17 May 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal

Waste management company B&M Waste Services is advising SME organisations on changes to the legal definition of ‘waste’ in new published guidance.

The guidance, issued jointly by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, the Environment Agency, the Welsh Government, Northern Ireland’s Department of the Environment and Natural Resources Wales on 5 May, can be used to determine if a material is waste or not, and whether it is subject to waste handling laws.

It includes details of the waste duty of care to which businesses that import, produce, carry, keep, treat or dispose of waste must adhere, as well as the producer responsibility rules for producers of packaging, electrical equipment and batteries must apply.

Additionally, the guidance also details when waste rules cease to apply, such as when a material meets ‘end of waste’ status. 

Neil Curtis, managing director at B&M Waste Service, said: “This latest guidance helps small and medium-sized companies understand their waste, and in particular we urge customers to consider how they are disposing of their waste electrical and electronic equipment and batteries.”

The published guidance can be found here.