Transport of waste
The Controlled Waste (Registration of Carriers and Seizure of Vehicles) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 (as amended) detail the application procedure to be followed when applying for a licence to transport controlled waste. The regulations also list certain types of organisation who are exempt from registration and specify the procedure for seizing a vehicle which is used for the illegal disposal of waste.
Hazardous waste regulations
The Hazardous Waste Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (as amended)work in conjunction with Commission Decision 2000/532/EC, which contains the current version of the European Waste Catalogue.
Their purpose is to set out a regime to control and track the movement of hazardous waste. They also enable waste holders to comply with the statutory 'Duty of Care' in relation to waste.
The regulations deal with the assignment of codes to hazardous waste and the relevant fees charged for doing so, the completion of consignment notes, the pre-notification of a consignment and also the keeping of registers and site records. Details of offences and penalties are also provided.
Duty of care
The Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (as amended) includes duty of care requirements in respect of waste. Further requirements around this are set out in the Controlled Waste (Duty of Care) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 (as amended) and the Controlled Waste and Duty of Care Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 (as amended).
The basis of duty of care is that any person who imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste, or as a broker, has control of such waste, must take all measures applicable to him in that capacity as are reasonable in the circumstances to:
- prevent the deposit of controlled waste on land except under the terms of a waste management licence
- prevent the escape of waste from his control, or that of any other person
- secure that any transfer of waste is only to an authorised person
- be accompanied by a description adequate to help any subsequent holder avoid breaching the duty.
The regulations place a duty of care on waste holders and transporters to carry, produce and retain waste transfer notes and set out what information has to be included on a waste transfer note. They also classify waste as household waste, industrial waste or commercial waste and identify the types of household waste for which a charge for collection may be made.
Waste Management Licensing
The Waste Management Licensing Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (as amended) cover applications for waste management licenses. Further information on these regulations and the application process can be obtained from the link below.