Waste is regulated by two main statutes:
- Environmental Protection Act 1990 - which deals with the management of ‘controlled’ wastes;
- Environment Act 1995 - which provides for the introduction of statutory ‘producer responsibility’ obligations to increase levels of re-use, recovery or recycling of products or materials that have served their original purpose.
All manufacturing outfits, as producers of ‘controlled’ waste, are directly affected by many of the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989
Provisions require carriers of ‘controlled’ waste to be registered. The definition of controlled waste corresponds to that established in the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The regulatory authority is the Environment Agency.
Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA90) - Part II
Section 34 imposes a ‘duty of care’ on anyone that imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of ‘controlled’ waste. It also applies to waste brokers. EPA90 requires that a code of practice is issued to provide practical guidance on how those having the duty can meet it.
Controlled wastes are defined in section 75 as household, industrial and commerce wastes.
Section 62 provides for additional controls to be introduced for dangerous or difficult wastes (as ‘special’ waste). Controlled wastes (including ‘special’ wastes) are regulated by the Environment Agency.
Part II of EPA90 also provides for a system of waste management licensing for those treating, keeping or disposing of waste in specified situations. It is an offence (section 33) to operate without such a licence if one is required. In granting a licence the Environment Agency is to be satisfied that the operator is a fit and proper person and that the operation will not cause pollution of the environment, harm to human health or serious detriment to the amenities of the locality.
Section 74 gives the meaning of ‘fit and proper person’ - factors include: technical competence, adequate financial provision and conviction of relevant offences. The licence may contain conditions as thought appropriate by the Agency relating to the activities authorised and any precautionary measures to be taken or other works to be carried out. Section 39 sets out the requirements with regard to the surrender of licences.
Controlled Waste (Registration of Carriers and Seizure of Vehicles) Regulations 1991 (SI 1991/1624) as amended by SIs 1992/588, 1996/553, 1996/972, 1998/605 and 2000/1973
Implement the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989. Set out the requirements (e.g. applications and appeals procedures) of the registration scheme for carriers of controlled waste. Lists exemptions from registration which includes those transporting the waste that they have produced (unless it is building or demolition waste). The registration authority is the Environment Agency.
NOTE: These Regulations have been amended by the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994. The Controlled Waste (Registration of Carriers and Seizure of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations 1998 cover Environment Agency registration forms and fees.
Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991 (SI 1991/2839) as amended by SI 1996/972, 2000/1973, 2002/1559 and 2003/63
Section 34 of EPA90 imposes a ‘duty of care’ on anyone who produces, imports, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of ‘controlled’ wastes, or as a broker has control over such waste. This therefore includes industry and commerce as producers and holders of such waste, though householders are exempt from the duty (for their own household waste).
Controlled waste must only be transferred to authorised persons (e.g. registered waste carrier or licensed waste manager) and such transfers must be accompanied by ‘transfer note’ documentation. The regulations set out the requirements for a mandatory system of ‘transfer notes’ and record keeping requirements. The regulations specify the details to be completed on the transfer note.
They require that transferors and transferees retain the documentation for two years after the transfer and to furnish copies to the regulator if required. Waste Collection Authorities (WCA's) can serve notices on persons who are required to keep written descriptions of waste and transfer notices and can require those persons to furnish such documents to them within a specified period of time.
A Code of Practice which provides practical advice waste holders on how they are to meet the duty of care has been issued (refer to Appendix 5). It should also be noted that the Duty of Care requirements are under review in 2006.
Controlled Waste Regulations 1992 (SI 1992/588), amended by SIs 1993/566, 1994/1056, 1995/288 and 1996/972
List the wastes which are to be treated as ‘controlled’ waste under the categories of household, industrial and commercial wastes for the purposes of EPA90 - Part II. Most wastes from industry and commerce are controlled wastes - one notable exception being radioactive waste.
NOTE: What materials and substances constitute waste is determined by the legal rules set out in the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994.
EU Regulation 1013/2006 on the Supervision and Control of Shipments of Waste within, into and out of the European Community
Applies directly in the UK, and is brought into force by the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/1711). It lays down a system of control for international movements of all waste (with specified exceptions), whether for final disposal or recovery.
Shipment of wastes can only occur with the consent of all the relevant authorities. Some imports and exports are prohibited. Wastes are classified as green, amber and red - with the greatest restrictions applying to those in the red list.
Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1137) as amended by SI 2005/187 and SI 2007/1711.
These (UK) regulations supplement EU Regulation 259/93. They have been introduced under the European Communities Act 1972. They set out the UK controls on the import and export of such wastes, including prenotification and tracking. The regulator in England and Wales is the Environment Agency.
The Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007 Came into force 12 July 2007. They extend the range of people against whom enforcement action can be taken to include any transporter, freight forwarder or any other person involved in the shipment of waste. The new regulations strengthen the powers of the enforcement authorities by providing a wider range of tools, including the power to serve notices on operators to request compliance with controls.
Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1056), as amended by SIs 1994/1137, 1995/288, 1995/1950, 1996/593, 1996/634, 1996/1279, 1996/972, 1997/351, 1997/2203 1998/606, 2002/674, 2002/1087 (Wales), SI 2002/1159, SI 2003/595, SI 2005/1528, SI 2006/937 and SI 2007/1156.
The regulations implement the waste management licensing system set out in the Environmental Protection Act Part II and also transpose certain EU Directives into UK law, including the Waste Framework Directive (75/442/EEC as amended by 91/156/EEC).
The regulations prescribe what constitutes ‘Directive waste’ and therefore constitutes the basic legal definition of waste in the UK (‘controlled wastes’ and ‘special wastes’ are therefore subsets of ‘Directive waste’). The legal definition of waste in the UK thus corresponds to that set out in the EU Waste Framework Directive as amended.
The definition of ‘Directive’ waste is based on the concept of discarding, so that waste is a substance or object that the producer or holder of the waste discards, intends to discard or is required to discard. Further advice on this definition is provided in DoE Circular 11/94 (see Guidance below).
They prescribe the waste disposal and waste recovery operations (including certain waste storage, handling and treatment operations) that require a waste management licence (schedule 4 parts V and VI). The regulator is the Environment Agency. Regulation 16 sets out the activities which are excluded from the waste management licensing regime, while regulation 17 and schedule 3 sets out those activities which are exempted from the requirements of licensing. Exempted activities must normally be registered as such.
The regulations set out procedural requirements including the form and content of applications, deadlines for operators to submit applications, and provisions for appeals. The information that is recorded on public registers concerning such licences is also specified.
Under EPA90 Part II, the holder of a waste management licence must be a ‘fit and proper person’. Regulation 4 details the technical competence requirements based on relevant certificates of technical competence awarded by the Waste Management Industry Training and Advisory Board (WAMITAB). Regulation 3 lists the relevant offences to be taken into account when assessing if the applicant is a ‘fit and proper person’.
The 1994 regulations have been amended by subsequent amending regulations. For example, the Waste Management Licensing (Amendment etc) Regulations 1995 (SI 1995/288), which introduced licensing to scrap metal operations and established further exemptions. Regulation 2 amended the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992, principally by bringing scrap metal under the ‘duty of care’.
The Waste Management Regulations 1996 (SI 1996/634) further amend the 1994 regulations, including the technical competence requirements for those operating facilities where waste is subject to chemical or physical treatment.
The Waste Management (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1997 (SI 1997/351) includes new relevant offences to be taken into account when assessing if an operator is a fit and proper person. The Waste Management Licensing (Amendment) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/606) cover the registration of waste brokers and charging schemes for registration of scrap metal recovery and vehicles dismantling sites.
The 2002 amendment enables the Environment Agency to authorise mobile plant for the recovery of ozone depleting substances from waste refrigeration equipment and fire extinguishers.
The 2003 amendment makes provision for qualifications to be required of a person to manage activities authorised by a Waste Management License if the holder is to be considered a fit and proper person pursuant with Section 74 of the EPA 1990.
The Waste Management Licensing (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2003
These provide for changes in the WAMITAB regime and the transfer of powers from the Secretary of State for Wales to the National Welsh Assembly. They require any person wishing to be granted a waste management license in Wales to hold the required qualifications from WAMITAB.
The Waste Management Licences (Consultation and Compensation) Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/481) Cover the consultation periods and cases where compensation may be payable to Waste Management License holders asked to carry out works to remedy a situation which would otherwise cause a breach of the license.
Environment Act 1995 - Part V
Section 93 sets out provisions for the introduction of regulations to promote or secure an increase in the re-use, recovery or recycling of prescribed products or materials that have served their original purpose
(i.e. have reached their ‘end-of-life), through the introduction of producer responsibility obligations on prescribed persons (i.e. those involved in the production or supply of the product or material). The objective of producer responsibility is to ensure the productive use of products and materials which have served their original purpose with obligations based on target levels of re-use, recovery and/or recycling. Recovery includes composting and the production of energy from the ‘end-of-life’ (i.e. waste) materials.
Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/894)
These regulations replace the 1996 Special Waste regulations and implement the requirements of the EU hazardous waste directive 91/689/EEC as amended by 94/31/EC. The term “special waste” has been replaced by “hazardous waste” as defined in the Hazardous Waste Directive and the revised European Waste Catalogue (see the List of Waste (England) Regulations 2005 below).
The regulations remove the need to pre-notify the Environment Agency (EA) before hazardous waste can be moved off site, and include a simpler method for tracking wastes once they have been moved. The Environment Agency now carry out ‘cradle to grave’ auditing of hazardous waste movements.
The Environment Agency will check that all paperwork is correct and that the waste has been handled and consigned properly at each part of the disposal process. There is also a requirement for the Environment Agency to inspect hazardous waste producers, and in particular the sites where hazardous waste is produced.
The regulations remove the requirement for all individual consignment notes to be copied to the Agency. Instead, consignees (waste management facilities) are required to send the EA quarterly returns on hazardous waste production. However, hazardous waste producers are still required to retain consignment notes for three years under the Duty of Care.
All sites producing hazardous waste must make themselves known to the EA via an annual registration. Sites exempt from the requirement to register are listed in regulation 23(3), in order to be exempt, a site must fall into one of the categories listed and produce less than 200kg of hazardous waste per year.
The List of Wastes (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2005 SI 2005/895 as amended by SI 2005/1673
These regulations implement the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) in the UK. The List of Wastes Regulations includes hazardous and non–hazardous waste streams. Each waste listed has been given a unique six-digit code, the codes must be use don all waste documentation including transfer and consignment notes.
Hazardous wastes are listed with an asterisk. Some wastes are hazardous irrespective of the concentration of dangerous substances (absolute entries). However, others (termed mirror entries) will be hazardous only if they contain dangerous substances at levels above the appropriate thresholds.
Advice on how to interpret the definition and classification of hazardous waste, how to assess the concentration of dangerous substances and how to determine whether wastes are hazardous can be found in the Environment Agency’s website.
Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999
This Act provides a single legislative framework for regulation of IPPC installations. Whilst landfills have previously been subject to either the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 or the Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 (“the 2000 Regulations”) (which in turn implemented Council Directive 96/61/EC concerning integrated pollution prevention and control (“the IPPC Directive”).
The Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/1559) as amended by SI 2004/1375 and SI 2005/1640
These Regulations set out a pollution control regime for landfills for the purpose of implementing Council Directive 99/31/EC on the landfill of waste in England and Wales.
The requirements of the Landfill Regulations have been progressively introduced since 2002 and the main impacts on waste producers have been that:
- Certain kinds of waste can no longer be sent to landfill for disposal
- Biodegradable municipal waste are progressively diverted away from landfill
- Landfills are classified according to whether they accept hazardous, non-hazardous or inert wastes
- Wastes must be treated before they can be landfilled
The 2004 amendment amends the regulatory regime governing landfills in England and Wales for the purpose of implementing Council Decision 2003/33/EC establishing criteria and procedures for the acceptance of waste at landfills, one of the requirements of the Landfill Directive.
The Decision specifies detailed criteria and procedures for acceptance of waste for each class of landfill. The procedures in the amended regulations replaced the existing waste acceptance criteria and waste acceptance procedures in the 2002 Regulations with effect from 16 July 2005. All waste must be tested before landfill to ensure that it meets Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC). There are three types of WAC:
- Lists of acceptable wastes (which do not have to be tested)
- Numerical leaching limit values
- Numerical limit values for other parameters
Any waste not meeting the criteria will not be accepted and landfill. Alternative disposal routes must be found or the waste must be pre-treated before landfill. Guidance on WAC and Waste Acceptance Procedures (WAP) for testing and characterising waste can be found on the Environment Agency's website.