Waste Management Act 1996 (End-of-Waste) Regulations 2024

The Waste Management Act 1996 was enacted in May 1996, which makes provisions in relation to the prevention, management and control of waste. The main objectives of the Act are to:

• provide a comprehensive, regulatory framework for the application of higher environmental standards in response to National and EU requirements.
• provide a more effective organisation of public authority functions in relation to waste management, and
• to enable measures designed to improve performance in relation to the prevention and recovery of waste.

Legal definitions within the 1996 Act directly transpose that of the relevant EU legislation. The legal definition of ‘waste,’ is defined in law as ‘something which a holder discards, intends to discard or is required to discard.’ Within the Waste Management Act the term ‘discard’ has a wider legal scope, as materials going to recovery or recycling, fall within the legal definition of waste.

Part I of the Act emphasises new powers for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Local Authorities aimed at facilitating the enforcement of the legislation. These powers deal with the inspection of premises and vehicles (Section 14) and the imposition of obligations upon a person holding, recovering or disposing of waste to carry out specified monitoring (Section 15) and provide specified information to the authorities (Section 18).

Part II of the Act provides information on waste management planning. This outlines the main requirements on the drafting of waste management plans, with their actual structure and content being determined by the Waste Management (Planning) Regulations 1997. The Act specifies certain matters to be dealt with in the plans, in particular reflecting the EU waste hierarchy, with plans having a requirement to address the scope for waste prevention and waste recovery.

Part III of the Act deals with a wide range of regulatory measures to promote waste prevention and recovery, involving obligations on producers, distributors, retailers and consumers.

Part IV of the Act clarifies and expands the role of local authorities in relation to waste collection and imposes a general duty upon a holder of waste to avoid environmental pollution, also, prohibiting a person holding waste from transferring control of the waste to a person who is not authorised to deal with it (Section 32).

Part V of the Act contains provisions that set out the nature of waste licensing. Once granted, a waste license defines the nature of environmentally acceptable waste management activities at a waste facility.

Part VI of the Act includes provisions, similar to those contained in the Air and Water Pollution Acts, regarding measures to prevent, limit or remedy the effects of environmental pollution caused by the holding, recovery or disposal of waste.

Under the Waste Management Act 1996 and associated Regulations all major local authorities are responsible for:

• Enforcement, monitoring and inspection of waste activities.
• Ensuring adequate waste collection, recovery and disposal arrangements.
• Authorising waste exports and monitoring of internal movements of hazardous waste.
• Authorising and control of commercial waste collection activities.
• The creation and regular review of waste management plans in relation to non-hazardous wastes.

Both operators and users of unauthorised waste management facilities can be prosecuted under the legislation, as well as companies who use unauthorised waste collectors or send waste to illegal waste sites. In general the penalties for the contravention of the Waste Management Act are approximately €1900 or prison sentences up to 12 months. More serious offences can be subject to fines up to €10 million and imprisonment of up to 10 years.