05/05/2015
This update contains brief details of Government and EU publications, legislation, cases and other developments in England and Wales relevant to those interested in waste management, which have been published in the past month.
Items are set out by subject, with a link to where the full document can be found on the internet. All links are correct at the date of publication.
If you have been forwarded this update by a colleague and would like to receive it direct please email Claire Booth.
The following topics are covered in this update:
 Enforcement |
Waste Minimisation |
|
Landfill |
WEEE |
|
Producer Responsibility |
Enforcement
Environment Agency: Offence response options (version 8): this document sets out the enforcement options available for every offence that the Agency regulates, so as to give a complete explanation of its approach to enforcement and sanctioning. It should be read in conjunction with the Enforcement and Sanctions Statement and Guidance. (31 March 2015)
Landfill
Landfill Tax (Qualifying Fines) Order 2015 (SI 2015/845): this Order, which comes into force on 1 April 2015, introduces a Loss on Ignition (LOI) test to help identify the correct landfill tax liability of waste fines - the smaller fractions of waste produced by any waste treatment process that includes an element of mechanical treatment. It sets out the requirements for the lower rating of waste fines which consist of qualifying material plus an incidental amount of non-qualifying material. (27 March 2015)
Landfill Tax (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/846): these regulations, which come into force on 1 April 2015, amend SI 1996/1527 regarding information to be given to HMRC about fines that fail the LOI test provided for in the Landfill Tax (Qualifying Fines) Order 2015 (SI 2015/845). (27 March 2015)
Producer Responsibility
Environment Agency: Producer Responsibility – Examples of acceptable evidence of broadly equivalent standards for packaging and equivalent standards for WEEE: sets out guidance and a look-up table of acceptable evidence that packaging or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) exporters can use to prove that overseas sites are operating to broadly equivalent standards to those operating in the UK. (24 March 2015)
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
UN University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability: Global E-waste Monitor 2014 – Quantities, flows and resources: this report finds that the amount of global discarded electrical and electronic equipment (e-waste) reached 41.8m tonnes in 2014. Almost 60% of global e-waste in 2014 was discarded kitchen, laundry, and bathroom equipment, while personal information and communication technology (ICT) devices, such as mobile phones, personal computers, and printers, accounted for 7% of e-waste last year. According to the report, just two countries – the US and China – discarded nearly one-third of the world’s total e-waste in 2014. The report provides detail and accuracy about the size of the world’s e-waste challenge, ongoing progress in establishing specialised e-waste collection and treatment systems, and the outlook for the future. (15 April 2015)
Waste Minimisation
DEFRA: Carrier bag charges – Retailers' responsibilities: sets out details of the mandatory charge for plastic carrier bags that large retailers need to introduce under the Single Use Carrier Bags Charges (England) Order 2015 (SI 2015/776), and the fines for not doing so. This guidance does not apply to small and medium-sized enterprises. (23 March 2015)
