Hazardous waste regulations

Hazardous waste regulations were first introduced in 1996 under the Special Waste policies. These were updated on 16th July 2005 as the Hazardous Waste ( England & Wales) Regulations 2005. The two key changes were that far more waste types were introduced into the regulations that now affect a larger range of producers and that hazardous waste producers are required to pre-register their premises before any hazardous waste can be collected.

Landfill Directive

The 1999 EU Landfill directive applies various requirements to site types depending on whether the site is existing, new , hazardous or non hazardous. This directive was introduced to define the changes in what waste landfills would be able to accept over an agreed staged period.This has now resulted in many changes including banning , gypsum , waste electrical , liquid waste and co- mingled hazardous waste such as asbestos and contaminated soil.

Duty of care

The Duty of Care is set out in section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and associated regulations. It applies to anyone who is the holder of controlled waste.

Persons concerned with controlled waste must ensure that the waste is managed properly, recovered or disposed of safely, does not cause harm to human health or pollution of the environment and is only transferred to someone who is authorised to receive it. The duty applies to any person who produces, imports, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste or as a broker has control of such waste.

Penalties under the duty of care

Breach of the Duty of Care is an offence, with a penalty of up to £5000 on summary conviction or an unlimited fine on conviction on indictment.

Information are businesses required to keep

Under the Duty of Care Regulations 1991 (the 1991 Regulations), parties transferring waste are required to complete and retain a 'transfer note', containing a written description of that waste. Defra has provided statutory guidance on the completion of the duty of care transfer note in Waste management, the duty of care: a code of practice.

The 1991 Regulations now require waste to be described on the transfer note by reference to the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) and its appropriate code number. These amendments to the 1991 regulations were brought in to meet the landfill Directive’s requirements on monitoring the acceptance and treatment of waste, and will also help to fulfill the UK’s obligation to implement the EWC.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------

Below is a list of downloadable documents

Waste carriers licence >>

Waste management licence >>

Goods Vehicle Operators Licence>>

ISO 9001-2000 certificate >>