ChemRegs Newsletter – January 2022

Waste tracking consultation

A consultation on the ‘Introduction of mandatory digital waste tracking’ was launched on 21 January on behalf of all four governments in the UK.

The UK Government, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland are working together to develop a central digital waste tracking service and through this joint consultation are seeking views from all interested parties on the implementation of this service.

The Environment Act 2021 gives the UK Government and devolved administrations powers across the UK to make regulations to establish a digital waste tracking system and require those who produce, handle, dispose of or make products from waste, to enter information onto it.

This consultation focuses on the practical aspects of introducing a digital waste tracking service to ensure that it will meet the needs of all those who will either be required to enter information onto it or who will draw information from it, including; businesses across all sectors, government, regulators, academia and the general public.

Over 200 million tonnes of waste is produced in the UK each year but there is currently no single or comprehensive way of tracking it. The legislation relating to the transport, management and description of waste has also been introduced separately over the last 30 or so years.

Large amounts of data are either not collected or not collated centrally and multiple IT systems only collect certain elements of waste tracking data. Some are paper-based, others digital, some are run by private contractors, others by the government, and where use of existing central digital systems is non-mandatory, take up is very low. As a result, it is very difficult to determine what happens to waste and to have a comprehensive understanding of whether it has been recycled, recovered, or disposed of.

Joining these fragmented systems up and replacing paper-based record-keeping will make it much easier and less time consuming for legitimate waste companies to comply with reporting requirements whilst making it much harder for rogue operators to compete in the industry and commit waste crime including fly tipping, deliberate misclassification of waste, illegal waste exports and the operation of illegal waste sites.

It is proposed that controlled waste (encompassing both hazardous and non-hazardous household, commercial and industrial waste) and extractive waste (for example, from mines and quarries) are both covered by new information recording requirements for a digital waste tracking service.

Any waste containing Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) will also be required to be identified in the new service and will then be tracked accordingly.

The recording requirements will be harmonised with those of hazardous waste to enable users of the service to have the most reliable understanding of the fate of their waste.

There will be a requirement to record information on the new waste tracking service about:

• Waste transferred to another person, company or to another site operated by the same person or company;
• Waste which is treated, disposed of, or recovered;
• End of waste products or materials produced from waste and taken to the next destination.

The consultation is seeking views on the practical aspects of implementation, including:

• What waste activities and information will need to be recorded;
• What current waste reporting will be replaced by the new service;
• How users will be able to enter information onto the service;
• Who will be required to enter information and when;
• Alternative provisions for digitally excluded waste holders;
• Data access controls;
• Cost recovery; 
• Compliance and enforcement;
• How and when the service should go live, including questions about the costs and benefits to users.

You can view the consultation at https://consult.defra.gov.uk/environmental-quality/waste-tracking/ and submit your views by 15 April 2022.

Other News

Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations 2022

The Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (‘the PPER 2022’) were laid before Parliament on 10 January 2022.

These regulations introduce changes to employers responsibilities to workers regarding the provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from 6 April 2022.

PPE is defined in the regulations as “all equipment (including clothing affording protection against the weather) which is intended to be worn or held by a person at work and which protects the person against one or more risks to that person’s health or safety, and any addition or accessory designed to meet that objective.”

The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 place a duty on every employer in Great Britain to ensure that suitable PPE is provided to ‘employees’ who may be exposed to a risk to their health or safety while at work.

The PPER 2022 extends this duty to ‘workers‘, and “worker” means “an individual who has entered into or works under –

(a) a contract of employment; or
(b) any other contract, whether express or implied and (if it is express) whether oral or in writing, whereby the individual undertakes to do or perform personally any work or services for another party to the contract whose status is not by virtue of the contract that of a client or customer of any profession or business undertaking carried on by the individual;
and any references to a worker’s contract shall be construed accordingly.”

Generally, workers:

• Carry out casual or irregular work for one or more organisations;
• After 1 month of continuous service, receive holiday pay but not other employment rights such as the minimum period of statutory notice;
• Only carry out work if they choose to;
• Have a contract or other arrangement to do work or services personally for a reward (the contract doesn’t have to be written) and only have a limited right to send someone else to do the work, for example swapping shifts with someone on a pre-approved list (subcontracting);
• Are not in business for themselves (they do not advertise services directly to customers who can then also book their services directly).

As every employment relationship will be specific to the individual and employer, the precise status of any worker can ultimately only be determined by a court or tribunal.

The PPER 2022 require that if a risk assessment indicates a worker needs PPE to carry out their work activities, the employer must carry out a PPE suitability assessment and provide the PPE free of charge as they do for employees.

The employer will be responsible for the maintenance, storage and replacement of any PPE they provide, and as a worker, you will be required to report loss and defects in the PPE which is provided, use the PPE in accordance with the training and instruction provided, and ensure PPE is returned to the accommodation provided by the employer.

HSE has prepared interim guidance to help employers identify whether they and their workforce may be impacted by the changes and explains what employers may need to do to prepare for the changes.

EU REACH Revision proposals

The European Commission has begun work on a revision of the EU REACH Regulation as announced in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. The revision is led jointly by DG Environment and DG GROW.

A public consultation was launched on 20 January and the deadline for providing feedback is 15 April. The target audience covers EU citizens, researchers, businesses including small and medium-sized enterprises, industry, industrial associations and trade bodies, governmental and non-governmental organisations (international, European, national and more local), social partners and social actors.

You can respond to the public consultation in a personal or organisational/institutional capacity by filling in the questionnaire. Registered stakeholder organisations can also submit a position paper.

The EU executive is seeking comments on several proposals, first set out in its inception impact assessment (IIA) in May last year. These are:

• Revision of the registration requirements: Various options for revising the registration requirements for manufacturers and importers will be analysed, including increased information on hazards of concern, documentation of safe use, registration of certain polymers, and information on the environmental footprint;
• Introduction of a Mixtures Assessment Factor (MAF): Options for addressing the risks of exposure to several substances (combination effects) by introducing one of more MAFs in Annex I will be analysed;
• Simplifying communication in the supply chains: Options for improving safety data sheets will be assessed, including in particular harmonised electronic formats;
• Revision of the provisions for dossier and substance evaluation: Various options will be considered for ensuring that registration dossiers are in compliance and that sufficient information for concluding on concerns is available. These include the possibility to revoke registration numbers for non-compliant registrations and to allow authorities to commission tests to obtain hazard information;
• Reforming the authorisation process: Options include clarifications and simplifications of the current provisions, national authorisation for smaller applications, removing the authorisation title from REACH, integrating the REACH authorisation and restriction systems into one and improving the interface with other pieces of legislation (complementing actions under the one-substance one-assessment action under the Chemicals Strategy);
• Reforming the restriction process: Options include extending the generic risk approach to restrictions to endocrine disruptors, PBT/vPvB substances, immunotoxicants, neurotoxicants, respiratory sensitisers and substances that affect specific organs; extending the generic risk approach to products marketed for professional use; and operationalising the concept of essential use in restrictions, including the criteria for granting derogations;
• Revision of provisions for control and enforcement: Options include establishing minimum requirements for national controls and enforcement, including stricter border controls; and establishing a European Audit Capacity to audit Member States enforcement.

The consultation will help inform both the revision proposal and the impact assessment, which is due to be completed by summer 2022.

The European Commission is to present the final proposal for the REACH revision by the end of 2022.

For more information on anything in this Newsletter, please contact us at info@chemregs.co.uk