As record fines are handed out to offending companies, organisations need to reflect on their waste management strategies to ensure they don't fall foul of the regulations.
The UK currently produces around 330 million tonnes of waste annually, a quarter of which is from households and business. The rest comes from construction and demolition, sewage sludge, farm waste and spoil from mines and dredging of rivers. The figure has increased significantly over the last 20 years and the more we generate the more we have to dispose of.
The most common disposal methods in the UK are landfill and, to a lesser extent, incineration. Each year approximately 110 million tonnes of controlled waste (household, commercial and industrial) are disposed of in landfill sites in the UK, of which there are over 4000. However, continuing to dispose of waste in this way is not a viable long term solution. As landfill waste decomposes methane, which is a strong greenhouse gas and contributes to global warming, is released. Furthermore, the leachate fluids formed from decomposing waste can permeate through the underlying geological strata polluting the water table.
Similarly, with incineration, when you burn waste a large amount of energy, carbon dioxide and other hazardous air pollutants are given off.
In order to address the problems arising from waste production and disposal the regulatory landscape is constantly changing and evolving. We have seen terminology changes, waste classification changes and a constant stream of European driven legislation being introduced. By way of example we have seen the introduction of sector specific provisions, such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations and the Producers Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations. Moreover, over the coming year there will be some key changes to the way that waste management companies and other industries, which require environmental permits or licences, are to be regulated. The Environmental Permitting Programme (EPP) aims to streamline and simplify the environmental permitting and compliance system, creating a common approach to permit applications, maintenance, surrender and enforcement.
Against the above background it could be viewed as unsurprising that very many organisations are failing to appreciate and address their responsibilities under the myriad of applicable regulations. This can have both criminal and significant financial implications for offending companies and their directors. The courts have shown in cases such as the recent prosecution of Western Wines Limited that they are increasingly willing to impose high fines to address public concerns that companies may fail to comply with their environmental responsibility if it costs them less to pay the penalty for breaking the law than it would to install proper safeguards.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
