Who can deal with your waste
You must ensure that anyone who handles your waste has the correct authorisation.
Your transporter of waste has to be authorised with SEPA or NIEA; and anyone who recycles, treats, stores, reprocesses or disposes of your waste must have:
- In Northern Ireland, either a waste management licence or pollution prevention and control (PPC) permit, or a registered exemption
- In Scotland, an EASR authorisation
Make sure your waste carrier is authorised
Anyone who collects and transports your waste must:
- In Northern Ireland, be either a registered carrier of controlled waste, or exempt from registration as a waste carrier
- In Scotland, have an EASR registration (from April 2026)
This will include your local council's waste collectors of waste.
People who may be authorised to collect your waste include:
- waste contractors
- scrap metal merchants
- recycling businesses
- your local council
- skip hire businesses
You must check that your waste carrier is authorised. You need to keep evidence of this so you can prove you have checked if necessary.
If you transport your own waste
In Northern Ireland, if you only transport waste produced by your own business, you do so normally and regularly, and that waste is not construction or demolition waste, you must be registered with the NIEA as Lower Tier Carrier of controlled waste; registration is free. If you transport your business waste but that is construction and demolition waste, you must be registered with the NIEA as Upper Tier.
In Scotland, from April 2026 you will need an EASR registration to transport your own waste.
There is no fee for this activity, but you must comply with any conditions included in the authorisation.
Further information