The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales)Regulations 2005

PART 1 E+W General

Citation, commencement, extent and territorial application E+W

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 and come into force as follows-

(a) Parts 1, 2, paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12 and, for the purposes of that paragraph only, Part 5, regulation 59(3) and Schedule 9 and regulation 78 on 16th April 2005; and

(b) the remainder, on 16th July 2005.

(2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales only.

(3) Nothing in these Regulations applies to Wales except this regulation, Part 11, and regulation 5 so far as relating to that Part.

The Waste Directive and the meaning of waste E+W

[F1 2.— (1) For the purposes of these Regulations—

[F2 (a) “the Waste Directive” means Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste [F3 , as last amended by [F4 Directive (EU) 2018/851]] [F5 , and as read in accordance with regulation 2A];]

(b) “waste” means anything that—

(i) is waste within the meaning of Article 3(1) of the Waste Directive [F6 , as read with Articles 5 and 6 of that Directive]; and

(ii) subject to regulation 15, is not excluded from the scope of that Directive by Article 2(1), (2) or (3).

(2) In these Regulations, a reference to the Waste Directive conditions is a reference to the conditions set out in Article 13 of that Directive, that is to say, to ensure that waste management is carried out without endangering human health, without harming the environment and, in particular—

(a) without risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals;

(b) without causing a nuisance through noise or odours; and

(c) without adversely affecting the countryside or places of special interest.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 2 substituted (29.3.2011) by The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/988), reg. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 2 (with regs. 2, 47(2))

F2 Reg. 2(1)(a) substituted (3.8.2016) by The Waste (Meaning of Recovery) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/738), regs. 1(1), 6

F3 Words in reg. 2(1)(a) inserted (5.7.2018) by The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/575), art. 1(2)(a), reg. 4(2)

F4 Words in reg. 2(1)(a) substituted (1.10.2020) by The Waste (Circular Economy) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/904), regs. 1(1), 9(2)

F5 Words in reg. 2(1)(a) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Waste (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/188), regs. 1(2)(b), 11(2)(a) (as amended by S.I. 2020/1540, regs. 1(2), 11(2)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F6 Words in reg. 2(1)(b)(i) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Waste (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/188), regs. 1(2)(b), 11(2)(b) (as amended by S.I. 2020/1540, regs. 1(2), 11(2)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

[F7 Modification of the Waste Directive E+W

2A.— (1) For the purposes of these Regulations, the Waste Directive is to be read in accordance with this regulation.

(2) A reference to one or more member States in a provision imposing an obligation or conferring a discretion on a member State or member States is to be read as a reference to the appropriate authority or local authority which, immediately before IP completion day, was responsible for the United Kingdom's compliance with that obligation or able to exercise that discretion in respect of England.

(3) Article 2 is to be read as if—

(a) in paragraph 2—

(i) in the words before point (a), for “other Community legislation” there were substituted “ retained EU law ”;

(ii) in points (b) and (c), for “Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002” there were substituted “ Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 ”;

(iii) in point (d), for the words from “Directive 2006/21/EC” to the end there substituted “ the Mining Waste Directive ”;

(b) in paragraph 3, the words from “Without prejudice” to “Community legislation,” were omitted;

(c) paragraph 4 were omitted.

(5)  Article 5 is to be read as if—

(a) in paragraph 1, “Member States shall take appropriate measures to ensure that” were omitted;

(b) after paragraph 1 there were inserted—

“1A.   Any decision as to whether a substance or object is a by-product must be made—

(a) in accordance with any regulations setting out detailed criteria on the application of the conditions in paragraph 1 to specific substances or objects; and

(b) having regard to any guidance published by the appropriate authority for the purposes of this Article.”;

(c) paragraphs 2 and 3 were omitted.

