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Systematic failures in regulating waste carriers, brokers and dealers has led to record levels of crime and is costing over half a billion pounds a year. These were the conclusions of Mike Brown, managing director of Eunomia, when in 2017 he managed to register his deceased dog Oscar as a waste carrier. The purpose of this stunt was to highlight that the lack of background checks under the current regime would allow anyone (or anyone’s pet) to register, leaving it open to exploitation by bad actors. The problem has only worsened since, with the Environment Agency estimating the cost in 2021 alone to be over £1 billion a year.
At the beginning of 2022, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) consulted on its plans to reform the waste carriers, brokers and dealers registration system in an attempt to address some of the shortcomings that Mike Brown had exposed in 2017. This consultation proposed moving the regime from a registration to a permit-based system under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) and proposed enhanced background checks needed to operate as a waste carrier, broker or dealer. On the 21st of October 2023, the Governments response to this consultation was published.
This response confirmed that changes to the waste carriers, brokers and dealers regime would be made to replace the current registrations with permitting rules, and simplify the current terminology that is used under the regime.
The current regime distinguishes between waste carriers, waste brokers and waste dealers; distinctions that have caused some confusion. These are going to be replaced with 3 new designations:
The existing two-tier registration system for waste carriers is going to be replaced with a ‘standard rules’ environmental permit or a registered exemption under the EPR. It is outlined in the Government publication that they plan to introduce the following three permit types:
These permits will be differentiated with the addition of tiers that take into consideration the type and volume of waste carried. This will include four levels of risk, with additional charges and permit conditions reflecting the risk level of the waste. The details of these permits and their conditions will be outlined in future consultations.
All 3 of the newly proposed permits will require a single, up-front payment. The payment will cover the application fee and a subsistence fee to cover compliance costs. If the application is unsuccessful then the subsistence fee will be refunded. A renewal fee will be charged after 3 years that also includes a subsistence fee.
Registered and non-registered exemptions will still be available, exempt activities can be found here.
A significant change to bringing the current regime into line with the EPR is the duty to demonstrate technical competence for permitted activities. This will mean that before waste controllers or transporters can obtain one of the permits outlined above, they must satisfy the Environment Agency that they can meet both the conditions of the permit being applied for and have the appropriate level of technical competence required. When implemented, this should prevent inadequate applications, such as those made on behalf of Oscar the dog, from being granted.
As it stands, when the new system goes live, those with an existing upper-tier registration will be required to apply for the relevant permit when their registration is due for renewal. Those with an existing lower-tier registration will be required to apply for any permits that they require within 12 months, after which their registration will have expired.
The coming changes are still very much in the early stages, with alterations following additional consultations likely and currently no timeline for when the new system will go live. However, it is clear that significant changes in the way we handle and transport waste are on the horizon.
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)* are toxic to the environment and have been banned in transformers** in England, Scotland and Wales.
*PCBs include:
**Transformers are used to reduce the voltage of electricity from the grid.
Transformers whose oil contains more than 0.005% PCBs but less than 0.05% and a total PCB volume of 50 ml are currently exempt from this ban. The Compliance People consultant Katie Pritchard looks at this exemption and its upcoming repeal.
Transformers containing more than 0.005% PCBs but less than 0.05% and a total PCB volume of 50 ml must be decommissioned or disposed of by 31st December 2025.
Transformers contaminated with PCBs are considered as hazardous waste and persistent organic pollutants. As such, the transformers must be disposed of in a way that destroys the PCB content.
If the PCB content cannot be destroyed, the Environment Agency or the Scottish Environment Protection Agency may permit you to permanently store the equipment underground.
Records of disposal and decontamination must be retained and provided upon request.
Once decontaminated or decommissioned, transformers contaminated with PCBs must be removed from the contaminated equipment register*.
*The contaminated equipment register is a register maintained by the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. The register sets out a list of all transformers that still contain PCBs.
You may need to provide information on laboratory test reports and waste consignment notes.
Transformers containing more than 0.005% PCBs but less than 0.05% and a total PCB volume of 50 ml must be decommissioned or disposed of by 31st December 2025.
If you need more help, why not get in touch with us? – Our professional team of consultants offer independent, periodic compliance evaluations and support for both environment and health & safety.
