CHANGES TO PERMITTED FACILITIES, WASTE EXEMPTIONS AND WASTE DUTY OF CARE
Introduction
On the 13th of February 2023, the Department for Environmental, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) released the outcome from a consultation in January 2018, seeking views on the how to tackle waste crime by raising the standard of operator competence at permitted sites, as well as by reforming waste exemptions, and introducing fixed penalty notices for those breaching waste duty of care requirements.
A series of changes to The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 are set to be introduced by 2024, which will impact permitted facilities and sites that use waste exemptions; however, the changes are still yet to be formalised and are subject to change. A summary of the most pertinent changes will be provided below.
Part A: Raising the standard of operator competence at permitted waste sites
DEFRA are proposing to amend The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 and introduce further legislation to ensure that operators gain the competence to comply with permits and effectively run waste sites. This will be done by focussing on four areas:
Past operator performance – widening the scope of offences, behaviour, and personnel that regulators can consider when assessing competence.
Management systems – all permitted waste operators to be managed and operate with a written management plan.
Technical competence – all permitted waste operators to demonstrate technical knowledge of the waste site and provide details of the Technically Competent Manager (TCM).
Financial competence and provision – operators of a permitted facility must be financially capable of running the business and provide financial security.
Part B: Reforming waste exemptions
Ten waste exemptions were identified to have a high potential for masking illegal activities. Therefore, the decision was made to remove or amend these exemptions. While no exemptions used by Norse Group are to be removed at this time, the exemptions currently in use will be subject to tighter requirements. The requirements for specific exemptions can be found within the supplementary government response and Reforming Waste Exemptions: Annexure in the references.
Furthermore, other reformations have been put forward to support compliant practices across all sites. These include:
The prohibition of exemptions at or adjacent to permitted facilities.
A limit on the number of exemptions that can be held by a registered site.
Compulsory requirement for operators to keep/make records available on request for all exemptions.
Requirement for operators to keep records in an electronic format or system identified by the regulator.
Charges for new/renewed exemptions.
Changes to European Waste Catalogue (EWC) codes used by specific exemptions.
Possibility of a new or amended standard rules permit. The ability for regulators to impose additional controls on an individual/ongoing/end of operation basis.
A transitional period will be granted when the regulations come into force to allow reasonable time for operators to prepare for the new requirements and to put appropriate controls on place.
Table 1: Waste permitting exemption changes and their transition periods
Part C: Duty of care fixed penalty notice
The proposed introduction of a fixed penalty notice has also been made; intended to cut the supply of waste to illegal operators. The following values have been set out for England and Wales. These have been set up so that the cost of illegal waste disposal is higher than the cost of legitimate disposal, but lower than if a fine is taken to prosecution.
Actions to take:
Permitted facilities should stay informed of all future developments from DEFRA.
Business areas that use waste exemptions detailed in Part B are to review their storage arrangements and documentation to ensure waste held on registered sites remains compliant with proposed controls/limits.
If the proposed controls cannot be complied with, please contact the SHEQ – Environmental Team for advice.
Further Information:
If you require further information on this, please contact either:
Roger Smith – Group SHEQ Director
Roger.smith@norsegroup.co.uk
SHEQ – Environmental Team
SHEQ-EnvironmentalTeam@norsegroup.co.uk
Approved by: SHEQ Director
Author: SHEQ Department
Version: 1
Issue: All Norse Group
References:
GOV.UK (2023). Reducing crime at sites handling waste, and introducing fixed penalties for waste duty of care: Government response. [online]. GOV.UK. Available at Government response - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) [Last accessed: 01/03/2023].
GOV.UK (2023). Reducing crime at sites handling waste, and introducing fixed penalties for waste duty of care: Supplementary government response. [online]. GOV.UK. Available at Supplementary government response - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) [Last accessed: 01/03/2023].
GOV.UK (2023). Reforming Waste Exemptions: Annexure. [online]. GOV.UK. Available at Reforming Waste Exemptions: Annexure (publishing.service.gov.uk) [Last accessed 01/03/2023].
Approved by: SHEQ Director Version: 1
Author: SHEQ Department Issue: All Norse Group