This page provides links to the full text of key pieces of waste environmental legislation that may affect your business in Scotland. The websites hosting the legislation may list amendments separately.
Waste legislation for Scotland controls the generation, transportation and disposal of waste within the European Union and the shipment of waste into and out of the EU. It covers controlled waste, duty of care, registration of carriers and brokers, waste management licensing, landfill, hazardous waste, producer responsibility, packaging waste, end-of-life vehicles, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and the transfrontier shipment of waste.
If you are setting up an environmental management system (EMS) for your business, you can use this list to start compiling your legal register. Your legal adviser or environmental consultant will be able to tell you if other environmental legislation applies to your specific business.
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Requires carriers of controlled waste to register with the Environment Agency or SEPA and outlines the penalties (including seizure and disposal) for vehicles shown to have been used for illegal waste disposal.
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Defines household, industrial and commercial waste for waste management licensing purposes.
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Amends 1992/588 in relation to scrap metal.
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Details the system for seizing vehicles used in the commission of waste offences. Establishes a registration system for carriers of controlled waste and provides for the seizure of vehicles used in waste offences.
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Requires vehicle producers to set up collection, treatment and disposal systems to make sure that components in vehicles can be recovered, reused and recycled at the end of their life.
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Guidance on End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations 2003
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Amends 2003/2635 by changing the basis on which exemptions from the restrictions on use of heavy metals in vehicle components are identified. Also provides powers of entry and inspection for the enforcement authorities.
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Requires certain conditions to be met for site licences covering keeping and treating waste motor vehicles.
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Requires vehicle producers to register and declare responsibility for vehicles they place on the market and apply for approval of their system of collecting vehicles.
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Amends 2005/263 by making changes to requirements for reporting details of reuse, recycling and recovery rates.
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Establishes the Environment Agency and SEPA as the regulatory bodies for contaminated land, control of pollution, conservation or enhancement of the environment and fisheries.
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Guidance on Environment Act 1995
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Establishes in England, Scotland and Wales the structure and authority for waste management and control of emissions into the environment.
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Requires a transfer note to be signed by the transferor and transferee of waste, specifies information to be included and requires copies to be kept for two years.
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Sets the framework for legal controls on animal by-products.
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Establishes procedures and control regimes for shipping waste depending on its origin, destination and route, and the type of waste and treatment that will be applied.
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Make changes to the waste control regime to cover agricultural waste. Classifies landfill sites, details the permits needed to create and operate a landfill site, and the requirements for care after site closure.
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Amends 2003/235 to clarify the definition of waste and enable the prosecution of Scottish Partnerships or partners of a Scottish Partnership committing an offence under 2003/235.
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Implements the Mining Waste Directive 2006/21/EC in Scotland through the planning system. It requires planning permission for extractive waste areas and waste facilities and additional requirements for category A (high risk) waste facilities.
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Sets out essential requirements for packaging which apply to packaging producers, sellers and distributors, including enforcement, offences and penalties.
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Amends 2003/1491 to update the definition of packaging.
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Amends 2003/1941 by substituting a new definition of ‘packaging’ and making indefinite the conditions for a derogation for glass packaging in relation to heavy metal concentration levels.
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Amends 2003/1941 by removing 4th March 2009 expiry date for the derogation (permission to carry out an otherwise banned activity) on maximum heavy metal concentration levels for plastic crates or pallets.
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Requires producers to recover and recycle packaging waste to achieve EU targets.
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Guidance on Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007
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Amends 2007/871 to increase the recovery and recycling targets for 2008, 2009 and 2010 (the recycling target for paper/board and wood are unchanged).
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Amends 2007/871, establishing waste recovery and recycling targets for 2011 and 2012 and making other technical changes.
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Provides a definition of 'special waste' in Scotland, to cover all hazardous waste, and regulates waste carriers by requiring them to complete and keep consignment notes.
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Amends 1996/972 by defining special waste in Scotland, to cover all hazardous waste, and regulates waste carriers by requiring them to complete and keep consignment notes.
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Amends 1996/972 to revise the qualifications and experience required to deal with special waste.
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Establishes that managers of specified waste facilities operated by local councils who meet certain criteria should be treated as technically competent for special waste facilities.
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Amends the 2004 regulations, defines special waste and sets out controls on labelling, packaging and separating it. Requires consignment notes to be used when special waste is transferred and producers to keep registers of documents for at least 3 years.
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Guidance on Special Waste Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2004
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Establishes a system of authorisation and approval for shipping radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel between member states and into and out of the EU.
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Sets out rules for shipping waste, including within the European Community and importing and exporting to and from countries outside the EC.
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Guidance on Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007
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Amends 2007/1711 by introducing new penalties for failing to provide proper documentation when exporting waste for recovery.
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Establishes a legal framework and schemes for collecting, treating and recycling portable, industrial and vehicle batteries. Applies to all types of batteries except when used for military and space equipment.
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Amends the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000/323 to ban incinerating waste industrial and automotive batteries. Amends the Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003/235 to ban waste industrial and automotive batteries from landfills.
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Aims to reduce the amount of WEEE sent to landfill. Requires producers of electrical and electronic equipment to register and cover the costs of collecting, treating, recovering and disposing of equipment when it reaches the end of its life.
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Amends 2006/3289 to encourage prioritising re-use of whole appliances in the WEEE system.
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Amends 2006/3289 by improving the Producer Compliance Scheme approval process and reducing the administrative burden on business by simplifying the data reporting requirements and the evidence system.
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Corrects a defect in 2009/2957 by requiring producers of electrical and electronic equipment for domestic use to report details quarterly, and annually for all other EEE.
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Amends 2006/3289 replacing ‘dangerous substance or preparation’ with ‘dangerous substance or mixture’ and (as from 1 December 2010 and 1 June 2015) substitutes new definitions of ‘dangerous substance or mixture’.
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Prevents the operation of certain waste incineration installations or mobile plants without authorisation.
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Guidance on Waste Incineration (Scotland) Regulations 2003
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Requires businesses to provide waste data returns to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency upon request.
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Consolidates the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 and amendments. Adds new exemptions. Removes need for licence holders to have a certificate of technical competence. Requires businesses carrying their own waste to register as waste carriers.
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Exempts certain activities relating to scrap metal and waste motor vehicles from waste management licensing. Also increases the registration fee and the annual fee for exemption.
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Amends the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to extend controlled waste to cover mine, quarry and agricultural waste. Categorises mine and quarry waste as industrial and agricultural waste as commercial.
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Enables the partial suspension, revocation, transfer and surrender of site licences, and allows licences held by the same person to be consolidated if they cover the same site or more than one mobile plant.
