Are You Prepared for New Waste Rules?
As someone with an
interest in a small business, you may
already be aware of the recent changes to
electronic waste rules (Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment
Regulations 2006); but are you aware of
the changes to non-hazardous and liquid
waste rules that came into force on 30th
October 2007?
Under the rules
implementing the EU Landfill Directive,
liquid waste will be banned from landfill
and all landfill waste will have to be
pre-treated. However, the Federation of
Small Business (FSB) is calling on the
Environment Agency to do much more to let
businesses know of the changes.
If your waste does not
go to a landfill, then you do not need to
take any action. If your waste does go to a
landfill, find out if it is treated first;
and if not you need to look at pre-treating
your waste in order to meet the regulations.
You can treat your
waste by collecting non-hazardous waste as
individual waste streams (I.e.: Collecting
cardboard, plastic and glass separately; so
you can take appropriate items for recycling
more easily. You can also ask your waste
management contractor to sort out some/all
of your waste for recycling; this will save
you time but might cost a little more.
The situation for
liquid waste is more complicated; if you
have no choice but to produce it, you may
need to will have to treat it yourself or
pay for a waste contractor or utility
company to treat it. The process of
treatment will vary depending on the type of
liquid.
John Holbrow, FSB Environment Chairman,
said: “Small businesses … have new
obligations when it comes to their waste. We
urge small businesses to ensure they are
aware of the new rules and to contact their
waste contractors.
“The FSB supports the environmental
principles that have led to these changes.
But it would be nothing less than a
dereliction of duty for the Government to
bring in these new laws without a sustained
publicity campaign to ensure small
businesses are aware of them.
“The Environment Agency must do more to let
small businesses know what their obligations
are. Putting information on a website is
simply not enough. There must be widespread
publicity otherwise small businesses could
be punished for breaking laws they knew
nothing about.”
The Environment Agency Information on the
Non-Hazardous waste rules is here.
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