Definition of duty of care
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/her 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 authorisation
- prevent the escape of waste from his/her 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
In practice the legislation requires all producers, carriers and managers of waste to put in place a system of transfer notes in order to document waste movements. For details of the requirements see:
- Waste Management: The Duty of Care – A Code of Practice for Northern Ireland
- Waste - duty of care responsibilities
Further advice is available by calling Duty of Care helpline at 028 9056 9360 or you can email roc@daera-ni.gov.uk