Environment Agency Upper-Tier Waste Carrier · CBDU418527
Waste Transfer Note issued on every job
Licensed waste carrier since 2019
020 3504 6427
A waste carrier licence check is the one thing every householder, landlord and business should do before paying somebody to take their rubbish away — and it takes about a minute.
A rubbish collector may arrive in a van, show you a waste carrier registration number and tell you everything is legal. But how do you know the registration actually belongs to them? How do you know the company advertising the service is the same business shown on the official register? And once your waste disappears down the road, how do you know where it actually goes?
These questions matter because getting rubbish out of your property is only the first part of the waste journey. Whoever takes it must be authorised to handle it — and the person who handed it over has responsibilities too. GOV.UK puts it bluntly: “You could be fined if you give your household waste to someone who is not legally allowed to take it.”
The good news is that checking is quick, free and public. This guide explains exactly what to look for.
Key takeaways
The typical clearance starts with a problem: an old sofa or mattress, unwanted furniture, rubbish left after a move, builders’ waste following a renovation, an end-of-tenancy clearance, office furniture, garden waste, appliances, a loft or garage full of things nobody wants, or an entire property that needs emptying.
Many people check first whether the council will collect it. Others consider a trip to a household waste recycling centre. But bulky items, large quantities, restricted vehicle access, waiting times or simply not owning a suitable vehicle can make both impractical.
That is when people start searching for a private rubbish clearance company. And that is where the risk begins.
Customers find rubbish collectors through search engines, recommendations, directories, classified adverts, community groups and social-media marketplaces. Most operators advertising in those places are perfectly legitimate. Rogue traders advertise in exactly the same places.
The Environment Agency published a warning about this in March 2026, and the wording deserves reading twice:
“Often these criminals create a veil of legitimacy designed to make you think they are running a legal business. They might display the Environment Agency logo on their advert … It’s not good enough if they say they are registered. You must check because they could be displaying false information in their adverts.”
That is from the Environment Agency’s own blog, Beware the criminals lurking online. An advert saying “licensed waste carrier” is a claim, not evidence.
Price is the other warning area, and it needs handling carefully. A cheap quotation does not automatically mean somebody is operating illegally — companies have different overheads, vehicles and business models, and a small operator with low costs can legitimately undercut a larger one.
But the arithmetic has to work. To illustrate the point rather than to quote a market rate: if three established companies quote in the region of £200–£250 to clear a load and a fourth person offers to take everything for £60 in cash, it is fair to ask how that price covers labour, fuel, vehicle costs and the tipping charges every authorised facility makes. Lawful disposal is not free, and somebody is paying for it.
The cheapest quotation can become the most expensive one if the waste is later dumped and traced back to you.
Where time allows, compare three or four operators before deciding — but compare more than the price. Look at:
A legitimate company should be comfortable being checked. We publish our own registration number precisely so customers can check it before booking, and our waste carrier licence and compliance page sets out the detail.
For operators registered in England, the official source is the Environment Agency register of waste carriers, brokers and dealers. It is free, public and takes seconds to search. Do not rely on a screenshot or certificate the collector sends you.
Ask directly: “What is your Environment Agency waste carrier registration number?” An upper tier registration in England begins with CBDU. Ours, for example, is CBDU418527.
The register can be searched by business name, registration number, address or postcode, and it can be filtered between upper tier and lower tier registrations. If you would rather not use the website, the waste duty of care code of practice gives the Environment Agency’s number for the same check: 03708 506 506.
This is the step people skip, and it is the important one. Do not simply confirm that the number exists — confirm who owns it.
If somebody says “here’s my waste licence” and the register returns a completely different business, ask why. There can be a legitimate explanation involving a trading name or a subcontracting arrangement, but you should know exactly which legal entity is taking responsibility for your waste.
For an ordinary clearance company collecting other people’s waste, GOV.UK tells householders to check the upper tier register — its household waste guidance says that if you use a private business providing a waste collection service, “you must check the company is on the register of waste carriers”, and to select “upper tier”.
Keep the company name, registration number, quotation, invoice or receipt, telephone number, vehicle registration and any collection paperwork. The duty of care code of practice notes there is no legal requirement for a householder to keep records, but recommends it anyway, suggesting you “record details of the business or of any vehicle used (registration, make, model, colour), which can be linked back to an authorised operator”.
This is the point customers most often miss. A person can show you a genuine waste carrier registration. That does not prove it belongs to the person standing outside your property.
A registration number shown to you could have been:
Don’t just ask to see the licence. Verify it.
Search the number yourself. Match the business name. Check who is invoicing you and who is actually collecting. If the names do not line up, ask before the waste leaves.
The Environment Agency registers waste carriers, brokers and dealers in two tiers. Most professional clearance businesses transporting other people’s waste register at upper tier, and GOV.UK directs householders using a private waste collection company to check that register specifically.
There is a practical difference worth knowing about. GOV.UK’s registration guidance says that with an upper tier registration “you must renew your registration every 3 years”, while for lower tier “you do not need to renew a lower tier registration”. An upper tier entry therefore carries a live expiry date that you can see on the register — which is another reason to look at the entry itself rather than at a certificate.
