With the Hazardous Waste Regulations due to come into force at the end of the week, indications are that a large number of businesses have failed to recognise their responsibilities under the new legislation.

By 16 July, producers of hazardous waste should have registered with the Environment Agency. Only just over  30,000 have done so to date, while estimates suggest that the number needing to register may be more like 200,000.

The regulations have identified additional categories of material as hazardous waste including oil and fat (other than edible), fluorescent lighting tubes, amalgam, televisions and computer monitors.

Apart from registering, producers need to know the characteristics of their waste, what treatment it needs to undergo, whether it can go to landfill and what type of landfill site will take it. There are currently only twelve landfill sites in England and Wales accepting hazardous waste commercially.

Producers have had a general ‘Duty of Care’ since 1990 under the Environmental Protection Act to deal with waste responsibly. However, the new legislation places much more of an onus on them to know precisely what type of waste they are producing and what should happen to it. Waste carriers and waste management site operators will be more cautious and require more information about wastes they accept. 

Chartered Institution of Wastes Management chief executive Steve Lee comments: ‘A lot of businesses have taken the view that what happens to waste hasn’t got much to do with them and they just want it to be taken away. This is probably why many don’t seem to have taken the new regulations on board, and SMEs are likely to be the most taken by surprise – particularly when carriers start refusing to take waste away.

‘Waste producers should get advice and make sure they are talking to a professional waste management company. The future is going to be more complex which is all part of being more responsible with the resources we use.’