Metal recyclers do not face the full burden of
waste legislation following heavy lobbying of government
over the past 10 years. But they still face strict
licensing controls and a less strict Duty of Care
regime.
Metals recyclers in the UK either to have a licence
to carry out their work or alternatively have to
register for an exemption on grounds of size of
business.
Over the past two years, and with the support
of the metal recycling trade associations, the
Environment Agency has been clamping down on unlicensed
and non-exempt sites.
The licensing system comes under the Environmental
Protection Act 1990 and has a range of requirements.
An important point is that metal recycling sites
must be run by someone who is "fit and proper".
Formal certification is needed and advice and training
courses are available from the metals recycling
associations.
Licences issued under the Act are known as "Metal
Recycling Site Licences". Licence conditions
include security fencing, covered storage requirements,
road and storage surfacing and drainage, sign and
notice boards and other conditions.
A key element of the licensing and control system
is Duty of Care. Originally the government had
envisaged that all metal recyclers would get a
piece of paper from whoever who was bringing in
scrap metal which would give full details of where
it came from and who was bringing it in.
But the practicalities of always obtaining this
document and the fact that some suppliers might
choose to go to merchants who did not enforce the
rules rigorously prompted a change of heart on
the part of the government in agreement with the
Environment Agency which enforces the rules.
A concession was wrung that the Environment Agency
would not fully enforce the Duty of Care as far
as the non-ferrous metal recycling industry in
particular is concerned.
This concession was welcomed by the British Secondary
Metals Association.
The Duty of Care rules apply to materials whether
they are destined for recycling or disposal and
the Environment Agency has said that the duty of
care is the piece of legislation that links waste
controls together linking waste with carriers.
Duty of Care is a code of practice published in
March 1996 in accordance with section 34 of the
Environmental Protection Act 1990 and brings power
to levy criminal charges at miscreants.
There is now flexibility in the way the regulations
are implemented for generally small loads of material.
The Agency has given guidance saying that duty
of care must be understood as a concept that requires
all reasonable precautions to be taken so that
waste, including metals, in the care of a business
or carrier doesn't escape and is carried in a secure
container.
When it is transferred to a registered broker,
carrier, a business registered exempt and others
there must be a description of that waste.
It is here that the a more flexible and pragmatic
approach has been introduced.
The agency accepts that it is clearly impractical
to have a transfer note for every container of
non-ferrous material, and if the way the notes
are used allows the next person in the chain to
be able to know what it is and handle it properly
then the aim of the duty of care is in a large
part being achieved.
Following the agreement with the British Secondary
Metals Association earlier this year, the Agency
will not generally take action especially as its
resources have been focused on getting unlicensed
or unregistered metal recycling sites into the
licensing and exemption system.
The concessions on the duty of care apply to transactions
where the total quantity of scrap metal being transferred
does not exceed 1,500 kilogrammes. The transaction
may cover a number of different metals but the
total weight of the transfer must not be greater
than 1,500 kg. This means that if the transfer
weight of metals that are waste exceeds the 1,500
kg limit, then the waste transfer note must contain
all the details as in the regulations.
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