You do not need to become a waste-law expert. The question is simply: is this the right registration for the service being offered, and is it current?
Customers often see numbers beginning CBDU and wonder what the letters stand for. The waste duty of care code of practice tells householders to look for an authorised carrier with a valid upper tier registration, each of which has “a registration number starting CBDU, followed by a set of numbers”.
What matters is not the letters. It is that the number can be searched independently on the official database. A registration number is something to verify — not simply something to display on a van.
A registration check is necessary. It is not sufficient. Look at the whole business.
Establish the trading name, the legal company name where there is one, a telephone number, a website, a business address or operating area, and who will actually turn up. Limited companies can also be checked at Companies House.
Read the content rather than the star rating. Useful reviews mention actual collections, staff, punctuality, communication, pricing, repeat bookings and often photographs. Reviews prove nothing about licensing, but they help establish that a business has a real trading history.
Search the Environment Agency register yourself rather than relying on an image supplied by the collector.
A properly branded vehicle is a useful signal, though branding alone proves nothing. Note the registration if you want a record; the duty of care code specifically suggests recording vehicle details that can be linked back to an authorised operator.
Branded workwear and identification help establish which business has actually arrived. Neither replaces the register check, but together they build a traceable chain.
Ask for a receipt, invoice or collection record. For commercial waste, appropriate transfer documentation matters more still — see our waste transfer note guide. At MM Rubbish Clearance we issue a digital Waste Transfer Note for completed collections as part of our compliance process, and our guide to digital waste tracking and waste transfer notes explains how that record-keeping is changing.
Be cautious if an operator:
There is no reason for a legitimate operator to withhold it.
The register exists to be searched. Reluctance is the signal.
Ask for the explanation before the van is loaded, not after.
A professional operator knows its own disposal route.
Cheap is not the same as illegal — but a price that cannot cover lawful disposal deserves a question.
One name in the advert, another on the licence, another on the invoice, another on the van. That is not proof of wrongdoing, but you should understand the relationship before proceeding.
If your waste later turns up somewhere it should not, being able to identify who took it becomes very important indeed.
The biggest misunderstanding in this whole subject is the assumption that once somebody drives away with your rubbish, it stops being your problem.
It does not work like that. The waste duty of care code of practice requires householders to take all reasonable measures available to them to ensure household waste produced on their property is transferred only to an authorised person. Failing to do so is a criminal offence: the code says you could face prosecution and, on conviction, a fine and a criminal record, and that enforcement officers may instead issue a fixed penalty notice.
If waste traced back to your address is found dumped, the question investigators ask is what checks you made. A registration number you searched, a business name you matched and an invoice you kept are the answer to that question.
The scale of the problem is why enforcement has hardened. Announcing new powers for environment officers in March 2026, the government stated plainly that “waste crime costs the economy £1 billion every year”. Illegal operators undercut legitimate ones because they avoid the costs lawful businesses cannot avoid — regulated disposal, staff, vehicles, fuel, insurance, licensing, administration and compliance. We look at the penalties in more detail in our guide to fly-tipping fines and the 2026 crackdown.
A licence check answers the question who is taking my rubbish? The next question is where are they taking it?
Waste collected by a legitimate operator travels to an authorised transfer, treatment, recycling or recovery facility appropriate to the load. At a transfer station it is typically weighed, inspected, unloaded, sorted and routed onwards, with materials such as metals, timber and cardboard separated from mixed waste. We follow that whole chain — conveyors, trommels, magnets, eddy currents, optical sorters, energy recovery and landfill — in our guide to where your rubbish goes after collection, and explain our own recovery-first approach in responsible rubbish clearance.
An operator who cannot describe that route for your load is telling you something.
There is an important difference between household and commercial waste.
Businesses transferring controlled non-hazardous waste need appropriate transfer documentation — commonly a Waste Transfer Note, or another document containing the legally required information. The record can be electronic, and it is kept for two years.
Householders are not required to keep commercial transfer notes in the same way. But a clear receipt or collection record showing who removed the rubbish, when, and from where is still the sensible thing to have, for exactly the reason set out in the section above.
Who took it → when → from where → under which registration → to which facility.
No — and any company telling you otherwise is overselling it.
A valid registration confirms that an operator appears on the relevant regulatory register. It is not an Environment Agency recommendation, an endorsement, or a guarantee of future conduct. That is exactly why the Environment Agency’s own advice is about checking rather than trusting.
So look at the whole operator:
Licence + identity + trading history + reviews + vehicle + paperwork + disposal route.
Before hiring any clearance company — including us — ask these seven questions.
| # | Ask | What you are establishing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Who exactly am I hiring? | The trading name, legal entity and contact details |
| 2 | What is your waste carrier registration number? | An upper tier number, starting CBDU, given before booking |
| 3 | Does it match the official register? | Number, business name and expiry date, checked by you |
| 4 | What do their customers say? | A genuine, recent trading history |
| 5 | Is the quotation clear? | What is included, including labour and disposal |
| 6 | What documentation will I receive? | Receipt, invoice or transfer documentation |
| 7 | Where will my rubbish go? | A disposal route the operator can actually describe |
A waste carrier licence is an essential check. It should not be the only one.
