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Safer Special Waste: Amendments to Special Waste Regulations
Paper 2003/28
INTRODUCTION
The Scottish Executive intends to introduce amendments to the Special Waste Regulations 1996 (SI no. 972)
1. These amendments will improve the protection of the environment and of human health by enhancing the regime for the handling of hazardous waste. They shall also ensure that Scotland meets in full its obligations under European law.
The purpose of this consultation paper is to explain and seek views on proposed amendments to the Special Waste Regulations which set out the control system for the movement of hazardous wastes in Scotland. Revisions to the system are set out in the attached draft Special Waste Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
These measures will ensure that Scottish regulations conform with EC law on special waste and in particular the Waste Framework Directive (75/442/EEC)
2 and the Hazardous Waste Directive (91/689/EEC)
3.
CONSULTATION PROCESS
This consultation paper is supported by draft regulations at
Annex A and a draft Regulatory Impact Assessment at
Annex B.
Responses to this consultation paper should be sent by 5pm on Monday 9 February 2004 either by e-mail to
William.Doyle@Scotland.gsi.gov.uk or by post to:
William Doyle
SEPA Sponsorship and Waste Unit
1J (N)
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh EH6 6QQ
In your response, please explain who you are and, where relevant, whom you represent and give your name and address.
To help inform debate on the matters covered by this letter, the Executive may publish responses submitted on the consultation or deposit them in its libraries for inspection by the public. The Executive will assume that responses can be made publicly available unless the respondent expressly indicates that his or her response is confidential. Confidential responses will nevertheless be included in any summary or statistical analysis which does not identify individual respondents.
1 BACKGROUND
1.1 SPECIAL WASTE REGULATIONS
The Special Waste Regulations 1996 set out the regime for the control of the movements of hazardous wastes in Scotland. They impose a range of obligations on the producers of hazardous wastes, to register their premises and ensure that their wastes are removed in accordance with the Regulations. In general, each movement of a hazardous waste has to be pre-notified to SEPA, and is subject to a consignment note.
The Special Waste Regulations transposed in Scotland the Hazardous Waste Directive. However, the Regulations have not kept up with changes in the European definition of hazardous waste, a definition that has recently been extensively revised and incorporated within the European Waste Catalogue (2000/532/EC)
4 which is attached at Annex C. There are also classes of waste, notably agricultural wastes and non-minerals waste from mines and quarries, that are not covered by the Special Waste Regulations 1996.
The Special Waste Regulations provide for the control of the
transfer and
disposal of special or hazardous wastes. There are approximately 15,000 businesses affected, with some 40,000 consignment notes issued each year, covering some 150,000 individual transfers of hazardous waste.
Other regulations, such as the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000 (SI no. 323)
5 (the PPC Regulations), the Waste Incineration (Scotland) Regulations 2003 (SI no. 170)
6 and the Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003 (SI no. 235)
7 place restrictions on the disposal of hazardous wastes. These regulations ensure that such wastes are safely disposed of, with due protection of human health and the environment.
1.2 PREVIOUS CONSULTATION
The Scottish Executive consulted previously on amending the Special Waste Regulations in 2001
8. The 2001 consultation covered many of the issues in this consultation paper and also some substantial changes to the system for the regulation of hazardous wastes in Scotland. It proposed changing the definition of special waste by replacing the term with "hazardous waste" as specified in the European Waste Catalogue. It also proposed changing the procedures for handling hazardous waste:
requiring inspections at specific intervals of waste producers and waste management facilities;
requiring the registration of hazardous waste producers;
requiring hazardous waste producers and waste management facilities to provide information about consignments of hazardous waste; and,
introducing scaled consignment charges.
Finally, it considered a requirement to separate waste and the definition of domestic waste that is exempt from the Special Waste Regulations.
The majority of respondents supported the proposals. Taking into consideration the views of some affected parties and other developments in the regulation of waste, the Executive considers that it is not necessary to revise in full the regime for the regulation of hazardous wastes in Scotland at this time. The measures in this consultation paper instead make important changes to the existing regime in Scotland. The Executive may consider making more fundamental changes to the regime in Scotland in future, if it can be demonstrated that these represent a favourable balance between costs and benefits. England and Wales and Northern Ireland are making their own provisions and the Executive will monitor the implications of the changes made to the schemes operating in these parts of the UK.
