Duty of Care

The Duty of Care (DoC) 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 fundamentally places a responsibility to take all reasonable steps to ensure that when waste is transferred to another waste holder that the waste is managed correctly throughout its complete journey to Recovery or Disposal. The 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 treat, 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 the transfer of waste ensuring that:
  • transfer only occurs to an Authorised Person or for authorised transport.
  • transfer is accompanied by a written description of the waste on (Waste Transfer Note) or a (Consignment Note for hazardous waste).

An Authorised Person is one of the following:

1. someone who has a valid registration as a carrier, broker or dealer of the waste
2. a waste management operator who has an Environmental Permit or Registered Exemption from such a permit to accept such waste

Waste Duty of Care Code of Practice

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.

Domestic Properties

The occupier of a domestic property has a duty to take all reasonable measures to ensure Household Waste is transferred to an Authorised Person - in most cases this is satisfied by the services delivered by the Local Authority as either/or the Waste Collection Authority/Waste Disposal Authority and in this case the occupier of a property is exempted from the section 34(1) Duty of Care. However, if the Local Authority is not used i.e. a private business provides a waste collection service (for example a house clearance), then the occupier still has obligations of that waste under Section 34(2A). In the event that an occupier has a tradeperson undertaking work on their property, the tradeperson is responsible for the waste they produce, including transport and disposal.