New penalties for breach of waste regulations

The Environment Agency (EA) has been
granted new powers in the form of civil sanctions for waste-related regulatory offences which it has been able to impose from 4 January 2011. The new regime represents a fundamental shift in the way the EA can deal with environmental offences and will have a huge impact on how these are handled. Organisations in the waste sector will need to be well-prepared to respond effectively and proactively to the new sanctions.

The new regime gives the EA significantly increased powers, including the power to serve penalty notices of up to £250,000 for breaches of environmental offences and a range of other sanctions. One of these sanctions, the Enforcement Undertaking, represents a vehicle by which businesses may be able to avoid penalties and possible prosecution by formally agreeing to take steps to remedy breaches. Operators in the waste sector will need to make sure that they are familiar with the new regime to ensure that heavy penalties are avoided as far as possible.
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Consultation on the Controlled Waste Regulations

The consultation on the Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011, closed on 14 January 2011. The joint Defra and Welsh Assembly Government consultation was carried out in response to criticism that the current regulations, the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992, are problematic for local authorities and private-sector waste contractors as they hinder their ability to implement sustainable waste management solutions.

The consultation dealt exclusively with waste from non-domestic properties including schools, hospitals, charities and churches. It has been proposed that the new regulations should allow reclassification of waste from certain properties as commercial rather than household waste, widen local authority powers to charge for both collection and disposal services and provide free disposal services to charities and organisations that encourage reuse of waste materials. The format and wording of the draft regulations have also been amended in an attempt to make them clearer and more user friendly.

The government’s response to the consultation is awaited and it is hoped that the new regulations will come into force on
6 April 2011.

Proposed amendments to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive

In December 2010, amendments to the WEEE Directive were proposed by the European Commission (EC) to the European Parliament (EP). The EC made the proposals as a result of perceived technical, legal and administrative problems that have resulted from the current WEEE regime and to change certain of the targets contained in the WEEE Directive.

One key proposed change is an increase in the target collection rate of WEEE to 65 per cent (amended to 85 per cent by the EP) from 2016. This would represent a substantial increase in the requirements to collect waste electrical equipment and a five per cent increase in the target for the reuse of WEEE. Further amendments are intended to reduce administrative ambiguities and burdens by improving the clarity of the products covered by the WEEE Directive and by improving the WEEE registration system. 

The amendments were voted on by the EP in early February and any resulting amendments to the WEEE Directive are scheduled to come into force in late 2011 with corresponding amendments to the UK regulations to follow by late 2013.