{"id":1170,"date":"2020-07-31T09:04:09","date_gmt":"2020-07-31T09:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.recyclingbristol.com\/?p=1170"},"modified":"2024-04-08T12:58:04","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T12:58:04","slug":"waste-management-regulations-the-importance-of-regulation-in-the-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.recyclingbristol.com\/waste-management-regulations-the-importance-of-regulation-in-the-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Waste Management Regulations \u2013 The Importance of Regulation in the Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"
Waste policy in the UK has been constantly evolving over the past few decades, improving environmental impact of waste, increasing responsibility of waste producers and reducing waste to landfill.<\/p>\n
This does, however, mean that understanding current legislation can be tricky, and finding out what actions you should be taking can be confusing. That\u2019s why we at ETM Recycling<\/a>, a leading waste management, recycling and skip hire company in Bristol, put together this useful guide to waste management regulations. Find out the core regulations, why they are important, and how they affect you.<\/p>\n Waste management, the processing of disposing of waste including transportation, processing, sorting etc., involves multiple parties. All those handling waste in some compacity are legally responsible to dispose of waste safely and in line with regulations. Most simply; if you produce waste, you must manage it.<\/p>\n Section 34 of The Environmental Protection Act 1990 assigns a \u2018Duty of Care\u2019 to anyone who has any manner of contact with waste, from producing, importing, carrying to treating or disposing waste. It is also compulsory to have a Waste Transfer Note upon collection of waste by carrier as a record of waste movement and disposal.<\/p>\n As a producer of business or commercial waste, responsibilities include keeping waste production to a minimum, sorting and storing waste safely, and ensuring you use the services of a compliant waste carrier. Find out more about managing waste as a UK business owner here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Find all the current UK government regulations concerning recycling and waste management here<\/a>, and waste and environmental impact here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pinnacle to UK waste regulations is the concept of The Waste Hierarchy, whereby those managing waste consider various other solutions before disposing in landfill. The stages are preventions, preparing for reuse, recycling, other recovery, and disposal. Prevention, reusing and recycling are prioritised waste solutions.<\/p>\n Find out more about The Waste Hierarchy<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Environmental Protection Act 1990<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the main UK acts concerning waste, The Environmental Protection Act discusses waste on land, waste management, and responsibilities for waste. When managing waste in the UK, this act will be influential and one of the central referent regulations.<\/p>\n Responsibilities enforced by this act include the aforementioned Duty of Care, as well as locally based initiatives including local authorities collecting waste.<\/p>\n EU Landfill Directive <\/strong><\/p>\n The EU Landfill Directive regulates waste management of landfills with the overall aim of reducing use of landfills. The directive promotes diverting waste to landfill for the benefit of environment and human health. It lays out standards and rules for the use of landfill including waste types permitted and how waste should be treated prior.<\/p>\n Landfill poses a significant threat to human and environment health due to, as cited by the directive, pollution of surface water, groundwater, soil and air, as well as overall greenhouse effect.<\/p>\n Zero-waste-to-landfill is a prominent aim of many waste management companies, especially at ETM Recycling. We implement strategies to divert as much waste as possible from landfill using innovative recycling solutions. In fact, we currently recycle 98% of the waste we process \u2013 and strive to get up to 100%!<\/p>\n UK Waste Regulation <\/strong><\/p>\n Since 2015, businesses have been required to separate recyclable materials (paper, plastic and glass) from other waste, followed often by separate collections for general waste. This helps to ensure that only more recycling takes places, but that it is of high quality.<\/p>\n Other UK Waste Regulations <\/strong><\/p>\n Other UK waste regulations of note include:<\/p>\n Not only are the above regulations often enforceable, and therefore non-compliance risks fines etc., but they are beneficial for the environment. Diverting waste from landfill and increasing recycling are fundamental to improving the UK\u2019s contribution to global warming and pollutions.<\/p>\n By making recycling a requirement for businesses, or at least more efficient through sorting, the regulations make businesses aware of their output and how much they contribute. This may aid a wider revaluation of business processes and how they can be greener as well as more cost effective.<\/p>\n Increased control of hazardous waste is also significant for the environment, as well as human health. Ensuring proper separation and disposal could be beneficial to wellbeing.<\/p>\n If you would like to find out more about waste management regulation or compliant local providers, get in touch with ETM<\/a>. We are accredited waste management providers dedicated to recycling and diverting waste from landfill. With state-of-the-art facilities based just outside Bristol, we are industry leaders in the South West.<\/p>\n We have the expertise to help you achieve compliant and effective waste management.<\/p>\nWho is Responsible for Waste Management? <\/strong><\/h2>\n
Key Waste Management Regulations<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
Importance of Waste Management Regulation
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\nLearn More with ETM Recycling <\/strong><\/h2>\n