Waste and Recycling Responsibilities of UK Businesses

Businesses in the United Kingdom must deal responsibly with any waste their business produces. This falls under the Environmental Protection Act (1990) to make sure that all reasonable steps are taken to store and dispose of waste safely. This is better know as your 'duty of care'. This applies to those who work alone or as part of a multi-national corporation. Waste produced by your activities is classed as business waste.     Business waste includes waste that comes from any of the following:

• Any commercial activity (including any you run from your home)
• Construction
• Demolition
• Industry
• Agriculture

Your duty of care starts from the moment you produce waste. The only moment it will end, is when you hand it over to a licensed waste business to deal with. There are rules you have to follow to do this, along with using a licensed waste business, you must ensure you get a license to transport your own waste, and follow all restrictions when moving waste from country to country. Even when this is done, businesses must still check on how the waste business deals with it, to ensure they are still following the duty of care. The responsibilities for moving waste are dependant on whether you're moving hazardous or non-hazardous waste. Licencing and Registration also needs to be followed, as usually a permit is required to store, treat or dispose of waste. If you produce hazardous waste you must register your business premises as a hazardous waste producer. There is an exception to this however, if you produce less than 500kg of waste within any 12 months, it is not required that you register. When storing and sorting your waste you must keep hazardous and non-hazardous waste separate . Hazardous waste should be kept in a dedicated area and different hazardous waste/oil types need to kept separated. Waste must always be kept in a secure place, within suitable containers that are labelled appropriately. Covers and waterproof covers must be used to prevent waster from blowing away, and to prevent contaminated run-off. Extra responsibilities and actions need to be taken when storing hazardous waste. Records need to be kept of what it is and it's location, risk assessments need to be carried out, and checks for leaks must be regularly made, along with written instructions for the storage and how to dispose of the hazardous material. Most businesses will produce one form of hazardous waste or another. Hazardous waste is any waste that could be harmful to human health or the environment. Common examples of hazardous waste are:

• Batteries
• Clinical Waste
• Fluorescent Bulbs
• Chemicals, Oils and Some Paints

Landfill Regulations also state that no commercial waste can be disposed of at a landfill site unless it has been demonstrated to have gone through a treatment process. A treatment option must comply with the definition of treatment, it must also satisfy the three point test set out by the Environment Agency. This is something which you can carry out yourself or it can be outsourced to a waste management provider. When looking at disposing/recycling of waste it is important to follow the guidelines that are set out. You have different responsibilities dependant on what you're disposing of. It is important to follow the rules and regulations put in place for businesses, as it can also be beneficial for both your business and the environment. When sending waste to landfill it is subject to landfill tax, and tax is increasing every year, this is easily avoided by sending more of your waste to recycling. Recycling is an increasing requirement through legislation, this is to reduce the impact on the environment, meaning it is more important for your business to reduce, re-use and recycle as much waste as possible. More and more items can now be recycled, so it is best to contact your local authority to further details of the services in your area. Responsibilities vary slightly across the countries within the UK - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. To get the full details for each country please click on the appropriate link. England - https://www.gov.uk/managing-your-waste-an-overview Scotland - http://www.sepa.org.uk/waste.aspx Wales - http://naturalresourceswales.gov.uk/apply-buy-report/apply-buy-grid/waste/?lang=en#.U05xPfldWF9 Northern Ireland - http://www.doeni.gov.uk/waste