I'm a Landowner / Landlord

Whether you are a private landowner or a property landlord, if you are giving away your waste to someone, you must make sure the person taking away your waste is registered with Natural Resources Wales as a waste carrier. 

This is called your “Waste Duty of Care” and full guidance can be found on our Duty of Care page.

Landowners

Under current Welsh law, it is the responsibility of a landowner to pay for the removal and disposal of any ilegally fly-tipped waste deposited on their land.

If you find fly-tipping on your land you should:

• Record as many details as possible and report it to your local authority, take a photograph of the waste if possible.
• Ask your neighbours if they saw anyone or anything suspicious. 
• You will need to dispose of the waste carefully, please check with your local authority that they have gathered any evidence they may require for a subsequent investigation before clearing the waste.
• Exercise caution. Some fly-tipped waste can be hazardous. Do not open bags or drums and be aware that piles of soil may be contaminated or hide dangerous material.
• When arranging the disposal of the waste, remember to comply with your Duty of Care by using a registered waste carrier.
• If you are removing waste that's been fly-tipped on your land, you do not need to register as a waste carrier to transport it but you must take it to a registered site.
• Keep full details of your clearance and disposal costs. Successful prosecution can mean that your costs incurred for the removal of the waste can also be recovered from the perpetrators.

Remember that fly-tippers are acting illegally so we do not recommend that you confront them. If you witness fly-tipping in progress do not put yourself at risk by attempting to intervene, dial 101 and report it to the police immediately from a safe location.

Protect your land from the illegal dumping of rubbish by:

• Restricting access to your land by installing gates or physical barriers (strategically placed earth bunds, tree trunks, boulders etc.) to prevent access to the land ideally in keeping with the natural environment. Make sure that when erecting any form of barrier you are not permanently blocking a public right of way.
• Make sure gates are kept closed and, if possible, locked when not in use.
• Improving visibility of your land so that fly-tippers are not hidden from view. Fly-tippers prefer to commit their crimes out of sight.
• Install or improve lighting where possible.
• Consider placing appropriate deterrent signage and CCTV cameras.
• Swiftly clear any waste that is dumped to remove any encouragement for others to add to it as soon as the authorities have searched for evidence.

Landlords

As a landlord, your rental property is classed as a business. Any waste materials that come from clearing or maintaining your property are therefore classed as business waste.

It is the responsibility of the landlord to take these materials to a waste facility that is authorised to accept this type of waste.

Before disposing of furniture, consider contacting a local re-use charity instead and have your old furniture collected for free whilst giving it a new lease of life. Details of trusted local charities can be found on your respective local authority website under 'bulky / household waste collection'.

Whilst your property has tenants, you must ensure that:

• Tenants are disposing of their waste appropriately and are following the respective local authority's guidelines which can be found on their website.
• Waste bins and bags are provided for tenants as well as somewhere safe to store them.
• Tenants know not to dispose of their waste in the bins of other residents or in street litter bins.
• Tenants are made aware of the correct waste collection day and that no extra waste is to be left out on the street.

Whilst your property is vacant, you must ensure that:

• Any waste left behind by previous tennants is treated as business waste.
• You comply with your duty of care if you're paying an individual or company to remove the waste for you.
• You obtain the correct waste carrier licence if you intend on transporting and disposing of the waste yourself.
• You retain any waste transfer notes as proof of having legally disposing of your waste.

You can visit the Wales Recycles website to find information on household waste facilities in your area, or contact your local authority to find out more on where you can dispose of your business waste.

Read our advice for landlords leaflet for more information.