The law on waste is quite frankly a minefield of utter nonsense drafted originally by the EU and further refined, and complicated, by the UK parliament and the Environment Agency. Sometimes, waste is exactly what you think it is - a load of rubbish - and sometimes a product which is bought, sold and used routinely is actually legally classified as waste. The exact same material can be waste in some circumstances and some locations and not in others. On other occasions an item which is called ‘Waste’ won’t actually be waste as per the legal definition!
How is the ordinary person meant to navigate this confusing landscape? In this three part series of blogs, I will be delving into the different aspects of waste law in England and Wales and will try (emphasis on try!) to shed some light on this complex area.
Over the next few weeks, my blogs will cover the following topics:
- Getting back to basics - what actually is waste?
- The waste duty of care - who is responsible and what do you need to do?
- Overview of Environmental permits, exemptions, exclusions, position statements
- Waste transfer notes - what do you need to include?
- Focus on duties of businesses transporting waste
- Focus on businesses producing of waste - spoiler: every business produces some waste!
- Focus on businesses disposing, using and recovering waste - farmers, this one is for you
- Waste exemptions and some of the proposed updates
- Waste in construction and housebuilding - soil can be waste
- Waste on farm - most common issues and how to fix them
- Challenging a decision that a product is waste - the by-product, re-use and end of waste tests
Stay tuned for the blogs over the coming weeks. If there are any topics you would like covered in more detail or if you have any questions, please contact me.