(6) Article 6 is to be read as if—

(a) in paragraph 1, “Member States shall take appropriate measures to ensure that” were omitted;

(b) after paragraph 1 there were inserted—

“1A.   Any decision as to whether a substance or object has ceased to be waste must be made—

(a) in accordance with any regulations or retained direct EU legislation setting out detailed criteria on the application of the conditions in paragraph 1 to specific types of waste; and

(b) having regard to any guidance published by the appropriate authority for the purposes of this Article.”;

(c) in paragraph 2—

(i) the first subparagraph were omitted;

(ii) in the second subparagraph, for “Those detailed criteria” there were substituted “Any detailed criteria set out in guidance as referred to in paragraph 1A”;

(iii) the third and fourth subparagraphs were omitted;

(d) paragraph 3 were omitted;

(e) in paragraph 4—

(i) in the first subparagraph—

(aa) in the first sentence, for the words from the beginning to “Member State”, there were substituted “Where criteria have not been set out as referred to in paragraph 1A(a), the Agency”;

(bb) the second sentence were omitted;

(ii) in the second subparagraph—

(aa) for “Member States” there were substituted “The Agency”;

(bb) “by competent authorities” were omitted.

(7) Article 7 is to be read as if—

(a) before paragraph 1 there were inserted—

“A1.   In this Article, the “list of waste” means the list contained in the Annex to Commission Decision 2000/532/EC, as that list has effect in England.”;

(b) in paragraph 1—

(i) the first and second sentences were omitted;

(ii) for the third sentence there were substituted “The list of waste shall, except as provided in Commission Decision 2000/532/EC, be binding as regards determination of the waste which is to be considered as hazardous waste or as non-hazardous waste.”;

(c) paragraphs 2, 3, 6 and 7 were omitted.

(8) Article 19 is to be read as if—

(a) in paragraph 1, for “Community” there was substituted “ national ”;

(b) in paragraph 2, for “a Member State” there were substituted “ England ”.

(9) Annex 3 is to be read as if, in entry HP 9, in the second sentence, “in the Member States” were omitted.

(10) In paragraph (2), “local authority” means—

(a) in England outside Greater London—

(i) a district council,

(ii) a county council, or

(iii) the Council of the Isles of Scilly;

(b) in Greater London—

(i) the council of a London borough,

(ii) the Common Council of the City of London,

(iii) the Sub-Treasurer of the Inner Temple, or

(iv) the Under-Treasurer of the Middle Temple.]

Textual Amendments

F7 Regs. 2A, 2B inserted (31.12.2020) by The Waste (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/188), regs. 1(2)(b), 11(3) (as amended by S.I. 2020/1540, regs. 1(2), 11(2)(5)(a)(b)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

[F7 Meaning of the “Mining Waste Directive” E+W

2B.— (1) In regulation 2A(3)(a)(iii), “the Mining Waste Directive” means Directive 2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the management of waste from extractive industries, read in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).

(2) Article 2 is to be read as if—

(a) in paragraph 2(c), the reference to Article 11(3)(j) of Directive 2000/60/EC were a reference to that Article read in accordance with paragraph (7) of this regulation;

(b) paragraphs 3 and 4 were omitted.

(3) Article 3(1) is to be read as if, for “Article 1(a) of Directive 75/442/EEC” there were substituted “ Article 3(1) of the Waste Directive, as read with Articles 5 and 6 of that Directive ”.

(7) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a), Article 11(3)(j) of Directive 2000/60/EC is to be read as if—

(a) the reference to “Member States” were a reference to the appropriate authority;

(b) in the words after the final indent, “environmental objectives”—

(i) in relation to the Northumbria River Basin District, means the objectives referred to in the WFD Regulations as applied by regulation 5 of the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (Northumbria River Basin District) Regulations 2003;

(ii) in relation to the Solway Tweed River Basin District, has the same meaning as in regulation 2 of the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (Solway Tweed River Basin District) Regulations 2004;

(iii) in relation to a river basin district within the meaning of the WFD Regulations, has the same meaning as in those Regulations.

(8) In paragraph (7)(b), “the WFD Regulations” means the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2017.]

Textual Amendments

F7 Regs. 2A, 2B inserted (31.12.2020) by The Waste (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/188), regs. 1(2)(b), 11(3) (as amended by S.I. 2020/1540, regs. 1(2), 11(2)(5)(a)(b)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

[F8 Annex III to the Waste Directive E+W

3.   A reference in these Regulations to—

(a) Annex III is a reference to Annex III (properties of waste which render it hazardous) to the Waste DirectiveF9 ...;

(b) hazardous properties is a reference to the properties in Annex III.]

