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Schedule 2 of the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992 (CWR) gives Waste Collection Authorities powers to charge for the collection of certain types of household waste. ‘Household waste’ is defined in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA), and includes waste from some non-domestic sources, such as schools, hospitals and camp-sites.

The CWR created a problem for local authorities and the private waste management sector, because there was no provision in either the CWR or the EPA to allow waste collection authorities to charge disposal costs. The costs of disposing of waste have risen substantially since the Regulations were introduced and continue to do so. As a result, the market for waste collection became increasingly distorted, and large numbers of the non-domestic “Schedule 2” premises sought waste services from local authorities in order to take advantage of taxpayer-funded waste disposal.

The case for government action

Only Government can amend the legislation to give local authorities the power to charge for disposal costs from non-domestic premises. There is no change to the way householders are charged for waste collection.

Latest news

The Government and the Welsh Government laid before Parliament and the Welsh Assembly on 15 March 2012 the Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations (2012), which revoke the Controlled Waste Regulations (1992), for implementation on 6 April 2012.

These 2012 Regulations give local authorities powers to charge for waste disposal from a wider range of non-domestic premises than the 1992 Regulations allowed.

Long-awaited changes to the Controlled Waste Regulations which will potentially save councils millions of pounds in waste disposal costs are set to come into force next week.

The revised Controlled Waste Regulations 2012 were laid before parliament on Thursday, March 15 and will come into force in England and Wales on Friday April 6. They will give local authorities the power to charge for disposing of waste from non-domestic premises such as prisons, camp sites and hospitals, which are listed under ‘Schedule 2’ of the regulations. At present, local authorities are obligated to collect waste from these premises but can only make a charge for collection and not disposal.

Councils will soon be able to charge hospitals and nursing homes for waste disposal as well as collection.

The changes are likely to be welcomed by councils who have been lobbying for years for changes to the regulations, which currently leave them open to having to pay millions of pounds in disposal costs which they have not historically had to pay.

According to a report published in December 2009, disposing of all the ‘Schedule 2’ waste which is not currently in the domestic waste stream could potentially cost councils in England and Wales up to £32 million extra a year.

But, there are a few notable exceptions in the revised regulations which are likely to prove less popular amongst local authorities. For instance, councils will still have to cover the waste disposal costs for some schools and further education colleges as well as charity shops and re-use organisations will continue to be offered free disposal.

If you are currently using local authority services to collect your waste then you may find your costs escalating to take into account the waste disposal element of the service. If you would like an alternative quotation for a comparable waste collection service then we would welcome your enquiry. We can deliver Waste Management services throughout the UK and no doubt will be able to reduce your costs in future.

Please call us on 01527 67222 or email waste@waste-check.co.uk or go to compareyourwaste.com and we will get straight back to you.

The Environment Agency has recently issued a regulatory position statement to clarify the use of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code on hazardous waste consignment notes.

Customers previously used the SIC from the 2003 publication and since the release of the 2007 SIC publication there appears some uncertainty as to which publication should be used on hazardous waste consignment notes. The answer is clear that you use the 2003 publication on consignment notes. The 2007 publication introduced on 28th September 2011 applied to Waste transfer notes (non hazardous waste transfers).

However, the Environment Agency state, that this position statement provides a relaxation to the use of the SIC code on the hazardous waste consignment note.

The Environment Agency will not pursue breaches of the requirement to include the SIC code on a hazardous waste consignment note. They will also not pursue any corrections of the SIC code if you insert the 2007 publication code as opposed to the 2003 code.

This position is taken as a common sense approach to removing any confusion as to which code to use on each note (Hazardous waste or waste transfer note). The best advice to offer is to insert the 2007 code on both notes if you are at all confused as to which publication to use.

This regulatory position will be reviewed by September 2012 when it should be clearer if the SIC 2007 publication will replace the 2003 publication for both waste streams.

Please note the Environment Agency will still require the SIC from the 2003 publication of codes to be provided when a hazardous waste producers premises registration is made on line, by telephone, electronically or on a paper form.

What is the new Legislation?

The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011

When did the changes happen?

The most common changes (including those to duty of care waste transfer notes) were implemented and have to be complied with from 28th September 2011.

So what are the main changes you need to be aware of?

All waste transfer notes must have two new items included:

• The SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) code of the person transferring the waste from the 2007 list
• A statement that the person transferring the waste has applied the Waste Management Hierarchy

What is the Waste Management Hierarchy?

You should consider the following options for waste management in the following order

1. Prevention
2. Preparing for reuse
3. Recycling
4. Recovery e.g.energy recovery
5. Disposal

SIC codes – What are they?

Standard Industrial Classification codes have been around for a long time but have only been required until now on hazardous waste consignment notes. They classify companies by their business activity and hence this is not specific to the waste industry.

Note: Hazardous waste consignment notes require an SIC code from the 2003 version where as waste transfer notes (non hazardous waste transfers) require a code from the 2007 version which is noticeably different.

A list of the 2007 SIC codes (for non-hazardous waste transfers) can be found at:

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/methods_quality/sic/downloads/sic2007explanatorynotes.pdf

A list of the 2003 SIC codes (for hazardous waste transfers) can be found at:

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/methods_quality/sic/downloads/uk_vol1(2003).pdf

Note: this is currently under review – the preference is for the 2003 codes to be dropped in favour of the 2007 list.

Here at Waste Check we will keep you up to date on the position as it develops.

If you are unsure as a producer and/or transferer of waste as to which SIC code you should use then please do contact us for assistance. We will be happy to help you.

Joining us with over 10 years experience in Hazardous Waste, Peter will be happy to receive any enquiries you may have and will visit your premises upon request to advise you on the most economical route for your Hazardous Waste treatment or disposal.

He can be contacted through the Hazardous Waste section of our website. We would like to welcome Peter to our organisation and wish him every success in assisting our customers.

Diane joins the office team to assist in the growth of business and to advise our customers on all their waste management needs. She has a background in waste management which will be a benefit to the Company and to any customer seeking advice.

She has a friendly approach and will be more than happy to deal with your enquiry. We wish her every success within our team of advisors.