The changes are summarised:
- A new hazardous property H13 (Sensitising) has been introduced and the old H13 property is now H15 (waste capable by any means, after disposal, of yielding another substance e.g. leachate, which possesses any of the hazardous properties H1 to H14). You will have to use these hazardous properties when assessing your waste.
- Changes have been made to simplify multiple collections and you must now use the modified standard consignment note. The same consignment note is now used for multiple collection rounds and single collections.
- The hazardous waste consignment note has been changed to include in Part D a declaration by the consignor that the waste hierarchy has been considered.
- If you are a waste broker or dealer then you will have to keep records of hazardous waste for three years.
- The requirement for you to retain consignment notes at all authorised sites except landfills will be reduced to five years.
- You will only be allowed to mix hazardous waste if you have an environmental permit which allows you to do so and you will have to comply with Best Available Techniques (BAT).
The European revised Waste Framework Directive (rWFD) has required changes to our legislation.
There have therefore been some consequential changes in the regulation of hazardous wastes by amendment of the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 and the Hazardous Waste (Wales) Regulations 2005.
So, if you produce or manage hazardous waste, check that you are familiar with changes to hazardous waste controls.
Our technical guidance WM2 has been amended to explain what H13 is and how you can assess your waste. WM2 can be found on our 'What is hazardous waste?' web page:
Very few wastes will have H13 as their only hazardous property so we do not expect a significant increase in wastes being classified as hazardous. Some adhesive wastes may have H13 as their only hazardous property.
Multiple collections will continue but the consignment note has been simplified and a modified standard consignment note is to be used for both multiple and single collections.
A carrier must complete a standard consignment for each customer for each site on the round. A round number and collection number must be completed in the carrier’s declaration on the consignment note.
When the carrier arrives at the consignee’s site, the consignee, in addition to the normal information required, will need to declare how many collections were received that were in the collection round.
The consignee’s quarterly returns will include the round number and collection number for each customer in the round.
Guidance on how to carry out a multiple collection round can be found on our website:
You must now use the new procedure as this became mandatory on 28 September 2011.
We have produced new electronic and paper consignee return forms allowing the entry of these new requirements and providing guidance on how to complete the forms. These new documents can be found on the following page:
As the use of the new form of modified consignment note became a legal requirement on 28 September 2011, we will expect returns for waste received from 1 October to include the new hazardous properties and/or carrier round details for consignments.
There is a five-step waste hierarchy which is an important requirement of the revised Waste Framework Directive. It applies to anyone who produces or manages waste. Unless there is a good reason not to, a waste should be managed, in order of preference, by:
1. Prevention
2. Preparing for re-use
3. Recycling
4. Other recovery (for example energy recovery)
5. Disposal
When completing a consignment note a consignor must sign the declaration in Part D to indicate that you have considered the hierarchy before transferring your waste.
There are many sources of guidance on how to apply the waste hierarchy to waste, some of which will be available shortly on the Defra website or on Waste Resources Action Programme’s (WRAP) website:
Anyone mixing or diluting hazardous waste must hold an appropriate environmental permit and any mixing of hazardous waste will have to comply with BAT. All new permits will include a condition implementing this requirement.
Those operations authorised under Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) already have this requirement but it has now been applied to all permits. This new provision will only be applied to new permits issued after 29 March 2011 and to existing permits on their first review.
On the hazardous waste pages of our website:
Telephone: 03708 506 506
or email:
