Waste carriers wait
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Waste-carrying hauliers were hit by more government indecision last week when the Department of Environment announced it was once again postponing the introduction of new waste licensing laws—this time indefinitely.
The news was greeted with dismay by waste contractors who say that they have already wasted time gearing up for two phoney deadlines.
The DoE says the delays are due to the difficulty of dovetailing the UK legislation with EC law. The latest section of the Environmental Protection Act was scheduled to be implemented first on 1 April and then 1 June.
Until the latest announcement carriers were being advised to make sure they only delivered to waste sites that have a new waste management licence— and they were warned that anyone delivering to an unlicensed site could be heavily fined.
"It's just a shambles at the moment," says National Association of Waste Disposal Contractors policy director Steve Webb. "Many of our members have spent a lot of money on getting ready for the changes, only to be told there is now an indefinite delay." Some waste companies have produced leaflets explaining the delay, and then had to scrap them as they became out of date.
Around 140 million tonnes of controlled waste is produced each year in the UK most of it goes by road at some stage.