Scotland
In 1999 the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) published The National Waste Strategy: Scotland. A cornerstone to the implementation of this strategy is the National Waste Plan 2003. This plan sets out a long-term approach to changing the behaviour of Scottish business and households in the management of waste away from the reliance on landfill. It seeks to recognise and encourage a range of waste management options, introduce tighter regulation on the carriage and management of waste and also provide funds to local authorities to assist in developing the necessary infrastructure to achieve the objective set out in this plan.
The current National Waste Plan can be downloaded from the SEPA website: http://www.sepa.org.uk/nws/index.htm
The National Waste Plan is due for consultation and revision in late 2008.
Controlled Waste (Registration of Carriers and Seizure of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations 1998
Summary
Following on from the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989, this regulation makes it an offence to transport controlled waste for business purposes and with the aim of making a profit, without being registered as a waste carrier with SEPA or the Environment Agency.
Implications
Waste producers are generally exempt from carrying their own waste unless they are carrying building or demolition waste. Building contractors are therefore not exempt and must register and pay the registration fee.
Overlaps
This overlaps with the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991, as both set in place the legal requirement that only registered waste carriers may transport waste.
Opportunities
Registered carriers could charge non-registered contractors to transfer their waste.
Hazardous (Special) Waste Regulations
In Scotland, the terms ‘special waste' and ‘hazardous waste' mean the same thing. Under Scottish law, special waste is any waste described as hazardous waste by the Hazardous Waste Directive.
Summary
The Hazardous Waste directive was transposed into Scottish law through the Special Waste (Scotland) Regulations 1997, amended in 2004. These regulations apply to any business that produces or deals with waste with certain hazardous properties, those outlined by the European Hazardous Waste Directive. The key aim of these regulations is to ensure that all hazardous waste produced is managed, transported and disposed of in a responsible manner that minimises its impact on the environment.
Under these regulations, SEPA monitor the movement of all special waste in Scotland through a consignment note system. This means that any business producing or moving hazardous waste much request and hold for 3 years consignment notes covering all movements of hazardous waste.
All special waste must also be disposed of at a registered landfill site designated as one able to take hazardous waste. Under tighter regulation, there are currently no landfill sites in Scotland registered to accept hazardous waste.
Implications
Businesses must pre-notify SEPA, at the office local to the destination of the waste, at least three working days, and not more than one month, before special waste is moved in Scotland, or imported into Scotland from England or Wales. For waste produced in Scotland, a consignment note must be used that contains a unique Scottish code[1]
Furthermore, with no facility in Scotland for landfilling special waste, the costs incurred by business to dispose of this waste have increased and will do so further as fuel cost and landfill tax increases.
Overlaps
Key overlaps with Hazardous Waste (England & Wales) Regulations 2005, Waste Framework Directive, Duty of Care and Pre-treatment of Waste & European Waste Catalogue
Opportunities
The considerable increased cost involved in disposing of hazardous waste provide an even stronger opportunity to minimise the volumes of hazardous substances used by a business and further minimise the volume of hazardous waste produced.
[1] http://www.netregs.gov.uk/netregs/275207/276386/924801/1516509/?lang=_e