Duty of care, waste transfer notes and hazardous waste

The duty

In England and Wales, section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 says that anyone who produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of waste — or controls it as a broker or dealer — must take all reasonable steps to:

keep it safe
prevent anyone handling it illegally
pass it only to an authorised person
give an accurate written description of it.

There is no upper limit on the fine for breaking the duty, and fixed penalties are possible.

Check the next holder — on the register

Before you hand over old IT that is waste, check the receiver’s authorisation: its waste carrier registration, and the permit or registered exemption of the site the waste is going to. Check it on the public register, not just from a copy of a certificate. Ask where the waste is going, and keep a record of your checks.

Waste carriers: Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, SEPA and NIEA.
In England, upper-tier carrier numbers start CBDU and lower-tier numbers CBDL. Upper-tier registration is renewed every three years; check the expiry date.
A registration with the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales or SEPA is valid in all three of those countries.
In Scotland, carrier registration moved under the EASR system from 1 April 2026.
In Northern Ireland, carrying other people’s controlled waste needs upper-tier registration with the NIEA.

For permits and exemptions, see T11, ATF and AATF.

Waste transfer notes

Every load of non-hazardous waste leaving your premises needs a waste transfer note (WTN), or a document with the same information, such as an invoice. It must include:

the List of Waste (EWC) code
the quantity, and how it is contained
the time and place of transfer
your SIC code
both parties’ names, addresses and signatures (electronic signatures are fine)
each party’s role, and its permit or registration number
a declaration that you have applied the waste hierarchy.

Keep waste transfer notes for two years. A “season ticket” can cover repeated identical transfers for up to a year. Scotland and Northern Ireland also need a WTN for every load, kept for at least two years, and Northern Ireland WTNs must include a waste hierarchy statement.

If old equipment is going for reuse and stays equipment rather than waste (see what is ITAD), you would normally have a reuse contract instead.

Hazardous waste in old IT

Some old IT is hazardous waste. Examples from the government’s classification guidance:

display devices (CRT, plasma or LCD screens) containing persistent organic pollutants (POPs) — TVs and monitors with cathode ray tubes are a standard example of hazardous WEEE
small mixed WEEE, and IT equipment containing POPs
lead-acid, nickel-cadmium and mercury batteries.

Lithium and lithium-ion batteries, and alkaline batteries, are non-hazardous — but separately collected mixed household batteries are classified as hazardous. POPs waste can’t be reused or recycled. If you aren’t sure, treat it as hazardous and POPs waste.

Hazardous waste paperwork in each nation

England: hazardous waste moves with a consignment note, completed in turn by the producer, the carrier, the consignor and the receiving site. Producers keep their records for three years. The receiving site sends quarterly consignee returns to the Environment Agency and to you — if you never get them from your ITAD company or recycler, stop using it and tell the Environment Agency.
Wales: similar consignment note rules apply, and premises that produce or store more than 500 kg of hazardous waste a year must register with Natural Resources Wales every 12 months (free).
Scotland: hazardous waste is called “special waste”. It needs special waste consignment notes, and producers keep a register for at least three years. Moves within Scotland don’t need to be notified in advance; moves into or out of Scotland must be pre-notified to SEPA.
Northern Ireland: each movement must be pre-notified to the NIEA at least 72 hours ahead (not counting weekends and holidays) and no more than a month ahead, with some exceptions such as regular repeat collections.

Digital waste tracking

From 1 October 2026, permitted and licensed sites in England and Wales that receive waste must report each load through the government’s digital waste tracking service within two working days. Paper waste transfer notes and consignment notes carry on alongside it for now. NetRegs says reporting becomes mandatory in Scotland and Northern Ireland from January 2027.

Ask your ITAD company or recycler how it is handling this, and keep your own paperwork as before.

Sources

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland — check with the regulator or an adviser for your situation.

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