There is a common misconception that waste batteries can be disposed of via household tips. The Compliance People Consultant Katie Pritchard advises how organisations can dispose of waste batteries safely and in compliance with the law.
Waste produced by organisations, including waste batteries, is classed as controlled waste* and in England and Wales is regulated under:
*Controlled waste is household, industrial or commercial waste that is subject to legislative requirements.
Organisations have a duty of care to ensure that their waste is disposed of in a way that does not harm the environment or human health.
Organisations must:
*An authorised waste facility is a facility that is authorised to receive waste.
**A waste carrier is a person or organisation that transports waste.
Waste duty of care extends to batteries.
Organisations must:
Organisations must not dispose of batteries via household tips. Batteries must be collected by a registered waste carrier and taken to an authorised waste facility.
For more information on waste duty of care, have a look at our waste duty of care training.
If you need more help, why not get in touch with us? - Our professional team of consultants offer independent, periodic compliance evaluations and support for both environment and health & safety.
Our consultants see issues regarding waste at almost every site we carry out environmental legal compliance audits for. This is why we’ve prepared this article to help understand the differences between waste carriers, brokers and dealers.
If you are any of the above, you must be registered with the relevant environmental regulator.
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, there are 2 tiers of registration for carrying, brokering and dealing in waste – ‘lower tier’ and ‘upper tier’.
The same principles apply in Scotland, but there are no lower and upper tiers. Instead, if you carry, broker or deal in waste, you must register as either a ‘professional collector and transporter of waste’ or a ‘waste carrier’. A registration is only required if waste is carried as part of a business activity.
It is a legal requirement, and you will be committing an offence if you do not register and maintain that registration as required.
Lower Tier (England, Wales, Northern Ireland) / Professional Collector and Transporter of Waste (Scotland)
A person or business will need to register as a lower tier / a professional collector and transporter of waste if they:
Lower tier carriers can also be known as ‘specified persons’.
It is free to register as lower tier and the registration does not expire.
Some examples of a lower tier waste carrier / a professional collector and transporter of waste include:
Upper Tier (England, Wales, Northern Ireland) / Waste Carrier (Scotland)
A person or business will need to register as upper tier / a waste carrier if they:
There is a fee to register, and registration lasts for 3 years.
Examples of an upper-tier waste carrier / waste carrier include:
England and Wales
Section 34 of Environmental Protection Act 1990 sets out a number of duties regarding waste, in particular how waste must be managed correctly by storing it correctly and only transferring it to an appropriately authorised person / business.
The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 sets out the requirement for carriers, brokers and dealers of controlled waste to be registered with the EA in England and NRW in Wales.
Scotland
Section 34 of Environmental Protection Act 1990 sets out a number of duties in relation to waste, in particular how waste must be managed correctly by storing it correctly and only transferring it to an appropriately authorised person / business.
The requirement to register as a carrier or broker of controlled waste is contained the Controlled Waste (Registration of Carriers and Seizure of Vehicles) Regulations 1991.
Northern Ireland
The Controlled Waste (Registration of Carriers and Seizure of Vehicles) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 introduce a system of registration for waste carriers.
The Waste (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2011 introduce a 2 tier system for waste carrier, broker and dealer registration. It also makes consequential amendments to several other pieces of legislation.
You do not need a waste carrier, broker or dealer registration if you:
For cross border transfers of waste in the UK, you only need to register once with one regulator for any movement of waste between England (EA), Wales (NRW) and Scotland (SEPA). For transport to and from Northern Ireland, you will need to register with the NIEA in addition to another regulator in the UK.
Registrations can be viewed on the register of carriers, brokers and dealers for each regulator. Each regulator has a slightly different register for recording authorised carriers, brokers and dealers.
All businesses have a duty of care obligation to ensure that controlled waste is transported and disposed of legally and safely. Regularly checking the registrations of any waste contractors who collect waste or arrange for it to be collected from your premises helps to meet this obligation.
It is estimated that businesses in the UK are responsible for the generation of 41.1 million tonnes of commercial and industrial waste every year. Despite this, many organisations struggle with implementing appropriate waste management procedures and in fully understanding their specific duties under waste legislation.
