Changes to the waste transfer regime could give businesses greater flexibility, Government says

The ability to use alternative documentation will be an additional tool and will not replace WTNs. The proposal follows feedback from small businesses about the administrative burdens of filling in WTNs, which provide evidence that regulated waste has been transferred between authorised parties or establishments. A short consultation, which runs until 20 January 2014, also proposes some other minor amendments to the waste transfer regime following the Government's Red Tape Challenge regulatory review.

The Environmental Protection Act places  a duty of care on waste operators to ensure that controlled waste is managed properly and recovered or disposed of safely. This duty applies to those who produce, import, carry, keep, treat or dispose of such waste; or that have control of such waste as a broker or dealer. Waste can only be transferred to an "authorised person" or for "authorised transport purposes", and must be accompanied by a written description of the waste such as that provided by a WTN.

According to the consultation, at least 23.5 million WTNs are produced each year and around 50 million pieces of paper are stored under the regime. A voluntary Electronic Duty of Care (EDoC), allowing operators to record the information contained in a WTN electronically, will begin in January. However, the Government estimates that around 20% of operators will choose not to use the system and remain reliant on paper-based transfers to fulfil the legislative requirements.

The Government proposes replacing the requirement for a WTN with a simple requirement for "written information" that meets the statutory requirements. It is also asking waste operators about what would encourage them to use the EDoC rather than paper-based reporting when it becomes available.

Other proposals include amending the timeframe in which waste carriers are able to provide evidence of their authorisation to transport waste to the Environment Agency or Natural Resources Wales in the event of being stopped; and adding new convictions to the list that the agencies can take into account when processing applications for waste carrier, broker or dealer registrations, including  offences under the new Scrap Metal Dealers Act.