Duty of Care

A chain of individuals are involved in the life-cycle of waste. This will start with the producer, e.g. a furniture manufacturer, who will consign the waste to a carrier, who takes it to a disposal site or to someone who can treat, convert or reuse it.

The Duty of Care was introduced to prevent the incorrect storage, handling, treatment or disposal of waste throughout this life-cycle. It seeks to do this by placing a duty on sites to ensure that:

They do not commit an offence themselves
They do not allow others in the chain to commit an offence

The system is designed to be essentially self-regulating, with the burden of proof being on your site to show that it has fulfilled its duty . The duty applies to anyone who produces, imports, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste, or as a broker has control of such waste.

A practical guide called the “Code of Practice” is available which recommends a series of steps which should normally be enough to meet the duty (HMSO, 1996). The following section provides a summary of these steps.

The duty is not really a single duty, but four interconnected duties:

To prevent the unlawful disposal of the waste by anybody
As a waste producer, your site must take all reasonable steps to prevent unlawful disposal of the waste by third parties (e.g. waste carriers, disposal contractors, etc.)
To make sure that waste does not escape your control or that of any other person
Similarly, this is an extended responsibility. It requires your site to handle and store the waste correctly on site. The duty also requires that the waste is placed in suitable containers for any transport or storage under the custody of other people.
Only to transfer the waste to "authorised persons"
Authorised persons for this purpose are the waste collection authority or, more commonly, a registered waste carrier.
To give the person taking the waste a written description which will enable them to deal lawfully with the waste (i.e. meet his/her own duty of care)
This duty involves the introduction by the generator of a standard system of waste documentation (which a prudent generator should have in place anyway!).

On-site considerations

Storage : all waste holders must act to keep waste safe against:
- Corrosion or wear of containers
- Accidental spillage, leaking or leaching from the ingress of rainwater
- Accident or weather breaking contained waste open and allowing it to escape
- Waste blowing away or falling while stored or transported
- Scavenging of waste by vandals, thieves, children, trespassers or animals.
Labelling: should be used on all waste containers - including skips. Everyone must know what can and cannot be placed in a given skip / container. The disposal of unsuitable items, e.g. half full tin of old coating (often a special waste) in a general waste skip will constitute a breach of the duty as the skip will not be general waste as claimed in the transfer note (see later). This is particularly important if there are often contractors on site. Labelling is also essential if waste is to be segregated for reuse or recycling.
Security: waste should be secure from vandalism, scavenging and wind-blow - covering with a tarpaulin is again a good idea and it is preferable to have a locked area for waste storage (this will also stop others putting their waste in your skip - which is costly and risks contravening the Duty due to the inclusion of unsuitable waste).

Transfer considerations

Transfer: must occur only to an "authorised person", e.g. a:

Waste collection authority (local authority)
Waste manager who is licensed for the activity he manages (or is exempt)
Registered carrier

The latter is the most common type of carrier. Registration certificates will be issued by the Environment Agency. Manufacturers are advised to obtain a numbered copy of the carrier's registration certificate provided by the Environment Agency. Photocopies are not valid and do not provide evidence of the carrier's registration. Failure to obtain a registration certificate would make it difficult to show that your site has transferred waste only to an authorised person.

When waste is passed onto another person, it must be accompanied by a transfer note and a written description with enough information to allow subsequent handlers to be able to handle the waste safely.

In reality, the transfer note and written description will normally be combined into one document, and copies must be kept for two years. In the case of repeated transfers of waste of an identical nature, e.g. skips of off-cuts, these documents may be issued on an annual basis rather than for each collection trip. Such documents must be generated for each waste stream. Thus, two separate annual transfer notes will be required on a site which has one general waste skip and one trailer for saw-dust. Similarly, a new set of documents must be generated if the details change, e.g. the size of skip increases.

It is advisable to check that the disposal site is licensed to accept the waste that you are consigning to it. Under the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994, disposal sites / transfer stations generally require one of the following:

A waste management license
Registration with the Environment Agency
Relevant exemption

The effectiveness of individual companies to comply with their licence conditions varies widely. Checks can be made to ensure that waste is correctly treated further down the line of waste handlers by;

Requesting a copy of the waste management license for each site that you use. This should be checked to ensure that it is current and that the site can accept your particular waste
If you have difficulties interpreting the licence - you can address written queries to the issuing branch of the Environment Agency
Visiting any disposal sites that are used; either for a brief walk-around and chat (to gauge the level of competence and conscientiousness of the operatives) or to conduct a brief environmental review.

Written details relating to each of the above checks should be retained on record. Licenses, registration or evidence of exemption should be checked afresh in the following cases:

Whenever a new waste stream is involved
Where there has been a change in the disposal site or carrier
At least once a year if nothing has changed in a series of transfers.

In the event of an Environment Agency investigation into a waste incident in the locality, e.g. a consignment of fly tipped wood waste, your site will then be able to produce the following:

Transfer notes (dating back at least two years) for each waste stream
Carrier registration for each waste collector used by your site
Waste management licence for each facility that your waste is taken to
Correspondence with the Agency with regards to the current validity of such licenses
Review details from visits to waste management company sites.

Your site will therefore have a strong case that it has taken all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to prevent the mis-treatment of its waste.