Transcript Legal Update (EA - Tessa Bowering)

SWWMG: September 2015
LEGISLATION UPDATE
UPDATES
Hazardous waste
Duty of Care
Fire Prevention Plans
The Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005
Current requirement for premises
registration
New requirement from 1 April 2016 :
removed need to register premises by
end March 2016.
Government asked EA to find a
solution to maintain traceability of
waste movements
Various options have
been explored in order that we can
continue to trace hazardous waste
consignments
DoC: Background
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DoC goes back to 1991 with implementation in 1992 with a statutory code of
practice (updated in 1995). Set out in Section 34 of the EPA and Part 9 of the
Waste Regulations 2011.
DoC is a generic obligation applying to everyone in the waste chain – anyone who
imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste
You must take all reasonable steps to:
prevent unauthorised or harmful deposit, treatment or disposal of waste (illegal
waste sites, flytipping, import/export)
Prevent a breach by any other person to meet the requirement to have an
environmental permit, or a breach of permit condition
Prevent the escape of waste from your control
Ensure any person to whom you are transferring waste has the correct
authorisation (registered carrier, broker, dealer)
Provide an accurate description of the waste when it is transferred to another
person
Other waste Laws for
waste holders
Hazardous Waste Regulations
Producer Responsibility Regulations
(packaging, EEE, batteries, ELVs)
Separate Collections (paper, metal, plastic,
glass)
Landfill: waste acceptance, pre-treatment,
landfill tax
DUTY OF CARE
WASTE
PRODUCER
BROKER/DEALER
REGISTERED
CARRIER
MATERIALS
RECOVERY
FACILITY (MRF) /
TRANSFER
STATION
INCINERATION
TREATMENT
LANDFILL
PERMITTED
Duty of Care
Consultation on the revised Waste Duty of Care Code of Practice (July
2015)
Consultation ran for 8 weeks – finished on 21st September 2015
A Code of Practice is an authoritative statement of practice and differs
from legislation in that it offers guidance rather than imposing
requirements.
The Code of Practice is admissible in evidence and courts must take it
into account in legal proceedings where it is relevant to the issues of
the case
The purpose of the Code of Practice is to give simple, clear and
practical guidance on what those who import, produce, carry, keep,
treat or dispose of controlled waste have to do to fulfil their legal duty of
care obligations
Fire Prevention Plans
Guidance produced for permitted sites
that are storing combustible waste.
Fire prevention standards (working
plan/EMS)
Applies to combustible materials
including: paper/card, plastics, rubber,
wood, frag waste, rags/textiles, scrap
metals, RDF/SDF, WEEE (fridges,
computers and TVs containing
combustible materials such as plastic),
compost/plant material, biomass etc.
Fire Prevention Plans
Part of a written management system that includes an assessment of
fire risks on the site and the measures in place to prevent, detect,
suppress, mitigate and contain fires
Guidance details what the plan needs to cover and also stipulates
waste piles and separation distances.
For example: processed wood including sawdust, shavings and chips –
max. height 3m, length/width 10m, max volume 150m3, max area
100m2 and min separation 6m
Thank You
Tessa Bowering
Senior Environment officer
Direct dial: 01258 483416
[email protected]