1.3 THE SCOPE OF THE CURRENT PROPOSALS
The Executive's current proposals for amendment to the Special Waste Regulations make changes to the definition of hazardous wastes covered by the Regulations and some minor enhancements to the robustness of the existing regulatory system. However, they leave the essential elements of the current system in place. This is because the Executive is not convinced at this time that a full revision of the regime for the regulation of hazardous wastes in Scotland is justified.
The limited proposals below, particularly the extended definition of special waste, are intended primarily to protect the environment and human health.
The new definition of special waste will require amendments to the PPC Regulations which are included in the following proposals. The extended definition will put an additional burden on SEPA in issuing PPC permits for different classes of installations, so it is proposed below that the deadlines for issuing permits for installations that deal with certain classes of waste that is not hazardous are extended.
Q1 Do you agree that at this stage the Executive should make amendments to the existing Special Waste Regulations rather than introducing a fully revised regime for hazardous wastes in Scotland?
2. THE PROVISIONS IN THE DRAFT REGULATIONS
2.1 DEFINITION OF SPECIAL WASTE
Draft regulation 2 (3) will amend the Special Waste Regulations 1996 so that the definition of "special waste" in the Special Waste Regulations is identical to the definition of hazardous waste in the Hazardous Waste Directive. For the purposes of this definition, the European Commission has asterisked those types of waste listed in the European Waste Catalogue that are to be regarded as hazardous.
This change will ensure that no types of hazardous waste are excluded from the provisions in the Special Waste Regulations which regulate the transfer and disposal of waste. It will improve the protection of the environment and will also ensure full compliance with the Hazardous Waste Directive. This will mean that some additional substances, including dental amalgam and coolant fluids, come under the regime. In addition, hazardous wastes arising from the agricultural, and mines and quarries sectors will come under the regime for the first time. These sectors were excluded from the definition of controlled waste under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and are not covered by the 1996 Regulations.
As people or bodies transferring or disposing of all types of waste are already under a duty of care to ensure the proper and safe disposal of that waste, the effect on those disposing of wastes newly covered by the special waste regime should not be great. Producers of such wastes are already under an obligation to dispose of them responsibly. The change will be in the associated administrative procedure for the transfer of these wastes. Waste management companies are generally already familiar with the European Waste Catalogue, as the codes are used to classify wastes. It is also likely that the producers of these wastes may face higher charges from waste operators. The scale of the additional charges due to the change of definition in the Special Waste Regulations will relate in particular to the greater regulatory burden of the administration of special wastes, and the additional conditions on their transfer. The additional disposal costs of hazardous wastes arise from the other regulatory measures, such as the PPC Regulations and the Landfill Regulations.
There will be additional costs for the agricultural and mines and quarries sectors, which are being drawn in the controlled waste regime. In the past, the wastes arising in these sectors have been controlled by the legislation specific to each sector. In future, the full range of waste regulation will apply to wastes from these sectors. As a part of this change, the definition of hazardous wastes in the special waste regime shall change to include wastes from these sectors. This will lead to a certain additional administrative burden on farmers and quarry businesses, and some additional costs in paying for the removal of their waste. The degree of these additional costs will depend on their existing waste management practices. There will be further costs arising from other measures to bring these wastes into the controlled waste regime.
The definition of special waste in the Special Waste Regulations 1996 included all medical products defined in section 130 of the Medicines Act 1968, or falling within a class specified in an order under section 58 of that Act. The new definition of special waste in draft regulation 2 (3) includes this same reference to medicinal waste. This definition effectively draws into the special waste regime all prescription medicines, and residues of prescription medicines. This creates significant costs for health service providers. However, there is a good case to be made that with the incorporation of the full European Hazardous Waste list into the Regulations, there is no longer any need to make separate provision for prescription medicines. The Hazardous Waste list makes reference to particular medicines as hazardous, and to chemicals consisting of or containing dangerous substances. These definitions would appear to capture any waste medicines that present a hazard to human health or the environment. We invite views as to whether there is a continuing need to separately identify waste prescription medicines.
