Small and medium sized companies attended ESA’s annual SME seminar on 25 May. Chaired by ESA’s Chairman, Mr Michael Hellings, the event was titled "Small Firms, Big Issues: Issues affecting SMEs in the waste management sector".
Mr David Pugh of the Environment Agency opened the seminar with a report on the Agency’s changing approach to regulation.
He explained the Agency’s wish to move towards risk based and outcome-focused regulation, rather than the traditional inspection focused approach. He reported that EP OPRA would replace the OPRA for Waste regime in the next year and that this should result in fewer inspections and lower charges for those companies which performed well.
Mr Paul Weston of the Agency then outlined changes arising from the application of PPC to facilities currently regulated under the WML regime. He reported that no applications had been received for hazardous waste recovery facilities and advised Members to closely examine existing licences to determine whether they could avoid coming under the PPC regime.
Ms Leslie Heasman of MJCA presented a waste management industry perspective on the waste acceptance criteria (WAC) which will come into force in July. She reported continuing confusion about the definition of hazardous waste, and particularly whether pH would determine whether a waste was hazardous or not.
Ms Heasman described the requirements for waste characterisation and the numerical WAC which will apply to wastes going to landfill. She reported that while the monolithic WAC has not yet been agreed, no processes producing monolithic waste current operate in the UK.
The impact of the revision to planning policy guidance (PPS10) was described by Mr Chris Saville of ODPM. He recognised the need to increase the number of waste management facilities as well as the requirement to increase the speed at which these facilities come on stream and whilst he reported that 88% of all major planning applications are granted, only a third of these related to new facilities. The new planning system would require local development documents to identify sites and to ensure that sufficient capacity is available for the coming 5-10 years.
Discussion between delegates and speakers highlighted concerns about the interface between the planning regime and the pollution control regulatory regime, particularly for existing facilities. Mr Saville suggested that planning shouldn’t be seen as a blockage, but instead as a means for ensuring the right development in the right place. He also reported that ODPM was considering the applicability of permitted development rights to waste management developments.
The afternoon session began with a discussion on health and safety. Marian Kelly of ESA emphasised the commitment of ESA’s Members to improving health and safety performance across the sector. Mr Paul Harvey of the Health & Safety Executive then reported that the average cost to a company for a major injury was £38,000 and outlined a series of action operators could take to reduce accidents in the workplace, including eliminating the need to work at height, appropriate work clothing and all round vision on vehicles.
Ms Meg Patel of Defra provided delegates with an update on treatment options for animal by-products. She described the permitted disposal and treatment routes for this waste and reported that the UK’s transitional period for treating former foodstuffs would finish in December 2005 and from then this waste could not be sent to landfill. The transitional period would not be extended. Ms Patel answered queries from delegates on treatment of packaging waste which had contained animal by-products and agreed to examine areas where duplication of effort existed in meeting regulatory requirements.
The final presentation of the day was made by Mr Roy Watkinson of the Environment Agency who reported how the Agency planned to ensure that all businesses comply with the new Hazardous Waste Regulations and WAC. He announced that the Agency had established a dedicated telephone line for hazardous waste producers (08708 502 858) and reported that 3,000 producers had registered to date.
Copies of the presentations can be obtained from Diane Young d-young@esauk.org
Over one hundred and fifty delegates heard presentations from ESA’s Sam Corp and Biffa’s Jason Stringer at ESA seminars on hazardous waste held at ET 2005. The seminars examined the implications for hazardous waste producers and managers following implementation of the waste acceptance criteria and new Hazardous Waste Regulations on 16 July 2005.
Mr Corp outlined procedures for waste treatment and waste characterisation, and advised that waste producers should already be initiating waste sampling and testing programmes to characterise their wastes prior to disposal at landfill and warned that "the costs of getting it right may be higher than producers pay now, but the costs of getting it wrong are even higher."
Mr Stringer advised that the Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005 would require producers of hazardous waste to register their premises with the Environment Agency. The regulations would also restrict mixing of hazardous wastes with other hazardous wastes and with non-hazardous wastes and this would require extra control systems and additional containers.Mr Stringer advised that companies should ask themselves "is a waste really hazardous and if it is do we really need to keep producing it?"
Mr Stringer explained that waste management companies could now provide ‘added value’ to waste producers via integrated waste management services that could actually reduce the quantities of waste produced.
Copies of the presentations can be obtained from Diane Young d-young@esauk.org
Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has published a Better Regulation Plan designed to promote a risk-based approach to regulation.
The Plan builds on many of the recommendations made by Sir Phillip Hampton in his review of regulation and aims to deliver across the economy a reduction in inspections of one third.
In one of his recommendations, Sir Phillip suggested that the Environment Agency’s work should be increased.In announcing the Plan the Chancellor stated, "we will legislate in the new year to reduce 29 regulators to just seven, embed the risk based approach at the heart of regulators’ statutory duties, make it quicker and easier to remove unnecessary regulations and reform the penalty regime, doing more to help companies comply with the rules but creating tougher penalties for persistent offenders".
The Government aims also to push for the risk-based approach to be at the heart of EU rule-making. For example, during the UK’s Presidency of the EU-beginning on 1 July the Government will ensure that comprehensive impact assessments are undertaken for all new EU legislation.
A briefing on the Plan can be found on the member’s section of ESA’s website, www.esauk.org
