Fly-tipping in Surrey — and your duty of care
Surrey recorded nearly 14,000 fly-tipping incidents in the year to March 2025. Here's what it means if you're booking a clearance.
Fly-tipping across England reached record levels in 2024/25, and Surrey was no exception. Government statistics published this year show 13,911 illegal dumps recorded in Surrey alone in the year to March 2025 — more than at any point in recent years.
That scale is worth understanding — because it’s directly relevant to anyone booking a clearance, not just the people doing the dumping.
Your duty of care as a householder
When you pay someone to remove your waste, you take on a legal responsibility — called a duty of care — for what happens to that waste afterwards. Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, that responsibility doesn’t end when the van drives off.
If the person you hired is unlicensed and dumps your rubbish illegally, you can face a fixed penalty notice even if you had no idea they were planning to fly-tip. Surrey Environment Partnership sets out the obligations clearly: checking that your carrier is registered is your responsibility, not theirs.
How to check a waste carrier is licensed
The Environment Agency maintains a public register of every licensed waste carrier in England. You can search it by business name or licence number — it takes about thirty seconds.
When the job is done, you’re also entitled to a waste transfer note: a document confirming your waste has been handed to a licensed carrier, what it contained, and where it’s going. Keep it. If that waste later turns up fly-tipped and investigators come knocking, it’s your proof that you did things properly.
A few things worth watching for
Before you book anyone for a clearance:
- No company name or registration number. A van with a logo isn’t the same as a licence. The EA register number is what counts.
- Cash only, no paperwork. Legitimate operators invoice and issue waste transfer notes.
- Prices far below the going rate. Proper disposal at a licensed transfer station has a real cost. If someone is significantly cheaper than the market, it’s worth asking how.
None of this is meant to make booking a clearance feel complicated — it isn’t. But a thirty-second check on the EA register is worth doing before you hand anything over.
Our licence
We’re registered with the Environment Agency as a licensed waste carrier under number CBDU619794. You can verify that on the public register before you book. Every load we clear goes to a licensed transfer station, and we’ll send the waste transfer note through when the job is done.
To book a clearance in Surrey, call 07488 259891, Monday to Saturday, 07:00 to 18:00. Or use the quote form or email hello@mrtippy.co.uk.
