London revises waste management licensing requirements

London— Defra confirmed proposals for changes to existing waste management licensing exemptions involving hazardous waste, which are now out for full consultation.

The proposed revised exemptions cover the management of a range of hazardous wastes from solvents and treated wood to paint and medical waste.

They include additional requirements on the storage of hazardous wastes, which include improved storage conditions and monitoring procedures. In other cases exemptions have been streamlined or removed.

These additional requirements are in keeping with the need for more specific rules to encourage recovery of waste, to better protect the environment and human health.

For example, the storage of 10,000 liters of certain hazardous and non hazardous paint for up to 6 months has been added to facilitate paint collection schemes that redistribute collected paint to community groups.

The changes are proposed for England and Wales. Similar changes to the waste management licensing exemptions relating to hazardous waste in Scotland are being considered, and will be the subject of a separate consultation.

All exemptions relating to hazardous waste which are affected by the proposals must be registered with the Environment Agency. Full details are available at defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/hazwaste/index.htm.