Every business IT collection is a waste transfer, and the rules on who may legally carry that waste are changing. Under regulations made on 22 July 2026, a waste carrier permit replaces the carrier, broker and dealer registration that IT disposal contractors have relied on since the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989. The switch begins in July 2027 and is phased over the following years, so the paperwork you check before a collection will depend on when your contractor's current registration falls due. This guide explains what changes, what stays the same, and how to check any contractor today.
Key facts: the waste carrier permit reform
- Statutory instrument SI 2026/873 moves carriers, brokers and dealers in England into the environmental permitting regime.
- It was made on 22 July 2026; the main permitting provisions take effect twelve months later, under regulation 1.
- Most existing registered carriers move to a permit when their current registration is scheduled to expire, per the transitional provisions.
- Permits will require identity and criminal record checks, proof of technical competence and a permit number shown on vehicles and advertising, according to Defra's announcement.
- Your duty of care under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 does not change: check the carrier is authorised, sign a written description of the waste and keep it for two years, as the code of practice sets out.
What is a waste carrier permit, and why is registration being replaced?
A waste carrier permit is an environmental permit that, from 2027, anyone transporting or controlling other people's waste in England must hold instead of a carrier, broker or dealer registration. The aim, in Defra's words, is to stop "waste cowboys" by requiring identity checks, criminal record checks and proof of technical competence before a permit is granted.
The instrument that does this is the Environmental Permitting (Waste Controlling or Transporting) and Relevant Functions of Primary Authorities (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/873. It amends the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 so that "waste controlling", "waste transporting" and a combined "waste controlling and transporting" activity become permitted activities, a structure described in CIWM's report of 12 August 2026. Registration, by contrast, asked for little more than a name, an address and a fee.
The wider context is the government's Waste Crime Action Plan of 20 March 2026, which states that waste crime is costing the English economy £1 billion each year, citing an Environmental Services Association estimate, and which describes the move "from a light-touch registration system into the environmental permitting regime" as one of its central measures.
When does the waste carrier permit regime start?
The regulations were made on 22 July 2026 and, under regulation 1, the main permitting provisions come into force at the end of the twelve months beginning on that day, which puts the start in late July 2027. Existing registered carriers do not all switch on that date: most move to a permit when their current registration is scheduled to expire, so the changeover runs across the registration cycle.
The transitional provisions in Part 4 set three different clocks. A registered carrier, broker or dealer generally needs a permit, or a registered exemption, from the day after its registration was scheduled to expire. A narrower group of "specified persons" has until the end of twelve months after Part 2 comes into force. Anyone who should be registered but is not must hold a permit from the first day the new Part 2 applies. Regulation 30 also keeps an existing registration alive while a permit application made at least three months before expiry is being decided.
"Registered" and "permitted" contractors will therefore coexist for around three years. Law firm Burges Salmon, in a briefing of 2 July 2026, suggested that waste producers "may wish to review their contractor arrangements and due diligence processes" so that waste is handled by appropriately authorised operators once the regime is in force.
What will the new regime require of your IT disposal contractor?
Three things a registration never did: identity and criminal record checks on the people running the business, evidence of technical competence in moving and classifying waste, and a permit number displayed on vehicles and advertising so customers can verify it. All three are in Defra's announcement, which also confirms up to five years' imprisonment for illegal carrying.
Competence is the part most likely to change how contractors behave. CIWM, which is delivering the competence scheme, describes the assessments as modular and proportionate to the function performed, with a nominated employee able to demonstrate competence on behalf of the permit holder. The same report puts the estimated net direct cost to businesses at £28.6 million a year against an estimated £68.6 million a year in benefits from reduced waste crime, figures it attributes to the government's impact assessment.
The regulator is being resourced to use its new powers. The Waste Crime Action Plan commits an additional £45 million to the Environment Agency for waste crime enforcement over three financial years, and Defra's announcement confirms the agency will be able to revoke permits and issue enforcement notices.
How do you check an IT disposal company's waste carrier status today?
Search the public register of waste carriers, brokers and dealers by business name or registration number, confirm the entry is upper tier, and check that the expiry date has not passed. Upper tier is the one that matters: the register explains that lower tier covers a business moving only its own waste, not a contractor collecting yours.