MM Rubbish Clearance Ltd provides documented rubbish removal for homes, landlords, property professionals and businesses across London. Our credentials are published so they can be checked:
| Detail | Record |
|---|---|
| Environment Agency registration | CBDU418527 |
| Registration type | Carrier Dealer — Upper Tier |
| Current registration expires | 6 January 2028 |
| Registered operator | MM Rubbish Clearance Ltd |
| Company number | 12372377 (incorporated 19 December 2019) |
| Public liability insurance | £5 million |
You can check the registration yourself on the Environment Agency public register and the company at Companies House. We would rather you did.
Our collection process covers a quotation before collection, identifying the waste being removed, loading and transporting it securely, documented transfer, delivery to authorised waste facilities, digital collection records and Waste Transfer Notes as part of our operating procedure. There is more detail on our waste carrier licence and compliance page and about page.
The same rules apply whether you are clearing a flat in Islington or an office in the City. We work primarily across North, East and Central London, including Islington N1, Highbury N5, Holloway N7, Finsbury Park N4, Archway and Upper Holloway N19, Camden NW1, Kentish Town NW5, Highgate N6, Crouch End N8, Stoke Newington N16, Hackney and Dalston, Shoreditch, Clerkenwell, King’s Cross and the surrounding Central London districts.
Our King’s Cross rubbish clearance service displays our Environment Agency registration directly, and our Holloway house clearance service explains the same compliance process for customers in N7. The same applies to our wider rubbish clearance, house and flat clearance and commercial clearance services.
Wherever you are, the principle does not change: check before you hand your rubbish over.
Waste carriers are registered by three different regulators. Use the official register for the country the operator is registered in, rather than a third-party lookup site — private checking services can be convenient, but the regulators’ registers are the authoritative source.
| Country | Regulator | Where to check |
|---|---|---|
| England | Environment Agency | Register of waste carriers, brokers and dealers, or 03708 506 506 |
| Scotland | SEPA | SEPA waste carriers register — SEPA is replacing this with a new search service, so start from that page rather than a saved link |
| Wales | Natural Resources Wales | Waste carriers, brokers and dealers public register |
Search the Environment Agency’s free public register of waste carriers, brokers and dealers using the company’s business name or registration number. For ordinary private household rubbish collection, GOV.UK tells householders to check the upper tier register. You can also call the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506 to make the same check.
Enter the registration number into the Environment Agency public register and confirm that the business name, address and expiry date on the entry match the company you are actually hiring. Checking that the number exists is not enough on its own.
A number shown in an advert, on a van or in a screenshot does not by itself prove it belongs to the person collecting your waste. The Environment Agency warns that criminals may display false information in their adverts, so search the registration independently and establish which legal business is responsible for the collection.
No. Vehicle branding is a useful signal but it is not a substitute for checking the register. Recording the vehicle registration is still worth doing, because the duty of care code of practice suggests keeping details that can be linked back to an authorised operator.
Where practical, yes. Comparing three or four quotations lets you weigh licensing, reviews, paperwork, disposal arrangements and professionalism rather than price alone. A low price is not proof of illegal activity, but a price that could not cover lawful labour, transport and disposal deserves a question.
Upper tier registration generally applies to businesses that transport or deal in waste professionally, beyond the activities covered by lower tier registration. GOV.UK tells householders using a private waste collection company to check the upper tier register. Upper tier registrations must be renewed every three years, so they carry an expiry date you can see; lower tier registrations do not need renewing.
Commercial waste transfers require appropriate duty of care documentation, commonly a Waste Transfer Note or an equivalent record containing the required information, kept for two years. Household requirements are different, but obtaining a clear receipt or collection record is still good practice.
No. Registration confirms that a business appears on the relevant register. It is not an endorsement or a guarantee of future conduct, which is why you should also check the business identity, reviews, vehicle, documentation and disposal route.
Search CBDU418527 on the Environment Agency public register. The entry shows MM Rubbish Clearance Ltd as an upper tier carrier dealer, with the current registration running to 6 January 2028. Our registration, insurance, company details and compliance procedures are also set out on our waste carrier licence and compliance page.
Getting rubbish removed should be straightforward. But there is a difference between having rubbish taken away and having rubbish handled responsibly, and only one of those protects you if the load turns up in a lay-by.
So before you choose a collector: compare, check, verify, document. Do not rely on a licence screenshot. Do not rely on a cheap price. Do not assume a professional-looking advert means the business is authorised. Check the official register, make sure the registration belongs to the operator you are actually using, keep a record of who collected the waste — and ask where it is going.
At MM Rubbish Clearance we think customers should be able to trace the waste journey from the moment rubbish leaves their property. If you would like a quotation, or want to ask any of the seven questions above before you book, get in touch.
Rubbish removed. Space restored — responsibly.