Commercial organisations generate almost twice as much waste as households and waste management can often feel like a burden when there is a business to run and budgets to manage. However, managing waste responsibly is not just a moral environmental consideration, it is required by law.
All businesses have what is known as a legal ‘duty of care’ when it comes to their waste. This means that they have a duty, set out in law, to ensure that their waste is being managed appropriately, without causing harm to people and the environment. Failure to meet this duty can result in prosecution and fines from regulators and irreparable reputational damage to an organisation.
Organisations must therefore make sure that their waste is managed safely and legally and that the correct waste documentation (waste transfer notes or hazardous waste consignment notes) are in place for its movement. It is the responsibility of the organisation producing the waste to ensure that this happens, and that appropriate procedures and checks are put in place to meet these obligations.
Some waste streams are easier to manage than others. General waste, for example is a common waste stream and there is easily accessible information available on how to manage it. However, some less frequently encountered waste streams can trip businesses up when it comes to duty of care and complying with waste legislation.
Below are some common issues faced by many organisations when managing their waste.
All waste must be identified and classified using a 6-digit code (known as an EWC which stands for European Waste Catalogue) before being sent for recovery or disposal. Many wastes are however often misclassified and the wrong EWC code used. For example, waste may be classified as non-hazardous, when it is in fact hazardous. This is common with waste ink and toner cartridges and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Guidance is available from the Environment Agency on how to classify different types of waste and should be used to ensure waste is classified correctly.
Waste must always be transported by a registered waste carrier (as authorised by the appropriate environmental regulator) and sent to a facility authorised (by an environmental permit or exemption) to accept that specific waste stream. Organisations must check this before transferring waste to another party – these checks are sometimes referred to as ‘duty of care checks’. Copies of waste carriers registrations and permits can be requested from the waste contractor or checked on the appropriate regulators public register.
No waste stream can be stored on the site it was produced for longer than 12 months. Even if only small quantities of a particular waste stream are generated, it must be collected from site by an authorised waste contractor at least every 12 months.
Many waste streams that are produced infrequently, in small quantities, or managed by a third party are often missed when looking at site waste management. All waste must be considered, including any waste generated by any developments, projects, or contractors. Commonly forgotten waste streams include confidential waste and sanitary waste. All waste produced by an organisation is subject to duty of care requirements and must be collected by a registered waste carrier and have the correct paperwork in place for its removal.
Are you confident with managing your waste correctly? Would you like to know more about how to comply with your waste duty of care? Why not look at the duty of care support services we offer, or book onto one of our virtual waste duty of care training courses.
In this article, The Compliance People consultant, Kerry Hammick will answer 5 common questions we get on waste duty of care paperwork and what is legally required.
If your organisation produces, moves, or recovers / disposes of waste then you have legal waste duty of care obligations which you must understand and comply with. The Compliance People often receive questions on how to meet these obligations in terms of waste transfer notes and hazardous waste consignment notes. The Compliance People Consultant Ellie Galston has put together this list of the top 5 questions we’re most commonly asked to help you comply with your organisation’s waste duty of care.
Please note these all relate to compliance in England and Wales, but we have webinars and FAQs on waste documentation also available for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Need some extra information? We’re running virtual Waste Duty of Care Training in October and November, suitable for those with responsibilities for waste produced at their site(s).
A waste transfer note (WTN) is a legally required document which must be completed for all transfers of non-hazardous waste to another party (i.e. every time waste changes hands). The format of a WTN must conform to the requirements laid out in Part 9 of The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011.
A WTN can be issued to cover a particular collection, or for multiple collections of the same waste type, from the same site, by the same waste carrier, over a maximum period of 1 year (a ‘season ticket’).
WTNs are not required by an occupier of domestic property for the removal of household waste produced on the property.
A WTN is a legally required document for non-hazardous waste. When hazardous waste is moved, it must be accompanied by correctly completed paperwork called a consignment note, or hazardous waste consignment note (HWCN). The note must be prepared before any hazardous waste is moved and is required for all movements of hazardous waste. The format of a HWCN must meet the requirements set out in The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005.
