Duty of Care

The waste Duty of Care regime was introduced in Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and creates a duty on all who import, produce, carry, keep, treat or dispose of Controlled Waste or who act as waste brokers or control the waste.

The Duty of Care regime aims to ensure that anyone involved in the handing or management of waste take all appropriate measures to ensure that:

• waste is not passed to to anyone else who may illegally treate, keep or deposit the waste
• waste is prevented from escaping i.e.does not blow away from a site or vehicle transferring any waste
• on transfer of waste to ensure that:
  • transfer only occurs to an authorised person or for authorised transport
  • transfer is accompagnied by a written description of the waste (Waste Transfer Note).

The Waste Duty of Care Code of Practice (The Code) sets out practical guidance on how to meet your waste duty of care requirements. It is issued under section 34(7) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (the EPA) in relation to the duty of care set out in Section 34(1) of that Act. The Code is applicable in England and Wales; in Scotland the Duty of Care regime is governed by The Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) (Scotland) Regulations 2014.

Failure to comply with the duty of care is an offence with no upper limit on the courts' power to fine. In some instances a fixed penalty notice may be issued for failure to comply with the duty of care in place of prosecution. The Code is admissible as evidence in legal proceedings for Section 34(1) offences and its rules must be taken into account where relevant to questions raised in the case.