Fly-tipped waste gets traced back to the householder more often than people realise.
You book a company, they collect your unwanted items, and you assume the job is done. But if the company dumps that waste illegally, Scottish law can hold you responsible as the person who produced it. Even though you never touched a roadside in your life!
That’s why checking whether a rubbish removal company is registered with SEPA, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, takes about two minutes, and it’s worth doing before you hand anything over.
Our fully licensed and registered Glasgow rubbish removal team is here to guide you through the process.
What does “SEPA registered” mean for a waste carrier?
SEPA, or the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, is the regulator responsible for environmental authorisations in Scotland.
Any company that collects or transports waste as part of its business must be registered with SEPA as an authorised waste carrier. Without that registration, they’re not legally allowed to carry controlled waste on Scottish roads.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency maintains a public register of waste carriers and brokers called the Register of Waste Carriers and Brokers. It lists every organisation currently authorised to carry waste in Scotland, and it’s searchable by anyone, for free, with no account required.
Why your duty of care doesn’t end at the door
Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, anyone who produces waste, including households and businesses, has a legal duty of care to ensure that waste is handled, transported, and disposed of properly.
The duty of care applies to you as the waste producer. Handing your items to a company doesn’t transfer that obligation automatically.
If an unlicensed carrier takes your waste and fly-tips it, a local authority or SEPA investigation may lead back to you.
To show you took reasonable steps, you need to be able to prove you checked that the carrier was authorised. A waste transfer note, which legitimate companies issue as standard, forms part of that paper trail.
Waste crime costs Scotland millions every year and creates environmental damage that communities are left living alongside.
Unlicensed carriers typically charge less because they’re cutting corners on legal disposal. That saving can look very different once you factor in the risk.
How to search SEPA’s public register of waste carriers
The process takes a few minutes and requires nothing more than the company’s name or their registration number.
Step 1: Go to the SEPA waste carriers register
Visit sepa.org.uk/wastecarriers to check a waste carrier licence.
This is SEPA’s official register for waste carriers and brokers operating in Scotland. The public register search is free and open without login.
Step 2: Enter the company name or registration number
Type in the company name or business name as it appears on their van or website. You can also search by postcode to find registered carriers in a specific area, or enter a waste carrier registration number directly if the company has provided one.
Step 3: Check the public register information
When the authorisation holder comes up in the results, check three things.
First, confirm the legal name or legal entity on the register matches what’s on the company’s invoice.
Second, note the registration number.
Third, check the registration number and expiry date to make sure their authorisation is still current and hasn’t lapsed.
Step 4: Check what they’re authorised to carry
The public register information also shows what type of controlled waste the carrier is authorised to transport.
Most household and commercial waste falls under a standard authorisation, but if you’re disposing of IT equipment, electrical items, or WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment), verify the company holds the right environmental authorisations to carry it legally.
What if the company name doesn’t match?
Occasionally the name on a van or website is a trading name rather than the legal entity registered with SEPA.
Ask the company for their waste carrier registration number directly, then search using that number rather than the company name. A legitimate, licensed waste carrier will give you this without any hesitation.
If a company can’t or won’t provide their registration details, treat that as a clear warning.
You can also contact SEPA’s registry team by email at registry@sepa.org.uk if you want to verify authorisations and applications or have a question about a specific company.
Scotland, England, and Wales use different regulators
Scotland has its own regulator in SEPA.
In England and Wales, the equivalent body is the Environment Agency, and waste carriers registered there appear on the Environment Agency public register rather than SEPA’s. Natural Resources Wales handles registration for carriers operating primarily in Wales.
This matters if you’re in Scotland and hiring a company based in England. For example, if you live near the borders.
Waste carriers and brokers operating in Scotland need a Scottish authorisation through SEPA, not just an Environment Agency registration.
Regulations 2018 set out the requirement for carriers to be registered in the jurisdiction where they’re operating, so an England-only registration doesn’t cover collection work in Scotland.
What about the difference between upper and lower tier?
Upper tier and lower tier registration are terms used in the England and Wales system.
Lower tier covers businesses that carry their own waste as a byproduct of their main trade. Upper tier covers anyone who collects or transports waste commercially as a service.
In Scotland, SEPA issues environmental authorisations through its own framework rather than the upper and lower tier structure.
When checking a waste carrier in Scotland, you’re looking for an active SEPA authorisation, not an EA tier carrier designation.
Is it free to check?
Yes. Searching the public register is completely free and takes about two minutes. You don’t need to create an account or provide any personal details.
The information available for public inspection includes the business name, authorisation holder details, registration number, and expiry date.
Is Junk-it Scotland SEPA registered?
Yes. We’re fully registered with SEPA as an authorised waste carrier and have been carrying waste legally across Scotland since 2006.
Our SEPA registration is publicly verifiable, and we issue a waste transfer note with every job so you have documentation for your own duty of care records.
When you book junk removal in Glasgow or anywhere in Central Scotland with us, you’re booking with a licensed, SEPA-registered waste carrier. We divert over 85% of what we collect away from landfill, which means your waste is handled responsibly at every stage, not just loaded into a van and forgotten about.
From full single item uplift and loft clearances to full commercial clearances, we do it all at Junk-It.
We cover Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, and beyond. If you’d like to book a collection or get a free quote, call us on 0141 433 4330 or contact us online. We operate across Central Scotland and are available same-day or next-day, with no hidden fees and a waste transfer note as standard.
And if you ever want to verify our registration for yourself, you know where to look!
