On July 16th 2005, The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 (HWR 2005) and The List of Waste (England) Regulations 2005 and The List of Waste (Wales) Regulations 2005 came into force. They have had an important impact on those who produce, transport and dispose of hazardous waste and were introduced to ensure that the UK fulfils the requirements of the Hazardous Waste Directive issued by the European Commission.
The purpose of the new regulations is not only to make England and Wales (Scotland is covered by separate regulations), compliant with European Directives, but also so that it is easier to monitor the movement of waste from ‘cradle to grave’. In the long term it is hoped that the regulations will encourage the minimization of hazardous waste. This may be achieved by the use of less harmful materials or by the development of workplace processes that will create less waste.
These guidance notes will help to clarify what this means for your business and what actions you need to take.
What are the Hazardous Waste Regulations?
The Hazardous Waste Regulations encompasses in principle two sets of legislation – the Landfill Directive and the Hazardous Waste Directive, which covers the majority of the waste management process from the initial classification of the waste through to the ultimate disposal i.e. landfill, so must be reviewed in it’s entirety.
The Landfill Directive
The Landfill Directive was introduced to the UK via the Landfill Regulations (England and Wales) 2002 and the subsequent Landfill (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2004 which came into force in July 2004 and which banned the co-disposal of hazardous (formally known as ‘special’) and non hazardous waste. All landfill sites have since been reclassified based on what types of wastes each site can now accept; inert, non-hazardous, stable non reactive hazardous (SNRHW e.g. asbestos) or hazardous waste. This has led to a marked reduction in the number of sites now able to accept hazardous waste
From 16th July 2005 the full Waste Acceptance Criteria
(WAC) applies to all waste destined to inert, stable non reactive hazardous and hazardous waste landfill sites. The WAC is a series of limit values e.g. lead and nickel concentrations which must not be exceeded. If any waste exceeds the respective (type of landfill site) limits then pre-treatment of the waste prior to landfill is required. Furthermore any waste disposed at a landfill site as hazardous waste requires pre-treatment, irrespective of the waste passing or failing WAC.
It should also be noted that WAC testing will not establish if a waste is hazardous or non hazardous and it is the producer’s responsibility for ensuring that their waste is disposed of at the correct classification of landfill site.
Hazardous Waste Directive
The Hazardous Waste Directive (HWD) was first introduced into the UK via the Special Waste Regulations 1996 and since the 16th July 2005 via the The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 and The List of Waste (England) & (Wales) Regulations 2005 and sets the framework within Member States of the European Community for provisions to control the movement of arisings of hazardous wastes. The aim of the HWD is to provide a precise and uniform European-wide definition of hazardous waste and to ensure the correct management and regulation of such waste.
The HWD defines hazardous waste as wastes featuring on a list drawn up by the European Commission, because they possess one or more of the hazardous properties set out in the HWD. The resulting list of wastes was called the Hazardous Waste List (HWL) and this was later incorporated into the European Waste Catalogue (EWC). The current EWC list (EWC 2002) has been significantly extended to include items such as fluorescent tubes, fridges, freezers and cathode ray tube televisions to name but a few. Guidance on the assessment and classification of hazardous waste can be found in the EA document WM2 (2nd Edition) which also has the full list of hazardous wastes by the current European Waste Catalogue (EWC 2002).
When the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 (HWR) replaced the 1996 Special Waste Regulations, the biggest change was the end of the three-day pre-notification for any movement of (then termed) ‘special’ waste. This has instead been replaced by the producer registration obligation to register each site that produces hazardous waste and has been designed as such to simplify and streamline the whole hazardous (formerly ‘special’) waste process. Furthermore, although some exemptions to site registration do apply, they are limited and this essentially means that most industrial/commercial enterprises will need to register with the Environment Agency. For further details of hazardous waste registration and exemptions please click here.
It should be further noted that if a site qualifies for exemption of hazardous waste producer registration, all other requirements of the regulations still apply, i.e. consignment notes etc.
What can you do?
Waste producers have a Duty of Care under the Regulations to ensure the safe and proper disposal or recovery of waste. This applies even after the waste has been passed on to a third party. All waste is to be stored and disposed of responsibly and it is a legal requirement for waste to be segregated and labelled correctly prior to collection and disposal. Waste must only be handled or dealt with by individuals or companies that are authorised to do so. You should check that your waste carrier is properly licensed to transport your particular type of waste and that they will still have means of treating or disposing of the waste after the regulations come into force. |
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| To summarise the key changes are: |
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The term ‘special waste’ has been replaced by ‘hazardous waste’ (except in Scotland).
What is hazardous waste has now been listed in the EWC 2002 and includes over 200 new types of waste.
Every site producing hazardous waste, subject to possible exemptions, needs to be registered with the Environment Agency before any hazardous waste can be collected. Registration has to be renewed on an annual basis and a fee is payable.
There will be no pre-notification for waste consignments. Consignment notes have essentially remained unchanged, with additional information such as UN Identification Number etc being required.
Consignment Note charges will still apply to cover the cost of the each consignment return charged by the EA.
The waste producer is required to keep all documentation for a minimum of 3 years, including the producer/consignor returns.
Registered hazardous waste producers will be subject to periodic inspections by the enforcing authority i.e. the Environment Agency. Any minor paperwork offences will incur a fixed penalty charge of £300.
The mixing of hazardous and non hazardous waste and the mixing of different types of hazardous waste is prohibited. Waste must therefore be segregated and should be classified with the relevant code from the EWC.
The responsibility for the correct consignment of waste lies with the producer, even where a third party i.e. waste carrier, completes the consignment note on their behalf.
It will be an offence to collect hazardous waste from non-notified premises if the producer is not exempt.
All waste destined for a hazardous waste landfill site must also comply with WAC. |
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| How can Bagnall & Morris Waste Services help? |
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Bagnall & Morris Waste Services will continue to assist you with all matters related to waste management, so if you have any issues related to Hazardous Waste please contact us.
Bagnall & Morris Waste Services are able to register your sites with the Environment Agency please click here for further details.
These guidance notes cannot cover the full scope of the new regulations. It is therefore extremely important that waste producers do further reading on this subject to ensure that they are aware of their responsibilities. |
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