COMPANIES in the region have been warned to check on businesses offering to dispose of their waste cheaply.

The Environment Agency said it was increasingly investigating businesses for "duty of care" offences, which occur when a company pays someone to take waste away without checking they are licensed.

When the waste is found dumped illegally, paperwork can often lead back to the business that supplied the waste rather than the contractor.

The agency has warned that some contractors look for waste awaiting collection and others offer their services claiming to be the cheapest.

Under duty of care regulations, businesses can only legally give their waste to disposal contractors registered with the Environment Agency.

An Environment Agency spokesman said: "When using a disposal firm for the first time, businesses must check to see if the contractor is registered. Failure to do so is a criminal offence and can be very costly if it ends up in court. There should also be paperwork saying which company has taken the waste away. If you are quoted a price that seems too good to be true, then it probably is."

Published: 21/09/2004