WASTE REMOVAL WARNING

WARNING! TAKE WASTE REMOVAL SERIOUSLY

Following our fly-tipping feature in the summer edition of The Installer Magazine, the iKBBI conducted a national waste survey in September, asking members how they disposed of waste generated within their KBB refurbishment projects.

Our previous article reported on The Bathroom Fitting Company, whose waste ended up being fly tipped in Essex, which led to a successful prosecution for Epping Forest District Council for fly tipping offences, even though the installer did not dispose of the waste himself.

The prosecution concluded that the defendant had failed in his duty of care by not undertaking proper due diligence when appointing a third party contractor to clear the waste from a bathroom project in Waltham Abbey, Essex.

The prosecution prompted the iKBBI to conduct a survey, which attracted feedback from 1,831 installers nationally.

The survey’s first question asked whether installers had their own Waste Transfer Licence, or whether they 

employed the services of a third party waste transfer contractor.

Of the 1,831 surveyed, 76% employ the services of a third party waste removal agent (WS1), with the vast majority using traditional rigid skips as a solution.

Only 22% (WS4) knew exactly where their waste was disposed, and that a waste transfer receipt is required to fulfil their due diligence.

91% of those surveyed said they believed that the government has failed to educate tradespeople on the legal requirement around waste disposal, suggesting that installers may unwittingly be breaking the law.

The law is very clear when it comes to waste disposal.

Only those businesses that hold a valid Waste Transfer Licence, issued by The Environment Agency, are allowed to transfer waste generated in home improvement projects. This includes building waste, old products, which have been removed, as well as the packaging from new products.

Additionally, it’s a legal requirement, that if an installer is utilising the services of a third party to dispose of waste, that the Waste Transfer Licence is viewed and recorded and that a transfer receipt is obtained, detailing the collection specifics and the destination. As part of its new educational portal, The iKBBI has worked with its sponsor HIPPO, to produce a straight talking, plainEnglish guide to waste disposal for the industry. View the guide online, here.