Textual Amendments

F8 Reg. 3 substituted (29.3.2011) by The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/988), reg. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 3 (with regs. 2, 47(2))

F9 Words in reg. 3(a) omitted (1.7.2015) by virtue of The Hazardous Waste (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/1360), regs. 1(1), 3(3) (with Sch. 2)

The List of Wastes E+W

4.— [F10 (1) In these Regulations, “the List of Wastes” means the list of wastes established by Commission Decision 2000/532/EC replacing Decision 94/3/EC establishing a list of wastes pursuant to Article 1(a) of Council Directive 75/442/EEC on waste and Council Decision 94/904/EC establishing a list of hazardous waste pursuant to Article 1(4) of Council Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste, as amended from time to time.]

(2) A reference in these Regulations in relation to any waste to—

(a) being “listed as a waste” and “listed as a hazardous waste” refers to that waste being listed as a waste, or as a hazardous waste, as the case may be, in the List of Wastes, provided, in the case of a waste to which a limit value of concentration applies, it shall only be considered to be listed as a hazardous waste where the relevant limit value of concentration is satisfied;

(b) being “not listed as hazardous” refers to that waste being not listed as a hazardous waste in the List of Wastes, whether or not it is listed as a waste, and whether or not it is otherwise a hazardous waste pursuant to these Regulations;

and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly.

Textual Amendments

F10 Reg. 4(1) substituted (1.7.2015) by The Hazardous Waste (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/1360), regs. 1(1), 3(4) (with Sch. 2)

General Interpretation E+W

5.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the 1990 Act” means the Environmental Protection Act 1990 M1 ;

“the 1995 Act” means the Environment Act 1995 M2 ;

F11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“the 1996 Regulations” means the Special Waste Regulations 1996 M3 );

[F12 “the Environmental Permitting Regulations” means [F13 the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016];]

“the Agency” means the Environment Agency;

[F14 “appropriate authority” means the Secretary of State or the Agency;]

“asbestos waste” means waste which contains or is contaminated by asbestos;

“authorised person” has the meaning given by section 108(15) of the 1995 Act;

“business day” means any day other than any—

(a)

Saturday or Sunday;

(b)

Good Friday or Christmas Day;

(c)

day which is a bank holiday in England and Wales under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 M4 ; or

(d)

other public holiday;

“carrier” in relation to a consignment of hazardous waste, means a person who takes one or more of the following actions, that is to say, collects the consignment from the premises at which it was produced or premises at which it is being held, delivers it to the consignee, or transports it in the course of its transfer from those premises to the consignee;

“consignee”, in relation to a consignment of hazardous waste, means the person to whom the waste is or is to be transferred for recovery or disposal;

“consignment code” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 34(1);

[F15 “consignment note”, in relation to a consignment of hazardous waste, means the identification document which is required to accompany the hazardous waste when it is transferred pursuant to Article 19(2) of the Waste Directive.]

“consignor”, in relation to a consignment of hazardous waste, means the person who causes that waste to be removed from the premises at which it was produced or is being held;

[F16 “domestic waste” means waste produced by a household;]

“emergency or grave danger” has the meaning given by regulation 61;

“emergency services” means those police, fire and ambulance services who are liable to be required to respond to an emergency;

[F17 “environmental permit” has the meaning given in regulation 13(1) of [F18 the Environmental Permitting Regulations];]

[F19 “harbour area” has the same meaning as in the Dangerous Goods in Harbour Areas Regulations 2016;]

“hazardous waste” has the meaning given by regulation 6; “mixing” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 18;

[F20 “Landfill Directive” means Council Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste, as last amended by Directive (EU) 2018/850, and read as if—

(a)

in Article 2—

(i)

in point (a)—

(aa)

“‘waste’,” were omitted; and

(bb)

for “Directive 2008/98/EC” there were substituted “the Waste Framework Directive”;

(ii)

after point (a) there were inserted—

“(aa) ‘waste’ has the meaning given by regulation 2(1)(b) of the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005;”;

(b)

in Article 3—

(i)

in paragraph (2), “Without prejudice to existing Community legislation,” were omitted;

(ii)

for paragraph (3) there were substituted—

“3.   The management of extractive waste, within the meaning given in regulation 2(1) of the Environmental Permitting Regulations, is excluded from the scope of this Directive where it falls within the scope of Schedule 20, or paragraph 8(a) or (b) of Schedule 22, to those Regulations.”.]

