If you live in Scotland and pay someone to take away rubbish, your legal duty of care is enforced by SEPA under a separate Scottish code of practice, not the Environment Agency framework that applies in England.

The underlying duty is consistent, the enforcement isn’t

SEPA’s own guidance describes the waste duty of care as a legal responsibility that applies to everyone managing waste, and confirms that non-compliance can result in conviction or a monetary penalty. This basic legal principle — that waste has to be passed only to someone authorised to take it — runs across Great Britain in broadly the same shape covered by this site’s general guide to waste duty of care. What differs in Scotland is which regulator enforces it, and the specific code of practice that sets out the detail.

Scotland’s own code of practice, made under the 1990 Act

The Scottish Government’s guidance confirms the current duty of care code of practice for managing controlled waste was made under section 34(7) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and explains the duties that apply to anyone who produces, keeps, imports or manages controlled waste in Scotland specifically. The code carries real legal weight: it’s admissible as evidence in court, and a court considering a duty of care case must take it into account where it’s relevant — it isn’t just informal good-practice guidance sitting alongside the law.

What a Scottish householder actually has to do

SEPA’s guidance sets out that householders face a simpler set of requirements than businesses do. The core obligation is to ensure waste is only passed to an authorised person — meaning a waste carrier registered with SEPA, or a facility holding a SEPA licence or permit — and to take reasonable measures, while the waste is still in your possession, to prevent it escaping your control, such as making sure bags or containers are properly secured rather than left to spill or blow away.

Checking a collector before you pay them

SEPA maintains its own public register of authorised waste carriers, separate from the Environment Agency’s register that covers England. Before paying anyone to take away household rubbish, garden waste or a house clearance in Scotland, checking that specific business against SEPA’s register — rather than assuming a registration checked against the English register covers Scotland too — is the direct way to confirm they’re legally authorised to collect what you’re paying them to take.

Where the rules go further for businesses, not households

SEPA’s guidance is clear that companies managing waste face materially more than the householder duty covered above — completing waste transfer notes for each movement of waste, separating recyclable materials and food waste from other waste streams, and maintaining secure containment throughout. A householder clearing out a garage or garden doesn’t carry these business-level obligations personally, but does still carry the basic duty to use an authorised carrier and keep the waste secure until it’s collected.

FAQs

Does the same waste carrier registration cover both England and Scotland?

Not automatically — carriers generally need to be registered with the relevant regulator for where they’re operating, so a business registered only with the Environment Agency in England isn’t necessarily also SEPA-registered for Scottish collections, and it’s worth checking the specific register that applies.

Can I be penalised if a collector I hired turns out to be unauthorised?

SEPA’s guidance confirms the duty of care is a legal responsibility on anyone managing waste, including householders passing it on, so using reasonable care to check a collector’s authorisation before handing over waste is the practical way to protect yourself.

Is there a Scotland-specific register I can search?

Yes — SEPA maintains its own public register of authorised waste carriers and licensed or permitted sites, separate from the equivalent registers run by the Environment Agency in England and Natural Resources Wales.

Sources

This guide draws on the following primary sources, current as of 18 September 2026:

• SEPA: Duty of Care
• gov.scot: Duty of care – code of practice for managing controlled waste

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