Our own entry is a useful worked example. Innovent Recycling Ltd holds registration CBDU176790, shown on the register as an upper tier carrier, broker and dealer registered at our Ellesmere Port facility with an expiry date of 2 May 2029. On the transitional rules above, a registration with that expiry date carries on until it falls due, and the permit application is made at renewal. Our registration and the T11 exemption covering repair of waste electrical equipment at our facility are both listed on our accreditations page.
| What to check | Where | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Carrier registration or, from 2027, permit number | Public register search by name or number | Upper tier, in date, name matches the company on your quote and invoice |
| The number on your paperwork | Quote, collection confirmation, waste transfer note | The same number appears on all three and on the vehicle that arrives |
| The receiving site | Public register of permits and exemptions | A permit or exemption that covers the treatment your equipment will receive |
| Your record of the transfer | Your own files | Signed written description of the waste, kept for two years |
Check the register on the day you book rather than relying on a certificate copied into a tender response months earlier, and make sure the registered name matches the trading name on your contract. Our ITAD company checklist covers the data security questions that sit alongside this one.
What does your duty of care require, whatever the regime?
Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 places a duty of care on everyone who produces or holds controlled waste. The code of practice says you must check the person taking your waste is authorised, sign a written description of it with them, and keep that record for two years. The reform changes what "authorised" looks like, not the duty.
The code is explicit that failing to comply is a criminal offence and that there is no upper limit on the courts' power to fine. It also expects you to take all reasonable steps to ensure the waste is managed correctly after it leaves you, including checking that the intended destination is authorised to accept it. In other words, the producer remains responsible for the choice of contractor even after the equipment has gone.
For IT equipment, the written description is where the environmental record and the data security record meet. On collection day our team counts the items and labels each data-bearing device with its job number; the signed count is your transfer record. Serial-number matching happens at our facility, where each drive is either wiped to NIST 800-88 (Rev 2) compliant, verified erasure or destroyed by video-recorded shredding, and the serial-matched certificate follows. The chain of custody guide explains what to demand at each step, and the certificates guide covers what the final document should contain.
How does the permit reform fit with digital waste tracking?
They are two halves of the same programme. According to the Environment Agency's post of 30 April 2026, digital waste tracking becomes mandatory for permitted waste receiving sites from October 2026 and is planned to extend to carriers, brokers and dealers from October 2027, a few months after permitting begins. Together they mean every IT collection will be carried by a vetted operator and recorded digitally.
For a business disposing of IT, the immediate deadline is the receiving-site phase this October, which we cover in our digital waste tracking guide. The permit reform is the following year's task, and it is a supplier-management task rather than a systems one. If your WEEE recycling contractor is a registered upper tier carrier today and treats equipment at a permitted or exempt site, both changes should reach you as updated paperwork from them rather than as new obligations on you.
What should IT and procurement teams do before July 2027?
Nothing dramatic, but start now. Note your current contractor's registration number and expiry date, add a register check to your supplier review, and make sure your transfer notes carry the number. When the contractor's registration comes up for renewal, ask for the permit reference and update your records the same day.
- Look up every waste contractor you use on the public register and record the tier, number and expiry date
- Add the registration or permit number to your purchase order template for disposal work
- Check that the signed count you receive on collection day carries the same number and the job reference
- File the signed transfer record with the serial-matched certificate when it arrives, and keep both for at least two years
- Diary the contractor's expiry date and ask for the new permit reference before the next collection after it
- Ask any new contractor how they will demonstrate technical competence under the permit regime
Book a Free Collection Call 0151 355 5482
Innovent Recycling collects business IT free of charge nationwide from our Ellesmere Port facility, including regular collections across the North West such as computer recycling in Manchester. Our upper tier registration and T11 exemption are on the public register today, and the ISO 27001 certificate, registration numbers and sample certificates that tenders ask for are gathered on one page.
Frequently asked questions
Will my contractor's registration stop being valid in July 2027?
Not on that day for most contractors. The transitional provisions keep an existing registration in force until it is scheduled to expire, and the carrier then applies for a permit or registers an exemption. Only operators who should have been registered and were not need a permit from the first day the new regime applies.
What is the difference between upper tier and lower tier?
The public register describes lower tier as covering businesses that carry only their own waste or specific waste types, and upper tier as covering anyone who carries other people's waste or trades in it commercially. An IT disposal contractor collecting from your premises needs upper tier, so check that word appears on the entry you find.
Does the reform apply in Wales and Scotland?
The regulations extend to England and Wales, but the permitting changes replace the carrier, broker and dealer system in England. The public register page links separately to the registers run by Natural Resources Wales and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, so a contractor operating across borders may hold more than one registration, and you should check the one for the country your site is in.
Does Innovent hold a waste carrier registration?
Yes. Innovent Recycling Ltd is registration CBDU176790 on the public register, upper tier, registered as a carrier, broker and dealer with an expiry date of 2 May 2029. We also hold the T11 exemption that covers repair of waste electrical equipment at our facility. Both are listed with our ISO 27001 certificate on the accreditations page.