F21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F22 “multiple collection” means a journey made by a single carrier which meets the following conditions—

(a)

the carrier collects more than one consignment of hazardous waste in the course of the journey;

(b)

each consignment is collected from different premises;

(c)

all the premises from which a collection is made are in England; and

(d)

all consignments collected are transported by that carrier in the course of a journey to the same consignee;]

F23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“non-hazardous waste” has the meaning given by regulation 7;

[F24 “premises” includes land and any ship] F25 ...;

“quarter” means any period of three months ending on 31st March, 30th June, 30th September or 31st December;

[F26 “radioactive substances activity” has the meaning given in Schedule 23 to the Environmental Permitting Regulations;]

[F27 “radioactive substances exemption” has the meaning given in regulation 2(1) of the Environmental Permitting Regulations;]

[F26 “radioactive waste” has the meaning given in Schedule 23 to the Environmental Permitting Regulations;]

[F28 “registered exemption” means an exempt waste operation within the meaning of the Environmental Permitting Regulations;]

“schedule of carriers” means the form of schedule set out in Schedule 5 and required to be completed where more than one carrier transports, or is to transport, the consignment;

“SEPA” means the Scottish Environment Protection Agency;

“ship” means a vessel of any type whatsoever including submersible craft, floating craft and any structure which is a fixed or floating platform;

“six digit code” means the six digit code referable to a type of waste in accordance with the List of Wastes, and in relation to hazardous waste, includes the asterisk;

F21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“United Kingdom ship” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 M5 ;

F11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F29 “waste permit” means a marine licence under Part 4 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 or an environmental permit.]

[F30 (2) In these Regulations—

“broker” means an undertaking arranging the recovery or disposal of waste on behalf of others, including such brokers who do not take physical possession of the waste;

“collection” means the gathering of waste, including the preliminary sorting and preliminary storage of waste for the purposes of transport to a waste treatment facility;

“dealer” means any undertaking which acts in the role of principal to purchase and subsequently sell waste, including such dealers who do not take physical possession of the waste;

“disposal” means any operation which is not recovery even where the operation has as a secondary consequence the reclamation of substances or energy (Annex I of the Waste Directive sets out a non-exhaustive list of disposal operations);

“holder” means the producer of the waste or the person who is in possession of it;

“management” means the collection, transport, recovery [F31 (including sorting)] and disposal of waste, including the supervision of such operations and the after-care of disposal sites, and including actions taken as dealer or broker;

“producer” means anyone whose activities produce waste (original waste producer) or anyone who carries out pre-processing, mixing or other operations resulting in a change in the nature or composition of the waste;

“recovery” means any operation the principal result of which is waste serving a useful purpose by replacing other materials which would otherwise have been used to fulfil a particular function, or waste being prepared to fulfil that function, in the plant or in the wider economy (Annex II of the Waste Directive sets out a non-exhaustive list of recovery operations);

“waste oil” means any mineral or synthetic lubrication or industrial oil which has become unfit for the use for which it was originally intended, such as used combustion engine oils and gearbox oils, lubricating oils, oils for turbines and hydraulic oils,

and cognate expressions must be construed accordingly.]

(3) In these Regulations—

(a) any document which is to be provided or given to any person (other than a fixed penalty notice under Part 10) may be provided or given to that person in electronic form if the text is capable of being produced by that person in a visible and legible documentary form;

(b) any requirement to make, keep or retain a record or to maintain a register may be satisfied in electronic form if the text is capable of being produced by that person in a visible and legible documentary form;

(c) any requirement for a signature on a F32 ... consignment note [F33 or schedule of carriers], may be satisfied by an electronic signature incorporated into the document; and

(d) “electronic signature” means data in electronic form which are attached to or logically associated with other electronic data and which serve as a method of authentication.

