Your waste is your responsibility even after it leaves the site. The duty of care under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 follows the waste along the chain, and it is not discharged by handing the load to whoever turned up with a van. If that carrier was not registered, or the transfer note was vague, the duty was breached, and the fly-tipped waste with your name on the paperwork is your problem. So the real question about a waste duty of care audit is not which checklist looks tidiest. It is which tool gets the carrier verified and the transfer note captured at the point the waste actually moves.
Guide · Waste
Waste duty of care audit for the UK.
A practical guide to auditing your waste duty of care and transfer chain under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, from paper transfer notes to a WhatsApp workflow your teams already know, so carrier checks and transfer notes are evidenced as they happen.
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The point
Software does not discharge the duty.
The duty of care under section 34 stays with you across the whole waste chain. Software makes the transfer notes easier to check on site, harder to accept a waste carrier you never verified, and faster to evidence. A good tool means nobody finds out at the audit that a load left with an unlicensed carrier and no transfer note.
Where it fits the chain
The checks a waste audit captures.
Carrier check
Licence verified before transfer
The waste carrier's registration checked and recorded before the load moves, so waste never leaves with someone you cannot account for.
Transfer noteWTN and waste description
The waste transfer note, the EWC code and an accurate description captured at handover, with a photo of the paperwork.
HazardousConsignment and hierarchy
Hazardous waste consignment notes where they apply, and the waste hierarchy considered rather than defaulting to disposal.
The friction
The gap is a licence nobody checked.
Duty of care is broken quietly. A load leaves with a carrier whose registration lapsed, or a transfer note is filed with a vague description that will not stand up. Nobody notices until the regulator asks, or the waste turns up fly-tipped with your paperwork on it. Verifying the carrier and capturing the transfer note at handover, timestamped, is what closes that gap.
Run waste audits on WhatsApp
No app install. No training.
Teams check carriers and capture transfer notes from the phone they already have. Text, voice note or photo of the WTN. The audit assembles itself. Setup to first live workflow usually takes under a week.
The short version
- The duty of care under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 applies to anyone who produces, keeps or handles waste in England and Wales, with parallel duties elsewhere in the UK.
- Waste must only be transferred to an authorised person, such as a registered waste carrier, with a waste transfer note describing it accurately.
- Hazardous waste carries additional requirements, including consignment notes.
- The duty stays with you; the software helps you evidence that you met it, but does not discharge it.
- Per-report pricing beats per-seat for firms with a mix of site staff and office reviewers, because adding people is free.
- The software captures and timestamps the evidence. The duty of care, and the judgement behind it, stay with you.
The point
What a waste duty of care audit is actually for
Under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, anyone who imports, produces, keeps, treats, transports or disposes of controlled waste has a duty of care to make sure it is managed properly. In practice that means only transferring waste to an authorised person, describing it accurately, and completing a waste transfer note. The duty does not end at your gate; it follows the waste.
Software does not discharge that duty. You do, by making and recording the right checks. What software does is make the carrier check and the transfer note easier to complete at the point of transfer, harder to skip, and faster to evidence. A good tool means the audit trail shows the carrier was verified and the waste correctly described, rather than a folder of transfer notes nobody cross-checked.
The checks
Carrier licence and the transfer note
Two checks carry most of the duty. First, the person taking the waste must be authorised, typically a registered waste carrier, and you should verify that registration before the waste moves, not after. Second, the transfer must be covered by a waste transfer note that describes the waste accurately, including the appropriate European Waste Catalogue code, so the next holder knows what they have.
Quickler prompts for the carrier check and the transfer note details at handover, with a photo of the documentation attached and a timestamp on the record. The office sees the audit status on a dashboard without chasing. It does not verify a carrier's registration for you or classify the waste; those remain your checks and your judgement, which is where the duty actually sits.
Hazardous and hierarchy
Consignment notes and the waste hierarchy
Hazardous waste carries extra duties. In England and Wales it must generally move under a hazardous waste consignment note, with the classification and quantities recorded, and separate rules apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The waste hierarchy, prevention, reuse, recycling, other recovery, then disposal as a last resort, should also shape how waste is handled rather than everything defaulting to landfill.
Quickler can capture the consignment note details and record that the hierarchy was considered as part of the audit. It is a tool for evidencing your decisions, not for making the legal classification or replacing a competent waste manager. This is guidance, not legal advice, and the waste rules differ across the UK nations and change over time, so check the current regulations for your nation and waste stream.
Pricing
Per report, not per seat
Most environmental and audit tools charge per seat. For a firm auditing waste that is the wrong shape. The environmental manager who reviews the records pays the same as the site team capturing transfer notes across a dozen skips, and every site you add costs more.
Quickler charges per report, with unlimited users on every bundle. Bundles run from Quickler 50 at 50 pounds a month for 50 reports, up to Quickler 500 at 500 pounds a month for 500 reports. Add as many site staff, managers and admins as you like; you pay for the audits you file, not the people who could file them. Pricing is approximate and shifts, so check the current pricing page before you commit.
Questions, answered
What is a waste duty of care audit?
It is a check that your waste is being transferred lawfully under the duty of care: the carrier is authorised, the transfer note describes the waste accurately, and hazardous waste moves under a consignment note where required. The options range from paper transfer note books, to general audit apps, to conversation-based tools like Quickler that run the audit over WhatsApp so there is no app to install.
Does the software discharge my duty of care?
No. Under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 the duty of care stays with you. Quickler captures and timestamps the evidence that you checked the carrier and completed the transfer note; it does not verify a carrier's registration for you, classify the waste, or take on the legal duty. The duty, and the judgement behind it, stay with you.
Can I run a waste audit over WhatsApp?
Yes. Quickler's workflow runs over the WhatsApp Business API. The site team receives each check in their existing WhatsApp chat, replies with text, a voice note or a photo of the waste transfer note, and the audit assembles itself with a timestamp on every entry. No separate app or login is required, and Quickler manages the WhatsApp Business API account on the firm's behalf.
What about hazardous waste?
Hazardous waste carries extra duties, including moving under a hazardous waste consignment note in England and Wales, with separate rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Quickler can capture the consignment details and record that the waste hierarchy was considered, but it does not make the legal classification. This is guidance, not legal advice; check the current regulations for your nation and waste stream.