EA calls for help on waste tyre enforcement
A late addition to the Tyre Talk series of seminars held at Brityrex was Jane Whitelaw, senior adviser on Enforcement at the Environment Agency, whose subject was tyre disposal. Her talk, she said, would be based on two messages – are you clear about your responsibilities and how can you help the EA in its enforcement efforts?
Tyres, said Whitelaw, is a high priority waste stream for the EA for a number of reasons; they are the third most ‘popular’ fly-tipped waste, they are expensive to remove and they are potentially dangerous as a fire hazard. Last year there were nine major prosecutions, resulting on fines of up to £70,000.
Whitelaw then outlined the responsibilities and the legal duty of care of the retailer – it might be thought that, if a retailer was not aware of his responsibilities by now (the duty of care was part of the Environmental Protection Act 1990) then there is little hope for him, but it never hurts to remind people of best practice and their legal obligations – especially, said Whitelaw, that the EA often finds that record-keeping isn’t always all it should be.
Retailers have a legal duty to hand waste to a registered collector – the EA has a list of such carriers, so firms and individuals can be checked out. There should be a traceable trail of record-keeping; the retailer must fill out a Waste Transfer Note, detailing what the waste is, where it is going to be disposed of and who is transporting it and these have to be kept for a minimum of two years.
Complying with the duty of care is not difficult, said Whitelaw, and some people think that, should the carrier not be registered, then the whole of the blame lies with them. Not so – the onus is on the retailer to ensure that everything is above board and legal.
Breaches of the duty of care could result in a fine of up to £5,000 at a Magistrate’s Court, although Jane Whitelaw said that the EA often asks for cases to be heard at Crown Court, which has the authority to impose higher fines. There is also the strong possibility that a non-compliant company will find that its insurance premiums rise steeply at the next renewal.
A plea for help
The EA, said Whitelaw, is the biggest environmental organisation in the UK, with over 10,000 staff. Even so, the amount of time and effort that it can devote to tyres is limited, as it has many other calls on its resources – the floods this year is a good example.
The Agency is aware that there are a number of rogue collectors, turning up at tyre depots on spec, offering to remove scrap tyres and undercutting what the retailer currently pays. The question to ask, said Whitelaw is “where do you take the scrap tyres?” and, if you are suspicious, then contact the EA.
The more information that the EA can amass, she said, helps the Agency to build up a pattern – for example, does the same registration number of the vehicle keep cropping up? – and this allows the EA to target its campaigns more efficiently, as it does not have the resources for nationwide blanket coverage.
“Ask yourself what you as an industry and as individuals can do to help with this process,” said Whitelaw. If you suspect someone is disposing of tyres illegally, then contact the EA on 0800 80 70 60 – they’ll be glad to hear from you.
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