New publications this month:

DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS (DEFRA)

How to comply with REACH chemical regulations

Updated guidance has been provided on how to register an organisation on the Comply with UK REACH service. This service needs to be used to

• transfer any EU REACH registration into UK REACH (also known as ‘grandfathering’) to continue having access to the GB market after 30 April 2021;
• submit a new registrations for a substance;
• to notify that you’re going to continue importing substances from the EU or European Economic Area (EEA) by submitting a Downstream User Import Notification (DUIN); or
• transfer your assets, such as registrations, to another legal entity.

Waste Management Plan for England 2021

This updated plan provides an analysis of waste management in England. The plan consolidates current English waste management policy into a single document.

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

Importing and exporting waste plastic

Plastic waste may only be exported for recovery in EU and OECD countries where it meets Basel Convention code B3011. The plastic must:

• comprise a single polymer plastic;
• be almost free from contamination and other types of waste, including other waste plastics; and
• be recycled by recovery operation R3 (recycling or reclaiming organic substances that are not used as solvents in an environmentally sound manner).

All other plastics must be shipped under Basel Convention notification controls.

Waste may only be shipped for recovery in non-OECD countries where subject to Basel Convention codes B3011 or Y48 and if notified and consented in advance. Hazardous waste plastics may not be shipped to non-OECD countries.

Electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) covered by the WEEE Regulations

Additional guidance is provided on determining whether items are EEE or not.

Quality protocols and resources frameworks: rules for all end of waste frameworks

This guidance now apples to all end of waste frameworks.

T9 waste exemption: recovering scrap metal

This exemption has been updated to require that waste may only be treated in locations with sealed drainage.

U4 waste exemption: burning waste as fuel in a small appliance

A European Waste Catalogue code has been corrected in this exemption.

Waste: import and export

Guidance on transfrontier shipment of waste has been updated to include requirements on service of claims addresses for financial guarantees provided on waste export notifications.

Environmental permitting: air dispersion modelling reports

Air dispersion modelling reports submitted in support of permit applications must now specifically include a separate annex with all input parameters that have been used.

Monitoring stack emissions: maximum uncertainty values for periodic monitoring

Maximum measurement uncertainties for periodic monitoring have been updated to reflect 2020 standards

Regulatory Position Statements (RPSs):

The following RPSs were published or updated during 2021:

• Exceeding storage limits for waste plastic at permitted sites: RPS (this was published due to disruptions from changes to restrictions on exporting waste plastic under the Basel Convention)
• Denaturing controlled drugs that have become waste: RPS 4
• Using pine trees to restore dunes or protect river banks: RPS 236
• Using unbound incinerator bottom ash aggregate (IBAA) in construction activities: RPS 247
• Monitoring emissions from some environmental permitting activities: RPS C20
• Reporting for installations, radioactive substances and waste permits: RPS C21
• Incinerating specified healthcare wastes at a municipal waste incinerator: RPS C23
• Water and sewerage company OSM and UWWTR sampling affected by COVID-19: RPS C24

Rainwater harvesting: regulatory position statement

This RPS identifies when you may use harvested rainwater without a water abstraction licence and where a licence will be required to abstract or transfer harvested rainwater.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY (BEIS)

Climate Change Agreements (CCAs): technical annex

Updated technical guidance has been provided for the new CCA scheme.

Combined heat and power quality assurance (CHPQA) guidance notes

Four new simplified guidance documents have been provided on the CHPQA regime.

DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS

Aligning your pension scheme with the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations

Guidance has been published on trustees may evaluate how climate-related risks and opportunities may affect their strategies in accordance with the TCFD scheme.

FORESTRY COMMISSION

Guidance has been published on certification requirements in order to export timber and wooden packaging material from Great Britain around the world:

• Apply for an export plant health phytosanitary certificate
• Register as a professional operator to trade in wood, issue plant passports and apply ISPM15 marking

SCOTTISH ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AGENCY (SEPA)

International Waste Shipments: Guidance on the Basel Convention Amendments on Plastic Waste

Plastic waste may only be exported for recovery in EU and OECD countries where it meets Basel Convention code B3011. The plastic must:

• comprise a single polymer plastic;
• be almost free from contamination and other types of waste, including other waste plastics; and
• be recycled by recovery operation R3 (recycling or reclaiming organic substances that are not used as solvents in an environmentally sound manner).

All other plastics must be shipped under Basel Convention notification controls.

Waste may only be shipped for recovery in non-OECD countries where subject to Basel Convention codes B3011 or Y48 and if notified and consented in advance. Hazardous waste plastics may not be shipped to non-OECD countries.

NATURAL RESOURCES WALES

State of Natural Resources Report 2020

This report presents the state of natural resources in Wales and actions that could be taken to address this. These changes include:

• Reducing food waste;
• Promoting sustainable agricultural and agroecological practices that work with nature;
• Better urban design and planning such as connecting green spaces;
• Setting aside more space for nature;
• Moving towards low carbon and renewable energy; and
• Redesigning the transport system as a whole, around sustainable options.

NORTHERN IRELAND ENVIRONMENT AGENCY (NIEA)

WM3: Guidance on the classification and assessment of waste

The WM3 guidance has been updated as a Northern Ireland-specific document, reflecting the impact of Brexit.

Farmer in South West Wales fined after pollution caused fish kill

A Carmarthenshire farmer has been fined after their negligent management of slurry killed thousands of fish in the Afon Dulas river.

On 8 July 2019 the farmer caused a discharge of slurry that severely affected almost five kilometres of the river, causing the category 1 (worst category of harm) pollution incident. Natural Resources Wales officers attended the incident and traced the source of the discharge to a farm.

The regulator counted at least 2,478 dead fish, including 746 brown trout. They also found much of the macroinvertebrate population essential to the river’s ecosystem had been lost.

Breach

The farmer pleaded guilty to an offence under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

Penalty

The farmer was ordered pay the highest level fine available for the offence, totalling £11,366, comprising a £1,760 fine, prosecution costs £9,430 and victim surcharge of £176.

Joint Unit for Waste Crime celebrates its first anniversary

The Joint Unit for Waste Crime (JUWC) is a multi-agency taskforce that brings together environmental regulators and law enforcement agencies to tackle serious and organised waste crime. The unit was launched in January 2020.

The JUWC is comprised of eight partners: the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, the police, the National Crime Agency, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the British Transport Police.

Examples of cases involving the JUWC in 2020 included:

• May 2020: the JUWC started an investigation into a hostile waste operation where local Environment Agency officers had previously been intimidated and threatened. JUWC officers commenced a surveillance operation and worked with the local council, HMRC, the DVSA and the RSPCA on a targeted plan for the site. This led to a warrant executed in August 2020. The JUWC are now reviewing the evidence gathered and will take enforcement action for any offences committed.
• September 2020: the JUWC was attended a site raid in Kent which was supported by over 300 Metropolitan Police firearms officers. Seven people were arrested on suspicion of an array of offences after police discovered drugs, stolen vehicles and an arsenal of weapons. Two people found at the site were cared for by the force’s modern slavery team and 49 stolen dogs were seized, with most now returned to their owners.
• October 2020: JUWC officers undertook a week of action tackling waste and metal crime. Over 1,100 vehicles were stopped and 550 sites were visited. Over 150 offences were detected and 29 arrests made.

In addition to the JUWC, the Environment Agency conducts its own operations to disrupt criminal waste activity. In 2019, the Agency stopped illegal waste activity at 912 sites (12% more than the previous year). As a result of the prosecutions taken, businesses and individuals were fined almost £2.8 million for environmental offences in 2018.