Albion’s ABC’s of Waste Management – D

D – Duty of Care

The Duty of Care, imposed under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, applies to anyone who produces, imports, stores, transports, treats or disposes of waste. It requires them to take all reasonable steps to ensure the waste is managed properly. A breach of this duty of care could result in an unlimited fine.

Under the Duty of Care, businesses are responsible from the point of when the waste is produced right through to the point it is handed over to an authorised person. The Duty extends across the entire chain of management of your waste, thus you must take steps to ensure your waste is managed correctly.

Requirements of the Duty include the completion of Waste Transfer Notes which then have to be kept on record for a minimum of two years. This note must:

• give the name and address (including the postcode) of the transferor and the transferee.
• give the date and place (including the postcode) of the transfer.
• state whether the transferor is the producer of the waste.
• state whether the transferor is the importer of the waste.
• describe the type, composition and quantity of the waste being transferred (including, where the waste is in a container, the type of container)
• identify the waste being transferred by reference to the appropriate six-digit code in the European Waste Catalogue.
• identify the activity carried out by the transferor in respect of the waste being transferred by reference to the SIC code for that activity.

Duty of Care also expects that waste is segregated, stored and transferred appropriately without causing harm to human or environmental health.

If a waste carrier takes your waste away, you need to check that they are authorised to accept it and can check here http://www.netregs.org.uk/environmental-topics/waste/duty-of-care-your-waste-responsibilities/