An annual WTN or ‘season ticket’ is a single WTN that covers a series of non-hazardous waste transfers. The annual WTN can last up to 1 year and be used for regular transfers of the same type of non-hazardous waste with the same waste carrier from the same site. If you have several sites serviced by the same carrier with the same types of waste collected, they can be listed in a schedule to the annual WTN. It must be clear on the WTN what period it covers.
You should also keep a record of the collection times and the quantity of waste collected each time. A good way to do this is to get a delivery ticket from the waste carrier for each load collected stating when the collection took place and how much was collected.
Waste needs to be disposed of legally and correctly to protect people and the environment. It is a legal requirement that WTNs are completed for all transfers of waste to another party. WTNs allow the regulator to understand what wastes are being generated and how they are being disposed of and / or recovered. They provide a clear auditable paper trail from when the waste is produced to when it is disposed of and can help to evidence that a business has met its statutory duty of care.
Paper or electronic copies of WTNs are acceptable. For non-hazardous waste in England and Wales you can use:
For hazardous waste consignment notes, paper or electronic copies are also acceptable. The Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales provide a template consignment note. You can use your own consignment note but it must have all the same information fields as this one and be as near to the same format as possible.
It is a legal requirement to keep copies of all WTNs / waste transfer information for at least two years. Hazardous waste consignment notes must be retained for a minimum of three years.
Keen to find out more about waste duty of care and waste paperwork? Join one of our online tutored training courses. Over two training modules conducted over Microsoft Teams, one of our experienced consultants will provide a comprehensive overview of the waste duty of care and other relevant waste legislation that is applicable in England, to give you the skills required to comply. Book your place now.
Nicola said, “Last time I had applied for jobs, nothing was online. I was really struggling with my computer skills, but Helen helped me to work on my online CV and showed me how I could search for jobs online.”
Over the coming days, Helen and Nicola worked together to search for job roles and applied to the positions which interested her. Excitingly, it wasn’t long before she was invited to an interview. They practised interview questions and looked at what Nicola should read about the company to be successful.
Since leaving her last role, Nicola’s confidence had suffered, “Helen helped me build my self-esteem back up. I was so nervous about the interview, but I needed the job as it was perfect to work around my family. Helen coached me for my interview and advised me on what I should read about the company to impress the interviewer.”
Through the work done together, Nicola now had the confidence to know how her skills gained from previous employment could be directly transferred to the new role she had applied for.
Shortly after the interview, Nicola was extremely pleased to hear that she had secured a new job at a leading hardware store, “When I was offered the job, I was ecstatic! I’ve never been out of work before, so everything felt daunting. With Helen’s help, I was able to find this job so quickly. I have been here six weeks now, and I love it; everyone is so supportive.”
Upon hearing the excellent news, to financially support Nicola before her first wage, Job Centre Plus Coach Kus arranged a fully paid bus pass that would last for a month.
Nicola added, “I would really recommend anyone looking for employment support for whatever reason to get in touch with More Positive Together. I honestly don’t know where I would be today if I didn’t have Helen’s support.
It has been a long time since I looked for a job and with everything now being online it truly took me out of my comfort zone. Helen is really easy to talk to and is proactive. She helped me navigate it all and I now know I can do it! I couldn’t thank her enough.”
Helen said, “I couldn’t be prouder of Nicola for following the advice and running with every opportunity she was given. Her hard work paid off and I wish her the best of luck in her new role!”
We offer the following services:
Over 2 training modules conducted over Microsoft Teams, one of our experienced consultants will provide a comprehensive overview of the waste duty of care and other key waste legislation that is applicable in England, to give you the skills required to comply.
This course is aimed at all organisations and individuals who generate, handle or treat waste within England. It will be particularly useful for those producing waste as part of their business activities, in addition to employees who handle waste and complete waste transfer paperwork.
What will I learn?
Using a mixture of presentations, activities and group discussions, by the end of the course you will be able to:
You can read more about our online course here.
If you are interested in any of the services above or would like to register your interest for one of our training courses, please get in touch via [email protected] to arrange an informal chat with one of our consultants about how we can support your organisation.
Stay up-to-date with topical news and legislation from The Compliance People. Selected updates direct to your inbox.
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