Legal Requirements
Please note that Waste Links does not accept any liability for exchanges. Please read the following information and act within the law when offering materials or accepting materials advertised on this site. For more information on UK legal requirements on the distribution of waste material please see below.
Duty of Care
The duty of care applies to anyone who produces or imports, keeps or stores, transports, treats, recycles or disposes of waste. It also applies if you act as a broker and arrange these things. You must prevent waste escaping from your control, store it safely and securely and prevent it causing pollution or harming anyone. Make sure the waste is secure, keep it in a suitable container, if you put loose waste in a skip or on a lorry, cover it. If you give waste to someone else, check they have authority to take it. The person to whom you give your waste must be authorised to take it. You must describe the waste in writing, fill in and sign a transfer note for it and keep a copy. The description and transfer note can be the same paperwork.
Registration of Carriers
You will need to register as a waste carrier if in the course of your business or in any other way for profit you transport controlled waste within Great Britain. You must register even if you transport controlled waste only once in a while. The requirement to register applies to self-employed carriers as well as partnerships or companies.
There are exemptions to registration and you do not need to be registered as a carrier if you are a householder, carrying your own domestic waste, a charity, voluntary organisation or you transport only waste which you have produced, except building and demolition waste. If you arrange for the collection, recovery or disposal of waste on behalf of another person, you may also need to be registered as a waste broker.
What is hazardous waste?
Waste is hazardous when it contains substances or has properties that might make it harmful to human health or the environment.
The term 'hazardous' does not always mean that such waste is immediately toxic, though some can be. By improving the way in which we manage all wastes classified as hazardous we reduce the risk they might pose now and in the future.
The management of such waste is controlled by a European Commission directive that is based on a hazardous waste list. Many of the type of waste on this list are already regarded as 'special waste' in the UK.
Prohibition on mixing hazardous waste without a permit
No-one who produces, collects, transports or disposes/recovers a hazardous waste shall mix it with another hazardous waste (i.e. with a different six-digit code) or with a non-hazardous waste or with any other substance or material unless authorized by a waste permit.
Notification of premises
Where hazardous waste is produced at or removed from any premises, these premises must be notified to the Environment Agency and, thereafter, each year for a fee. No hazardous waste can be removed from any premises unless they have been notified to the Agency.
Consignment notes
The waste producer is responsible for issuing a unique code which must then be used by the waste producer/carrier on their own Consignment Note (prescribed format and information) to identify each individual waste consignment.
There will be no need to pre-notify the Environment Agency of intended removal of hazardous waste, but Consignment Notes will still have to accompany every consignment.
Special Waste Regulations
Special wastes are those wastes which are the most dangerous wastes and include hazardous or toxic wastes; most of them are listed in the regulations. Acids, alkalis, solvents, oils, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, photographic compounds and wood preservatives are some common special wastes. These regulations do not apply to household waste from a domestic property.
If you have special waste you must tell the Environment Agency before your special waste is removed. This is a pre-notification and is done by filling in a consignment note. You must send off the form at least 3 clear working days before you want the waste moved.
Waste Management Licensing
You need a waste management licence or a licence exemption if you deposit, recover or dispose of controlled waste. There are conditions attached to most exemptions, for example, if only a small quantity of waste is dealt with; the waste is going for recovery or reuse; or certain precautions are taken. You may deal with waste under an exemption, but you must not pollute the environment or cause harm to anyone’s health.
Packaging Regulations
Your business may be affected if you are involved in at least one of the following activities: manufacturing raw materials used for packaging; converting raw materials into packaging; packing or filling packaging; selling packaging or packaged goods to the final user or consumer or importing packaging or packaged products plus you own and handle over 50 tonnes of packaging materials or packaging each year and you have a turnover of more than £2 million. If your business meets all these criteria, then you are legally obliged to recover and recycle specific tonnages of packaging waste. These recovery obligations are based on the activities your business is involved in, the volume of packaging you handle over a year, and the national recovery and recycling targets.
Scrap Metal Recycling Sites
All scrap metal recycling sites have to hold a waste management licence or have a registered exemption from licensing. This system aims to ensure that waste is recovered without endangering human health and without using processes or methods which could harm the environment.
For Further Information please contact the Environment Agency on 01480 483244, or
For information on UK legal requirements on the distribution of waste material you are welcome to contact David Grantham