Textual Amendments

F11 Words in reg. 5(1) omitted (6.4.2008) by virtue of The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3538), reg. 1(1)(b), Sch. 21 para. 45(3)(a) (with regs. 69-72)

F12 Words in reg. 5(1) substituted (6.4.2010 immediately after S.I. 2009/3381 comes into force) by The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/675), reg. 1(1), Sch. 26 para. 23(2)(a) (with reg. 1(2))

F13 Words in reg. 5(1) substituted (1.1.2017) by The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/1154), reg. 1(1), Sch. 29 para. 16 (with regs. 1(3), 77-79, Sch. 4)

F14 Words in reg. 5(1) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Waste (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/188), regs. 1(2)(b), 11(4)(a) (as amended by S.I. 2020/1540, regs. 1(2), 11(2)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F15 Words in reg. 5(1) substituted (29.3.2011) by The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/988), reg. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 5(a)(i) (with regs. 2, 47(2))

F16 Words in reg. 5(1) inserted (29.3.2011) by The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/988), reg. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 5(a)(ii) (with regs. 2, 47(2))

F17 Words in reg. 5(1) inserted (6.4.2008) by The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3538), reg. 1(1)(b), Sch. 21 para. 45(3)(c) (with regs. 69-72)

F18 Words in reg. 5(1) substituted (6.4.2010 immediately after S.I. 2009/3381 comes into force) by The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/675), reg. 1(1), Sch. 26 para. 23(2)(b) (with reg. 1(2))

F19 Words in reg. 5 substituted (1.10.2016) by The Dangerous Goods in Harbour Areas Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/721), reg. 1, Sch. 5 para. 6 (with reg. 5)

F20 Words in reg. 5(1) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Waste (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/188), regs. 1(2)(b), 11(4)(b) (as amended by S.I. 2020/1540, regs. 1(2), 11(2)(5)(c)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F21 Words in reg. 5(1) omitted (1.4.2016) by virtue of The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/336), regs. 1, 2(2)(a)(i)

F22 Words in reg. 5(1) substituted (29.3.2011) by The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/988), reg. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 5(a)(iii) (with regs. 2, 47(2))

F23 Words in reg. 5(1) omitted (29.3.2011) by virtue of The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/988), reg. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 5(a)(iv) (with regs. 2, 47(2))

F24 Words in reg. 5(1) substituted (6.4.2009) by The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/507), regs. 1(c), 3

F25 Words in reg. 5(1) omitted (1.4.2016) by virtue of The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/336), regs. 1, 2(2)(a)(ii)

F26 Words in reg. 5(1) inserted (6.4.2010 immediately after S.I. 2009/3381 comes into force) by The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/675), reg. 1(1), Sch. 26 para. 23(2)(e) (with reg. 1(2))

F27 Words in reg. 5(1) inserted (1.10.2011) by The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/2043), reg. 1(b), Sch. 2 para. 3(2)

F28 Words in reg. 5(1) substituted (6.4.2010 immediately after S.I. 2009/3381 comes into force) by The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/675), reg. 1(1), Sch. 26 para. 23(2)(c) (with reg. 1(2))

F29 Words in reg. 5(1) substituted (6.4.2011) by The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (Commencement No.5, Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Order 2011 (S.I. 2011/556), art. 1(3), Sch. para. 5(2)

F30 Reg. 5(2) substituted (29.3.2011) by The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/988), reg. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 5(b) (with regs. 2, 47(2))

F31 Words in reg. 5(2) inserted (1.10.2020) by The Waste (Circular Economy) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/904), regs. 1(1), 9(3)

F32 Word in reg. 5(3)(c) omitted (1.4.2016) by virtue of The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/336), regs. 1, 2(2)(b)

F33 Words in reg. 5(3)(c) substituted (29.3.2011) by The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/988), reg. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 5(c) (with regs. 2, 47(2))

Marginal Citations

M1 1990 c. 43.

M2 1995 c. 25.

M3 S.I. 1996/972 as amended by S.I. 1996/2019, 1997/251, 2001/3148.

M4 1971 c. 80.

M5 1995 c. 21.