Special Waste Regulations 1996
1996 No. 972
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
The Special Waste Regulations 1996
Made 28th March 1996
Laid before Parliament 1st April 1996
Coming into force 1st September 1996
The Secretary of State for the Environment, as respects England, the Secretary of State for Wales, as respects Wales, and the Secretary of State for Scotland, as respects Scotland, being Ministers designated1for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to measures relating to the regulation and control of the transit, import and export of waste (including recyclable materials), the prevention, reduction and elimination of pollution caused by waste and the requirement for an assessment of the impact on the environment of projects likely to have significant effects on the environment, in exercise of the powers conferred upon them by section 2(2) of that Act, sections 3(1), 17, 30(4) and (5) and 104(1) of the Control of Pollution Act 19743, sections 33(3), 34(5), 62(1) to (3), 74(6), 75(8) and 78 of the Environmental Protection Act 19904(having, in particular, had regard in exercising their powers under section 33(3) of that Act to the matters specified in section 33(4) of that Act) and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Regulations:
Citation, commencement, extent, application and interpretation
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Special Waste Regulations 1996 and shall come into force on 1st September 1996.
(2) These Regulations do not extend to Northern Ireland.
(3) These Regulations do not apply in relation to any special waste in respect of which, in accordance with regulation 26 below, the Control of Pollution (Special Waste) Regulations 19805continue to have effect.
(4) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
“the 1990 Act” means the Environmental Protection Act 1990;
“the 1994 Regulations” means the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 19946;
“Agency” means
(a) in relation to places, premises and sites in England and Wales, the Environment Agency established by section 1 of the Environment Act 19957; and
(b) in relation to places, premises and sites in Scotland, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency established by section 20 of that Act;
“the approved classification and labelling guide” means the document entitled “Approved guide to the classification and labelling of substances and preparations dangerous for supply (Second edition)”8approved by the Health and Safety Commission on 18th October 1994 for the purposes of the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 19949;
“the approved supply list” means the document entitled “Approved Supply List (2nd Edition)—Information approved for the classification and labelling of substances and preparations dangerous for supply”10approved by the Health and Safety Commission on 18th October 1994 for the purposes of the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 1994;
“carrier”, in relation to a consignment of special waste, means the person who collects that waste from the premises at which it is being held and transports it to another place;
“carrier’s round” in relation to consignments of special waste, means a journey made by a carrier during which he collects more than one consignment of special waste and transports all consignments collected to the same consignee who is specified in the consignment note;
“carrier’s schedule” means a schedule prepared in accordance with regulation 8;
“consignee”, in relation to a consignment of special waste, means the person to whom that waste is to be transported;
“consignment note”, in relation to a consignment of special waste, means a note in a form corresponding to the form set out in Schedule 1 to these Regulations, or in a form substantially to the like effect, and giving at any time the details required by these Regulations to be shown in respect of that consignment (including, where the consignment is one in a succession of consignments, any details required to be shown in respect of other consignments in the succession);
“consignor”, in relation to a consignment of special waste, means the person who causes that waste to be removed from the premises at which it is being held;
“controlled waste” has the same meaning as in Part II of the 1990 Act11;
“conveyance” includes a vehicle designed to carry goods by road or rail and a vessel designed to carry goods by water;
“harbour area” has the same meaning as in the Dangerous Substances in Harbour Areas Regulations 198712;
“the Hazardous Waste Directive” means Council Directive 91/689/EECon hazardous waste, as amended by Council Directive 94/31/EC13;
“household waste” has the same meaning as it has for the purposes of subsection (2) of section 33 (prohibition on unauthorised or harmful deposit, treatment or disposal etc. of waste) of the 1990 Act14;
“premises” includes any ship;
“relevant code”, in relation to a consignment note or carrier’s schedule, means the code assigned in accordance with regulation 4 to the consignment of special waste to which the consignment note or carrier’s schedule relates or, where the consignment is one in a carrier’s round, to the consignments in that round;
“risk phrase” means the risk phrase shown under Part III of the approved supply list;
“ship” means a vessel of any type whatsoever operating in the marine environment including submersible craft, floating craft and any structure which is a fixed or floating platform;
“special waste” has the meaning given by regulation 2 of these Regulations; and
“waste management licence” has the meaning given by section 35(1) of the 1990 Act15.
Meaning of special waste
2.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (5) and (6), any controlled waste
(a)
(a) to which a six-digit code is assigned in the list set out in Part I of Schedule 2 to these Regulations (which reproduces the list of hazardous waste annexed to Council Decision 94/904/EC16establishing a list of hazardous waste pursuant to Article 1(4) of the Hazardous Waste Directive); and
(b)
(b) which, subject to paragraph (3), displays any of the properties specified in Part II of that Schedule (which reproduces Annex III to the Hazardous Waste Directive),
is special waste.
(2) Subject to paragraph (6), any other controlled waste which
(a)
(a) displays the property H3A (first indent), or subject to paragraphs (3) and (5), H4, H5, H6, H7 or H8 specified in Part II of Schedule 2, or
(b)
(b) is a medicinal product, as defined in section 130 of the Medicines Act 196817(meaning of “medicinal product” etc.), of a description, or falling within a class, specified in an order under section 58 of that Act18(medicinal products on prescription only),
is special waste.
(3) For the purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2), waste displays a property mentioned in Part II of Schedule 2 as toxic, very toxic, harmful, corrosive, irritant or carcinogenic, if it is so classified or, being so classified, has a risk phrase assigned to it or is placed in a category by the approved classification and labelling guide, as the case may be—
(i)
(i) in the case of a substance which is both listed in the approved supply list and present at or above the concentration limit applicable under Part V of that List, on the basis of that list; or
(ii)
(ii) in the case of any other substance, on the basis of the criteria laid down in the approved classification and labelling guide.
(4) Except in the case of a substance listed in the approved supply list and present at or above the concentration limit applicable under Part V of that List, the test methods to be used, for the purposes of deciding which (if any) of the properties mentioned in Part II of Schedule 2 to these Regulations are to be assigned to a substance, are those described in Annex V to Council Directive 67/548/EEC, as amended19.
(5) Controlled waste which, apart from this paragraph, would be special waste is not special waste if it displays any of the properties H4 to H8 below the threshold shown as applicable to that property in Part III of Schedule 2 (which reproduces those thresholds set out in Article 1 of Council Decision 94/904/ECin so far as they are relevant).
(6) Household waste is not special waste.
Certain radioactive waste to be special waste
3. Section 62 (special provision with respect to certain dangerous and intractable waste) of the 1990 Act20shall have effect, without modification, so as to empower the Secretary of State to make provision for waste which would be controlled waste but for the fact that it is radioactive waste within the meaning of the Radioactive Substances Act 199321; and paragraphs (1) and (2) of regulation 2 shall apply to any such waste as if it were controlled waste.
Coding of consignments
4.—(1) An Agency shall assign or supply forthwith to any person, on request, for the purpose of assigning to a consignment of special waste or, where the consignment is one in a carrier’s round, to the consignments in that round, a code unique to that consignment or round, as the case may be.
(2) A code assigned or supplied in accordance with paragraph (1) may consist of letters, numbers or symbols, or any combination of letters, numbers and symbols, or a bar code which enables the consignment or carrier’s round, as the case may be, to be identified electronically.
Consignment notes: standard procedure
5.—(1) Except in a case to which regulation 6, 8 or 9 applies, this regulation applies where a consignment of special waste is to be removed from the premises at which it is being held.
(2) Before the consignment is removed—
(a)
(a) five copies of the consignment note shall be prepared, and, on each copy, Parts A and B shall be completed and the relevant...
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