Manufacturers are becoming increasingly canny in their reuse and recycling of waste in order to avoid the cost of landfilling but it is important to remember that waste legislation applies to the majority of these residues and it is rare to find companies that are completely compliant.

One problem that the timber and furniture sectors face is to decide whether substances that they produce, such as bags of sawdust, are raw material or waste.

The UK works on a definition of waste that can include virtually anything a company discards. According to the former Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions, several questions should be asked when deciding whether or not something is waste. Some of the most relevant are:

  • Has the item been discarded so that it is not part of the normal commercial chain or chain of utility? If not, it is not waste. For example, an old car sold to a second-hand dealer is not waste, unlike a written-off car sent to a scrap merchant.

  • Has the item been consigned to a disposal operation? If so, it is almost certainly waste. Disposal operations include: landfill, incineration and treatment prior to final disposal.

  • Has the item been consigned to a spe-cialised recovery operation? If so, it is almost certainly waste. Examples include solvent recovery, use of waste to regenerate energy and the recycling/recovery of other organic substances.

  • Can the item be used in its present form without being subjected to a specialised recovery operation? If so, it may not be waste: eg directly re-usable bottles returned for refilling are not waste.

    • These tests suggest that sawdust will be classed as waste if it is sent to landfill, chipboard manufacture (specialised recovery operation) or combustion. However, it may not be waste if sent to a farmer for direct use as a bedding material.

    The definition is important because waste is subject to a variety of controls that will not apply to substances defined as raw materials. If the above definitions do not clarify a situation, companies should contact the Environment Agency or Scottish Environmental Protection Agency for a written decision.

    Duty of care

    Where a substance is deemed to be waste, the Duty of Care will apply under Part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This recognises that a variety of companies are typically involved in the waste management chain –starting with the waste producer and ending with the disposer.

    The Duty of Care was introduced in 1992 to prevent the incorrect storage, handling, treatment or disposal of waste. It places a duty on waste producers to ensure that they do not commit an offence and that they do not allow others in the chain to commit an offence.

    Therefore, the system prevents a site from washing its hands of a waste stream once it has left the site as a degree of liability may remain throughout the remainder of the life cycle. In order to comply with the requirements, consideration must be given to the following:

  • Storage: waste must be kept safely to avoid spillage, wind-blow and scavenging.

  • Labelling: should be used on all waste containers – including skips. This is particularly important if there are often contractors on site or if waste is segregated for recycling.

  • Transfer: must occur only to an ‘authorised person’, which is most likely to be a carrier registered with the EA or SEPA. Manufacturers should obtain a numbered copy of the carrier’s registration certificate.

  • Transfer note: when waste is passed onto another person it must be accompanied by a transfer note and a written description. These are generally incorporated into a single document and copies must be kept for two years. For repeated transfers of waste of an identical nature, such as skips of offcuts, these documents may be issued on an annual basis rather than for each collection trip.

  • Disposal site: it is advisable to check that the disposal site is licensed to accept the waste that you are consigning to it. Under the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994, disposal sites/transfer stations require a waste management licence, regulator registration or relevant exemption. It is therefore good practice to request a copy of the licensing document for each site that you use and perhaps arrange a visit.

    • It is worth noting that the Duty of Care regime is essentially self-regulating, with the burden of proof being on your site to show that it has fulfilled its duty. Regulators are unlikely to require relevant documents unless an incident, such as fly-tipping, has occurred. When investigators visit, companies must be able to provide a written audit trail to show that they have taken all reasonable precautions to dispose of waste safely.

    Some types of waste are so dangerous or difficult to keep, treat or dispose of, that special provision is required. They are termed ‘special waste’ and are subject to additional controls under the Special Waste Regulations 1996. Examples include waste oil, solvent, oil/water interceptor sludges and certain timber treatment chemicals.

    In order to ensure such wastes are disposed of in a safe manner, regulators must be notified prior to a collection. The typical procedure will be for the site to collect a reasonable amount of a given special waste and then notify a waste carrier. The latter will prepare a consignment note and send it for approval by the regulator. Once approved, the waste may be transferred and your site must retain a copy of the consignment note for at least three years.

    Consultation paper

    The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs recently issued a consultation paper on revision of the special waste regime. Unfortunately, it suggests a producer responsibility style annual registration – which will not please companies involved in the packaging regulations.

    The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 apply to any company or group which handles more than 50 tonnes of packaging a year, with a turnover of more than £2m. There are still many companies failing to appreciate that packaging handled includes:

  • Packaging on imported goods where your company is the first UK owner. For example, if my company imports a crate of timber bought directly from an overseas company, the weight of packaging around the timber counts towards my obligation.

  • Materials supplied for the manufacture of packaging – eg timber that a company sells for the manufacture of crates and pallets.

  • Packaging used on goods out Companies that have previously adopted ostrich tactics with the regulations are facing increasing penalties. During the first couple of years fines were typically £1,000-2,000, reflecting the fact that even the regulators were confused. Now the regime has settled down, confusion is no excuse and fines have increased significantly, with £25,000 being the largest thus far.

    • A packaging consultation paper issued in August suggested that the UK recovery targets for 2002 should rise to 61% (currently 56%), with material specific recycling rates increasing to 20% (currently 18%).