Legislation Articles

Landfill Tax

Every ton of waste which is tipped at landfill attracts tax. This tax is £48 from 1st April 2010. The tax is collected by the waste contractor from you, the end users. Inert waste, such as bricks, rubble and soil only attract a £3 per ton tax as long as it is not contaminated with other waste. Obviously the less waste you generate the better and the more you recycle will lessen your tax liability. (visit Customs and Excise).

The Government has put the landfill tax on an 'escalator' of £8 per annum increase. This means that the tax will be £80 per ton in the year 2014.

Duty of Care

To ensure waste is disposed of correctly you need to use a disposal company with a licence and do an annual check to follow your waste to its final destination. Any vehicle leaving your site needs to have your waste securely controlled to prevent spillage and should be accompanied by your premises code on any paperwork. (Visit the Environment Agency site).

Packaging Regulations

The Packaging Regulations stipulate that any company handling over 50 tons of packaging per annum and have a turnover exceeding £2 million have a legal obligation to comply . To comply you can join a compliance scheme or follow the 'self-obligation' route. Whichever way you decide to go you need to complete the table to work out your tonnage figures handled. With these figures and dependent on the annual UK target and your company's function, a formulae or two will work out what tonnage you need to reuse and recycle. You must then purchase Packaging Recovery Notes (PRN's) to match your target tonnages. At the end of the year you send your PRN's plus table to the Department of Environment. (Visit the Environment Agency site)

WEEE

Businesses need to separate any goods which use batteries or have a cable to power it. This includes computers, monitors, printers, photocopiers, battery chargers, microwaves etc. We can quote you for the disposal of these items.

Animal By Products Regulations

The legislation is in place to stop the risk of 'Foot and Mouth' outbeaks. In essence certain meat wastes, or any other food in contact with meat, must be dealt with separately.

This material will need to be in-vessel composted, rendered or burnt. The impact to your business will be dependent on its function. (Visit DEFRA)

Landfill Directive 'Pre-Sort'

What is the requirement:

It is now law that waste must be 'treated' before it is disposed of at non-hazardous and inert landfill. The requirement applies to hazardous waste. Pre-treatment came into force in November 2007.

Who is affected:

Landfills cannot accept untreated waste. Waste producers therefore have a choice. They can treat waste themselves or ensure that it is treated elsewhere before being landfilled.

In Layman's terms you either pretreat your own waste prior to it being sent to landfill or PAY someone to do it for you, i.e. the waste contractor. This legislation has major cost implications if not carried out properly.

a) If you don't pretreat your waste yourself and allow someone else to do it for you, expect your present waste disposal costs to increase dramatically.

b) Recycling is an acceptable form of treatment. If you treat your waste by recycling certain items in your waste stream, you not only save money by not paying someonce else to do it for you, you also save money by reducing the amount of waste going to landfill.

Disposal of Material

Recycling:

This is when the material will be processed and made into another product.

Composting:

Biodegradable material is shredded and blended. Over a period of between 6 - 10 weeks it will break down into compost.

Incineration:

Incineration can be done on site using a burner or at an incineration plant. Various materials are not suitable for burning and the Clean Air Act 1974 governs emissions.

Rendering:

This is where meat bi-products are processed to generate an inert product.