Understanding the new hazardous waste regulations

As of 1st April 2016, changes were made to the hazardous waste regulation for premises located in England as part of the Strategic Smarter Environment Regulation Review, aimed at reducing regulatory burdens and operating costs.

Businesses in England producing or storing 500kgs or more of hazardous waste per year are now no longer required to register with the Environment Agency (EA).

In turn, changes have affected the way the hazardous waste consignment notes are completed, again, only in England. Where the first six characters of the unique consignment code used to relate to a premises' registration number, they now reflect the first six letters or numbers of the company name. Companies with less than six letters will have filler letters to use in the remaining spaces, and the second set of characters will be five letters or numbers chosen by the business. It is no longer acceptable to use 'exempt' in the consignment note code.

This change affects all businesses that produce, handle or manage any hazardous waste. Please check you are now using the new code as the old style is no longer compliant. (These changes are not applicable in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland).

Finally, the requirements for the SIC code on the hazardous waste consignment note have also changed. Pre 1 April, SIC 1992/2003 and NACE (the industry standard classification used in the European Union) were acceptable on consignment notes, but now only SIC 2007 and NACE can be used.

EDP is able to offer its expert advice in reducing the regulatory burdens of managing these changes for your business. Please contact our team on 08456 44 53 54.