UK households have been warned a black bin or green bin mistake could land them in trouble.

A warning has been issued to UK households over a ‘little known’ thing everyone needs to check when getting rid of your rubbish in October. UK households have been warned a black bin or green bin mistake could land them in trouble.

The warning is particularly prudent for UK households with recycling or green waste bins in Birmingham – with ongoing strike action meaning their waste isn’t being collected.

Kingdom Local Authority Support, who assist councils across the country in tackling littering and fly tipping, are telling those getting rid of rubbish to check if the people coming to collect have a Waste Transfer Note.

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This Waste Transfer Note, which comes in four sections, will help you should your waste end up wrongly disposed of.

In some reported cases, fraudulent waste disposal teams will charge you for disposing of your rubbish, only to dump it somewhere – and you could be held responsible.

This could mean the waste being found illegally fly-tipped on streets, roads, fields or any other public place.

Fly tipping is a huge problem in the UK, with local authorities dealing with a staggering 1.15 million incidents in 2023/2024.

John Roberts, Chief Services Officer of Kingdom LAS, said: “In September, we see more waste being dumped, where waste from people’s homes are ending up on a layby or major road side.

“This can often be the result of false waste collection teams, dubbed ‘a man in a van’, who you paid to collect your rubbish and they end up dumping it somewhere.”

Mr Roberts said: “The main consideration for households when getting rid of waste is to make sure the person you are contracting to can provide you with a Waste Transfer Notice as this would protect you if your waste is then found fly tipped.

“A Waste Transfer Note will transfer the responsibility of the waste by law to the company or person that has provided the document.

“That way, you won’t be held liable if the waste isn’t disposed of properly, and companies that can give you a Waste Transfer note are more likely to be reliable.”