“Unaware” motor sector risks breaking hazardous waste law

The regulations will come into force on July 16, 2005 and are expected to impact on around 20,000 sites related to the motor industry. The Environment Agency will be given the powers to issue 300 on-the-spot fines to sites in breach of the law.

” Many dealerships, bodyshops and autocentres are unaware of the impending changes and the likely penalties for breaking the law, which is worrying. “
– Graham Gibson, AWS
Commenting on the hazardous waste regulation start date, Graham Gibson, commercial director at Automotive Waste Solutions, said that as a whole the UK was still not aware of the upcoming legislation.

“AWS has found that many dealerships, bodyshops and autocentres are unaware of the impending changes and the likely penalties for breaking the law, which is worrying considering that the new legislation comes into force next month,” he said.

Under the new regulations, every site producing more than 200kg of waste deemed to be hazardous will need to register with the Environmental Agency – and they can register online (see letsrecycle.com story). There will, however, no longer be a need to pre-notify the Environment Agency regarding hazardous waste production and removal.

Paperwork
Instead, both the producer and collector of hazardous waste are to have dedicated identification numbers that must be quoted on every piece of paperwork associated with waste collections.

Detailed descriptions of the nature of the hazardous waste also need to be defined, with evidence of the correct containers being used for storage and clear audit trails on responsible carriage and waste disposal.

“This new legislation puts a very different slant on waste classification and handling,” said Mr Gibson. “We believe there are many sites in the UK that do not have a thorough understanding of the implication of these changes.”

AWS, which was originally set up to provide waste management services for car dealerships, is part of the Credential Environmental Group. It works through seven transfer stations and reprocessors nationwide.

The company is working in partnership with vehicle recycling network provider Autogreen to help manufacturers deal with the demands of the ELV Directive (see letsrecycle.com story).