Employers' Duty of Care
As a producer of waste all employers have a legal Duty of Care to ensure that all controlled waste is legally handled, managed and processed from its production to its final disposal. Breach of the Duty of Care is a criminal offence, which carries a penalty of up to £5,000 on summary conviction or an unlimited fine upon conviction on indictment and so it is critically important that you know and understand who you are entrusting your waste disposal to.
Whether you produce controlled waste, otherwise referred to as hazardous waste, offensive waste, clinical waste or medical waste, may not be completely obvious at first so here's a few questions that will help to answer the question of “What’s this got to do with me?”
- Do you have female washroom facilities with disposal bins for sanitary products?
- Do you have baby changing facilities with disposal bins for used nappies?
- Do you have a first aid room or facilities where swabs and medical dressings are disposed of?
- Does your first aid equipment contain any needles, scalpels or other sharp medical instruments?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are producing controlled waste and as such you may be held liable for any breach in the storage, handling, carriage and transfer or disposal process!
Waste Management Regulations
When choosing a Washroom Services provider for your business, it's completely understandable to assume that all service providers will have the requisite licences and certification that allows them to manage your waste on your behalf. The reality is - they probably don't!
All Washroom Services companies from the small family run businesses to the large household-name companies must have a Waste Carrier's Licence by Law. Without this licence they cannot legally collect your controlled waste or take it away on their service vehicles. It's what happens at the end of the day when all the collections have been made that will determine whether there has been a breach of your Duty of Care or not!
At this point in the waste management process, most small to medium sized washroom services companies are breaking the law and you, as the producer, can be held responsible! Please refer to our Waste Management Regulations section for a full explanation as to why you might unwittingly be at risk or Contact Elite for some expert advice.
Duty of Care - The Law
If you produce waste you have a legal Duty of Care. The Duty of Care applies to everyone involved in handling the waste from the person who produces it to the person who finally disposes of it. The Duty of Care is set out in section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and associated regulations. It applies to anyone who is the producer or holder of controlled waste.
Persons concerned with controlled waste must ensure that the waste is managed properly, recovered or disposed of safely, does not cause harm to human health or pollution of the environment and is only transferred to someone who is authorised to receive it. The duty applies to any person, who produces, imports, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste or as a broker has control of such waste. Breach of the Duty of Care is an offence, with a penalty of up to £5000 on summary conviction or an unlimited fine upon conviction on indictment.
Under the Duty of Care Regulations 1991, parties transferring waste are required to complete and retain a Waste Transfer Note, containing a written description of that waste. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) now requires waste to be described on the transfer note by reference to the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) and its appropriate code number. These amendments to the 1991 regulations were brought in to meet the landfill directive's requirements on monitoring the acceptance and treatment of waste, and will also help to fulfil the UK's obligation to implement the EWC.
Clinical Waste Management
Clinical wastes are healthcare wastes that may prove hazardous to those that come into contact with them. There are stringent controls in place to ensure that Clinical Waste is managed safely and is recovered or disposed of without harming the environment or human health. Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 it is unlawful to deposit, recover or dispose of controlled (including clinical) waste without a waste management licence, contrary to the conditions of a licence or the terms of an exemption, or in a way which causes pollution of the environment or harm to human health.
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