents to collect
- donate good quality unwanted items to York Community Furniture Store
- hire a skip for larger amounts of waste and DIY projects, but check first that the skip company is registered with the Environment Agency
- donate to local charity shops
Also see