Government to consider fining households for duty of care waste offences

DEFRA has said it is “carefully looking” at charging households fixed penalty notices if they do not ensure their waste is collected by a licensed operator.

Current duty of care rules apply to anyone “who imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats, disposes of, or are a dealer or broker that has control of, controlled waste”. This usually means waste companies and businesses that produce waste such as building firms.