Revised Waste Duty of Care Code of Practice Published

A revised code of practice (CoP) has been published by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), which sets out practical guidance on how waste duty of care (DoC) requirements can be met.

The CoP was produced to give simple, clear and practical guidance on what those who import, produce, carry, keep treat or dispose of non-hazardous waste have todo in order to fulfil their legal requirements. However, following a number of important legislative changes relating to DoC requirements since the original CoP was published in 1996, DEFRA have published a revised document to incorporate these changes.

The code of practice applies to anyone that produces, carries, keeps, disposes of, treats, imports or has control of waste in England or Wales.

The Code defines waste as any substance or objects that the holder discards, intends to discard or is required to discard. The meaning of “discard” applies to “disposal” and “recovery” operations and processes and can be intentional or unintentional on the part of the holder. Whether a substance or object is waste is determined on a case by case basis. If you are unsure you can use the ‘legal definition of waste guidance’ to check if something is classified as waste.

The following definitions describe common waste operations and processes:

“Recovery” is any operation which has the main result of waste serving a useful purpose by replacing non-waste materials that would otherwise have been used to fulfil a particular function. An example is incineration for energy recovery. Preparing for re-use and recycling are both recovery operations.

“Preparing for re-use” is the operation or process of checking, cleaning or repairing products that have previously been discarded so that they can be re-used without any other pre-processing, for example repairing bicycles, furniture or electrical or electronic equipment which have been previously discarded by their owners.

“Recycling” is any operation by which waste is reprocessed into products, materials or substances, whether for its original or other purposes, for example crushed waste glass graded for blasting or playground surfaces from waste tyres. (It does not include energy recovery or the reprocessing into materials to be used as fuels or for backfilling operations.)

“Disposal” is any operation which is not recovery (even where the operation has a secondary consequence of reclaiming substances or energy).

According to the Code, waste holders can include waste producers, waste carriers, waste dealers, waste brokers, and waste managers. The law requires anyone dealing with waste to keep it safe, to make sure it’s dealt with responsibly and only given to businesses authorised to take it.

To obtain a full copy of the Code click here. For further information or guidance on the Code or to learn how RiskWise can help you manage your waste data, please contact our specialist team of consultants – we’re happy to help.