Duty of Care

The Duty of Care is set out in section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and associated regulations. It applies to anyone who is the holder of waste.

Persons concerned with waste must ensure that the waste is managed properly, recovered or disposed of safely, does not cause harm to human health or pollution of the environment and is only transferred to someone who is authorised to receive it. The duty applies to any person who produces, imports, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste or as a broker has control of such waste.

Breach of the Duty of Care is an offence, with a penalty of up to £5000 on summary conviction or an unlimited fine on conviction on indictment.

Under the Duty of Care Regulations 1991 ('the 1991 Regulations'), parties transferring waste are required to complete and retain a 'transfer note', containing a written description of that waste.

The 1991 Regulations require waste to be described on the transfer note by reference to the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) and its appropriate code number. These amendments to the 1991 regulations were brought in to meet the Landfill Directive’s requirements on monitoring the acceptance and treatment of waste, and will also help to fulfill the UK’s obligation to implement the EWC.

Household Duty of Care

The Waste (Household Waste) Duty of Care (England & Wales) Regulations 2005 introduced a new duty on householders on 21 November 2005. Under this duty, householders are required to take reasonable measures to ensure that household waste produced on their property is passed on to an authorised person.

Waste Carrier registration

The Waste Framework Directive requires that establishments and undertakings who collect or transport waste on a professional basis or which arrange for the disposal or recovery of waste (dealers or brokers) to be registered. This is implemented in domestic legislation by the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989. Persons who carry waste as part of their business are required to be registered with the Environment Agency.

Carrying waste without a relevant authorisation is an offence. Those found guilty on summary conviction are subject to a fine up to £5000.

Waste Controls Review

The duty of care and waste carrier registration systems are currently being reviewed. A first consultation exercise closed in March 2007 and a summary of responses was published in June 2007.

The review has been set up in response to suggestions by key industry stakeholders that the system is not working effectively for them and from the Regulator that the regime is not effectively delivering the policy objectives of ensuring waste is safely and legally transferred.

The review will result in the update of the duty of care and waste carrier regimes, including existing regulations & related guidance with a view to simplifying the regulation to the end user. Development of policy with key stakeholders and broader consultation will culminate in a set of consolidated amendment Regulations.

Related Links

• Waste management, the duty of care: code of practice