The regulations will make it the duty of householders to take all reasonable steps to ensure that waste is only taken from their homes by operators who are authorised to do so.

Steve Lee commented: ‘It is only right that householders should be included in the loop in terms of dealing with waste responsibly. Fly-tipping is already costing about £1 million a week.

‘Householders often pay for waste to be removed, and sometimes it simply gets dumped in a lay-by or field – surely not what the vast majority were intending. The new ‘duty of care’ could play an important part in raising awareness of the issues and changing behaviour,  but it needs to be supported by an effective communications programme rather than just appearing on the statute books.

‘All of us involved in policy development – Government, local authorities, sector bodies and contractors – need to play our part in getting the messages across.’ The ‘duty of care’ principle is going through a number of changes currently which may mean that more people will be looking to us for guidance – it is important that we are ready to give good and timely advice.’

Further information about ‘duty of care’ is available at www.ciwm.co.uk/pma/1561