Westminster Compliance

From 5th April 2012 if under the old waste exemptions you were previously Paragraph 13 (Construction and soil materials) or Paragraph 21  (Preparatory treatment of waste plant matter) exemption registered, you MUST either:

• register for a new, free of charge waste exemption (if you meet all the conditions and limits) or,
• have made an application for an environmental permit

or you will no longer be able to carry out your waste operations. There are a few exemptions to both Paragraph 13 and Paragraph 21 which can be found on The Environment Agency website.

Standard permits have also been developed to replace Paragraph 12, 13 waste exemptions however if the standard rules for the permits don’t cover your activity you may need to apply for a bespoke permit.

Check out The Environment Agency website or give us a call 020 3411 7888 for further information & guidance.

At home councils are very good at encouraging us to recycle much of our household waste. They either collect it from outside our houses or ask us to take it to the local municipal tip.

The position for companies is totally different. Companies have to pay someone to dispose of or recycle their waste. Large companies often have the volume to make it worthwhile for a waste company to make a special trip to collect this waste.

For SMEs the position is very different. Things have improved considerably over the last few years, with waste companies supplying dry mixed recycling bins, glass bins, and cardboard compactors. However, the situation is still far from ideal. With the recent waste hierarchy legislation companies are obliged to reduce, reuse, recycle prior to disposal. One issue remains that for many SMEs the only realistic route to recycle their waste is the local municipal tip. If caught they are often fined or turned away at the gate.

According to the government, SMEs produce 30 million tonnes of waste a year and have achieved recycling rates of over 50 per cent. However, there have been widespread complaints from small businesses that they often can not find  cost-effective recycling facilities. Consequently, they are forced to throw out materials that could otherwise be recycled, breaking the latest legislation at the same time.

The Business Waste and Recycling Services Commitment that was announced on the 19^th October with the backing of the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Federation of Small Businesses aims to address this problem by encouraging councils to work with SMEs to improve access to recycling services.

While the detail is still not available this initiative has to be welcomed. It has been suggested the local municipal tips will be opeended up to SMEs, and also the range of materials collected may increase. The FSB has shown that 95% of businesses would recycle more if the facilities were readily available. They were pleased that Defra have launched this commitment to help local authorities work with SMEs.

Let us see what happens, but anything which can help companies to recycle their waste has to be welcomed.

Richard Blight

As this blog goes out the new waste hierarchy legislation is in force (28th Sept 2011). All companies must apply this regulation when dealing with all of their waste. Richard has previously outlined the need to prevent, reuse, recycle, recover prior to disposal. This legislation applies to every business.

This is the downside, and we all get fed up with red tape, and the apparent ever increasing bureaucracy and legislation which lands on our desk each month.

However, good waste management can be a cost saver. The price of landfill is going up and up, and will not come down. While the cost of recycling is becoming more cost effective, as innovation sweeps through the industry.

For clients we have recently increased the amount of recycling, and introduced better waste management. Savings include:-

• Leisure – 56%
• Manufacturing – 24%
• Charity – 43%

We feel that this legislation should be seen as an opportunity to save money – so call us now and we’ll show you how! 0203 411 7888

New waste regulations change how you deal with your waste. You have to consider the hierarchy of waste options - to prevent, reuse and recycle before you dispose of waste. This applies to ALL businesses from 28 September 2011. Environmental matters are now relevant to all service businesses as well as industrial, logistics and construction companies. Solicitors, Accountants, Insurance Brokers, all Service companies, everyone needs to comply. Otherwise you could be breaking the law.

In simple terms, before throwing something away you need to consider whether you can:-

1. Prevent using something
2. Reuse
3. Recycle
4. Recover for use elsewhere
5. Only then – disposal.

If you throw something away without considering the alternatives you are breaking the law. Many items of office waste can easily be recycled.

This seems very hard, but in the UK we are running out of holes in the ground. The country is now moving towards a Zero Waste economy.

If you want to look at the legislation in more detail go to the Business Link site:-

http://bit.ly/oucdAG

If you are in business, this law applies to you. So make sure you act now!