Hazardous Waste

Are you affected?
What is required?
Current situation
Further information

 

Are you affected?

Hazardous waste is defined by the List of Wastes/European Waste Catalogue where wastes considered to be hazardous are marked with an asterisk. It includes things that you would naturally expect to be hazardous – such a certain sludges or chemical waste from refining processes. But it also includes waste that arises in every day business activity. These include

• Fluorescent tubes
• Cathode ray tube televisions and monitors
• LCD screens and laptops (see EA Guidance Note)
• CFC containing fridges and freezers
• Certain types of batteries
• Mineral oil or oil soaked rags and cleaners

If your business premises produces this type of waste, you CANNOT put it in the general waste bin and must have it separately collected.

The document that defines more complex Hazardous Wastes is WM2. 

An EA have produced a list of Guides for Hazardous Waste Management.

What is Hazardous Waste – HWR01
Do I need to notify my premises? – HWR02A
How to register your premises – HWR02B
Consignment Note Guides – HWR03
Consignee Returns – HWR04
Record Keeping – HWR05
Classification and Coding of Wastes from Treatment Facilities – HWR06
Mobile Services – HWR07
Guidance for Enforcement and Prosecution Policy

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What is required?

The requirements for dealing with Hazardous Waste are different in Scotland and Northern Ireland to England and Wales.

For England and Wales, hazardous waste is dealt with under the Hazardous Waste Regulations (recently amended under the Amendment Regulations 2009 which imposes the 500kg exemption threshold). Any business that generates waste classed as ‘Hazardous’ under the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) must register as a hazardous waste producer with the Environment Agency before they can have hazardous waste collected from their site.
There are exemptions. Where a site produces less that 500kgs per year, it does not need to register and can have its hazardous waste collected without a registration number.

The registration process can be done through three methods:

• Online – at a cost of £18 per site registered
• By phone – at a cost of £23 per site (Phone 08708 502858)
• By mail – at a cost of £28 per site

The process requires information relating to the site – address, contact details, number of staff etc – and is AN ANNUAL REQUIREMENT.
On registration, the EA will provide a site registration number that is unique for each premises and that then stays with the premises ad infinitum., but the site MUST be re-registered each year.

An EA explanation of which sites should be registered can be found here.

When hazardous waste is collected, it must be accompanied by a Consignment Note.

Details on how to complete Consignment Notes is provided here.

A Guide is available from 360 giving more information.

For Scotland, hazardous waste is controlled by the Special Waste Regulations, is still known as ‘Special Waste’ and must be consigned. A business that produces special waste (the same as hazardous waste in England and Wales) does NOT have to register their site. Instead, there is a pre-notification procedure where the company that is asked to collect the waste must submit a notification to the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency 3 days in advance of the collection.

For Northern Ireland, the Hazardous Waste Regulations have replaced the Special Waste Regulations, but the system operates very similar to before and to Scotland - pre-notification and consignment notes. A Guidance Note explains the requirements.

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Current situation

The Hazardous Waste Regulations are likely to be reviewed in 2009 in line with an EU review.

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Further information

For England and Wales
EA

For Scotland
SEPA

For Northern Ireland
NIEA 

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