Waste duty of care

The duty of care for waste places an obligation on all ‘holders’ of waste to meet certain requirements that help ensure protection of the environment from the point of waste production to its final recovery or disposal.

The origin of the duty of care can be found in the 11^th Report of the Royal Commission for Environmental Pollution (RCEP), 1985, which, among other things, recognised that ‘in parallel with duty of care which employers have in relation to the health and safety of their employees and others, producers and handlers of waste have a duty in relation to the general care of the environment.’

Section 34 Environmental Protection Act 1990

The legislation underpinning the duty of care is found in section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990), which was brought into force by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (Commencement No 10) Order 1991, SI 1991/2829 with effect from 1 April 1992.

In England and Wales, the duty of care requires that the waste holder (ie any person who imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste, or anyone who acts

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