Recycling Services

Legislation

The volume of waste legislation has increased significantly in recent years and can only continue to grow as environmental issues receive more and more focus. Compliance with waste legislation is a fundamental requirement for all UK businesses.

Cory helps and supports its customers with their regulatory requirements. The following gives a brief overview of some of the main pieces of legislation either already in place or soon to arrive. For more detailed information please refer to the links at the bottom of the page.

Environmental Protect Act (Duty of Care) Regulations

All businesses have a duty to ensure that any waste produced is handled safely and in accordance with the law. This is the ‘Duty of Care’ and it applies to anyone who produces, imports, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste from business or industry.

Hazardous Waste Regulations

Hazardous Waste is so called because it has hazardous properties that may render it harmful to human health or the environment. Examples of wastes classed as hazardous include fluorescent tubes, computer monitors and televisions. The movement of Hazardous Waste is tracked through a consignment note system to ensure the waste is managed responsibly.

All businesses in England and Wales that produce Hazardous Waste must register with the Environment Agency before they consign their Hazardous Waste. Some premises may be exempt from having to register if they produce less than 200kg of Hazardous Waste in any 12-month period.

Animal By-Products (ABPR) Regulations

The main aim of the ABPR is to prevent animal by-products from presenting a risk to animal or public health through the transmission of disease. The regulations are likely to affect all those who deal with animal by-products, including farmers, food manufacturing premises, catering outlets, food retailers, the waste disposal industry, the animal feed industry, slaughterhouse operators, tanneries, zoos and hunt kennels.

Specific rules apply to the collection, transport, storage, handling, processing and use or disposal of animal by-products. Rules also apply to the placing on the market, export and transit of animal by-products and certain products derived from them.

Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations

These regulations are now expected to become law in the UK during 2007. The WEEE Directive aims to reduce electrical waste, make producers responsible for the environmental impact of their products, encourage reuse and recycling, and improve the environmental performance of all those involved during the lifecycle of electrical products.

Those affected will include businesses involved in manufacturing, selling, distributing, recycling or treating electrical and electronic equipment.

Batteries Directive

The Batteries Directive was published in the official EU Journal during September 2006. The UK must now bring the requirements of the directive into national law by September 2008. When implemented, the regulations will affect producers, distributors and end-users of batteries. The primary aim of the directive is to make businesses that produce and sell batteries responsible for collecting and recycling spent batteries.

Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations

The Packaging Waste Regulations require businesses that handle more than 50 tonnes of obligated packaging or packaging materials in a year and have an annual turnover of more than £2 million, to recover and recycle specified amounts of waste each year. The Essential Requirements aim to minimise the amount of waste packaging generated at source and ensure that packaging can be reused, recovered or recycled.

Cory has a range of service solutions designed to offer compliance with all key waste legislation and directives.

Please contact us for further details on 0870 850 3074.

For additional information on current and planned waste legislation in the UK please visit the following websites.