Draft regulation 2 (3) will also exclude domestic waste from the definition of hazardous waste.
Q2 Will this definition of special waste have any unhelpful implications?
Q3 Is there any need for all waste prescription medicines to continue to be defined as special waste with the adoption of the full European Hazardous Waste list?
2.2 PACKAGING AND LABELLING OF SPECIAL WASTE
Special waste is currently packaged and labelled in accordance with Carriage of Dangerous Goods (Classification, Packaging and Labelling) and Use of Transportable Pressure Receptacles Regulations 1996 (SI no. 2092)
9. As there is currently no specific mention of this in the Special Waste Regulations, draft regulation 2 (4) will include this requirement.
2.3 REGISTERS OF CONSIGNMENT NOTES
The Special Waste Regulations require registers of consignment notes to be kept for consignments of special waste. SEPA inspect these registers from time to time, although there is no statutory obligation on them to do so. Draft regulation 2 (5) will require SEPA to inspect these registers.
Those who produce or transport waste are currently required to keep a register recording information about each waste consignment. Draft regulation 2 (6) will require those who produce or transport consignments of hazardous waste to keep records. It is likely that those who already produce or transport waste already keep such records.
Q4 Will this requirement pose an additional burden? To what extent?
2.4 SEPARATION OF WASTE
SEPA guidance already requires the separation of waste where hazardous waste has been mixed with other hazardous or non hazardous waste and so this process is already carried out by operators. Draft regulation 2 (7) will insert provision 17A into the Special Waste Regulations which will require this separation. This provision ensures that separation is carried out only in the instances where this will increase the protection of the environment and human health. This means that such separation activity can only be carried out when it reduces environmental hazard and nuisance. Operators who are in doubt about the circumstances in which waste should be separated should ask their local SEPA office.
2.5 CROSS BORDER TRADING
The attached regulation 2 (8) will allow for the recognition in Scotland of consignment notes for consignments from England and Wales. Different regulations will ensure that consignment notes from Scotland will be recognised in these parts of the UK.
2.6 THE POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL REGULATIONS 1994
The PPC Regulations set a series of deadlines to issue PPC permits for different classes of installations. These are purely national, administrative targets, in order to allow an orderly movement towards the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (Council Directive 96/61/EC)
10 deadline of 2007. These regulations apply to hazardous waste and draft regulation 10 will amend them to ensure that they define hazardous waste in the same way as the amended Special Waste Regulations. This amended definition will put an additional burden on SEPA, and Draft regulation 3 will provide a longer period for them to complete this work, extending the dates in Schedule 3 for section 5.3 paragraph (c)(i) and (c)(ii) for non-hazardous waste by 2 years and 3 months.
Q5 Are the amended dates for section 5.3 of the Pollution and Prevention and Control (PPC) Regulations appropriate?
2.7 THE DRAFT REGULATORY IMPACT ASSESSMENT
The attached Regulatory Impact Assessment includes costs associated with the proposed changes and with the other options of not making any changes and of introducing a revised regime.
Q6 Are the costs set out in the Regulatory Impact Assessment an accurate representation of the likely costs of the three options?
Q7 What further information about costs do respondents have?
LIST OF CONSULTATION QUESTIONS
SCOPE OF THE PROPOSALS
Q1 Do you agree that at this stage the Executive should make amendments to the existing Special Waste Regulations rather than introducing a fully revised regime for hazardous wastes in Scotland?
DEFINITION OF SPECIAL WASTE
Q2 Will this definition of special waste have any unhelpful implications?
Q3 Is there any need for all waste prescription medicines to continue to be defined as special waste with the adoption of the full European Hazardous Waste list?
REGISTERS OF CONSIGNMENT NOTES
Q4 ill this requirement pose an additional burden? To what extent?
THE POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL REGULATIONS 1994
Q5 Are the amended dates for section 5.3 of the Pollution and Prevention and Control (PPC) Regulations appropriate?
THE REGULATORY IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Q6 Are the costs set out in the Regulatory Impact Assessment an accurate representation of the likely costs of the three options?
Q7 What further information about costs do respondents have?
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