Packing Waste Regulations
Responsible Body:
Environment Agency & your Local Authority
Summary:
There are two pieces of legislation that affect business that handle significant amounts of packaging waste or that put packaging or packaged goods on the market. These laws are designed to minimise the amount of waste packaging generated at source and ensure that packaging can be reused, recovered or recycled.
Environment Agency & your Local Authority
Summary:
There are two pieces of legislation that affect business that handle significant amounts of packaging waste or that put packaging or packaged goods on the market. These laws are designed to minimise the amount of waste packaging generated at source and ensure that packaging can be reused, recovered or recycled.
Key Requirements:
If your business handles more than 50 tonnes of packaging per year and you have an annual turnover exceeding £2 million, then you must follow the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations (the PW Regulations)
Requirements include:
Register with the Environment Agency (either directly or through a producer compliance scheme);
Pay for the recovery and recycling of certain amounts of packaging waste; and
Provide evidence to the Environment Agency, using electronic packaging recovery notes and packaging export recovery notes.
There are three ways to comply with the PW Regulations.
Join a packaging compliance scheme - most businesses opt for this which will take on your recovery and recycling obligations;
You can calculate your own recycling and recovery requirements and register your own business with Environment Agency; or
If your turnover is between £2 million and £5 million, you can base your obligations on your turnover alone.
Whichever method you choose, you must keep records for at least four years.
The Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations (the EP Regulations) aim to minimise the amount of waste packaging generated at source and ensure that packaging can be reused, recovered or recycled. The EP Regulations apply regardless of your business' turnover or the quantities of packaging produced, handled or filled.
If your business produces packaging or places packaged goods on the market, you must ensure you comply with EP Regulations by:
Using the minimum packaging necessary;
Producing packaging that can be reused or recovered and recycled;
Ensuring your packaging does not exceed the concentration limits set for heavy metals such as lead and mercury; and
Maintaining up-to-date records demonstrating that you comply.
Duty of Care
You have a duty of care as you are legally responsible for ensuring that waste your business produces or handles is stored, transported, treated, reprocessed and disposed of safely. The duty of care has no time limit. You are specifically responsible for your waste from when you produce it until you have transferred it to an authorised person. If you think that your waste is not being managed correctly you must take action to check and prevent this. You must keep records of all transfers of your waste.
Requirements include:
Register with the Environment Agency (either directly or through a producer compliance scheme);
Pay for the recovery and recycling of certain amounts of packaging waste; and
Provide evidence to the Environment Agency, using electronic packaging recovery notes and packaging export recovery notes.
There are three ways to comply with the PW Regulations.
Join a packaging compliance scheme - most businesses opt for this which will take on your recovery and recycling obligations;
You can calculate your own recycling and recovery requirements and register your own business with Environment Agency; or
If your turnover is between £2 million and £5 million, you can base your obligations on your turnover alone.
Whichever method you choose, you must keep records for at least four years.
The Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations (the EP Regulations) aim to minimise the amount of waste packaging generated at source and ensure that packaging can be reused, recovered or recycled. The EP Regulations apply regardless of your business' turnover or the quantities of packaging produced, handled or filled.
If your business produces packaging or places packaged goods on the market, you must ensure you comply with EP Regulations by:
Using the minimum packaging necessary;
Producing packaging that can be reused or recovered and recycled;
Ensuring your packaging does not exceed the concentration limits set for heavy metals such as lead and mercury; and
Maintaining up-to-date records demonstrating that you comply.
Duty of Care
You have a duty of care as you are legally responsible for ensuring that waste your business produces or handles is stored, transported, treated, reprocessed and disposed of safely. The duty of care has no time limit. You are specifically responsible for your waste from when you produce it until you have transferred it to an authorised person. If you think that your waste is not being managed correctly you must take action to check and prevent this. You must keep records of all transfers of your waste.
Penalties & Implications of non-compliance:
The Environment Agency is responsible for enforcement of the PW Regulations. The local authority is responsible for enforcement of the EP Regulations.
Further Information:
Environment Agency: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk
Business Link: http://www.businesslink.gov.uk
NetRegs: http://www.netregs.gov.uk
The Environment Agency is responsible for enforcement of the PW Regulations. The local authority is responsible for enforcement of the EP Regulations.
Further Information:
Environment Agency: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk
Business Link: http://www.businesslink.gov.uk
NetRegs: http://www.netregs.gov.uk