Waste Disposal

(asked on 19th July 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to increase local authority powers to direct property managers to make suitable provision for waste storage within properties they manage, including for separate collection of recyclable materials, where such decisions are not directly in the control of residents.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 27th July 2021

In respect of household waste, local authorities already have powers under section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA) to serve a notice requiring an occupier to put their waste for collection in a specified kind and number of receptacles. Clause 57(5) of the Environment Bill amends section 46(2) of the EPA so that, subject to it being reasonable, an English waste collection authority (WCA) may require separate receptacles or compartments of receptacles to be used for the purposes of complying with its duties under new section 45A or 45AZA. This would mean that an English WCA can require different recyclable waste streams to be put in different receptacles.

A person who fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with any requirements imposed by section 46 shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale. An authorised officer may issue a fixed penalty notice under section 47ZA of the EPA to enable a person to discharge any liability to conviction for the offence.

If a person has failed to comply with a section 46 requirement, WCAs can also give a written notice under section 46A of the EPA if the failure has caused or is or was likely to cause a nuisance or has been or is or was likely to be detrimental to any amenities of the locality. If a written warning gets ignored, they can issue a financial penalty under section 46B. They also are not required to collect the waste if it is put out in contravention of a section 46 requirement.

Regarding household waste from non-domestic premises and relevant waste (which is commercial and industrial waste, which is similar in nature and composition to household waste), the Environment Bill requires that the person that presents waste for collection under the arrangements must present it separated in accordance with the arrangements (which must comply with the requirements in the Environment Bill). This would therefore include the waste producer but also a property manager if they were presenting the waste on behalf of a number of properties.

Under section 47 of the Environmental Protection Act, a WCA may already serve a notice against a business if their waste is not stored in receptacles of a particular kind and it is likely to cause a nuisance or to be detrimental to the amenities of the locality. Clause 57(6) of the Environment Bill amends s47(3) of the EPA so that WCAs can require separate receptacles or compartments to be used for the purposes of complying with the requirements in new s45AZB.

We are not currently planning on amending this legislation to change the powers that local authorities have. Our consultation on 'Consistency in Household and Business Recycling,' recently closed and we are considering responses to our proposals on the detail around enforcement.

Reticulating Splines