| Environmental Protection
Act
Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990
This is one of the single most important pieces of environmental
legislation of recent times. It controls many aspects
of how the environment is protected and regulated in
daily lives.
The EPA 1990 (amended 1995) provides
the main statutory framework in relation to waste. In
particular the document:
-
defines waste
-
outlines the roles and functions of the waste collection
authorities, the disposal authorities and the Environment
Agency
-
establishes the criminal offences in relation to
waste
-
down the waste management licensing system
-
the statutory duty of care in relation to waste
Waste Offences Section 33(1) makes it an offence to:
- deposit controlled waste
- knowingly permit controlled waste to be deposited
in or on land
- keep, treat or dispose of controlled waste
- knowingly cause or permit controlled waste to be
kept, treated or disposed of
Unless a waste management
licence or appropriate permit has been issued which
authorises the operation in question.
It is also
an offence to keep, treat or dispose of controlled
waste in a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment
or harm to human health. (This applies whether a waste
management licence has been issued or not.)
For Further Information
The
link to the UK legislation on the HMSO web page is here
The
link to the EPA 1990 specifically is here
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