Survey finds 90 percent of UK businesses are “completely unaware” of new changes to waste disposal law, putting them at risk of being fined.
The survey, conducted by BusinessWaste.co.uk, involved 1,700 small businesses in the UK, with just 10 percent of business owners found to have any knowledge of the imminent changes to waste laws in England and Wales, which will come into force from January 2015 and will require businesses to significantly alter their waste management processes.
The amendment to the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 will mean that businesses in England and Wales will be legally obliged to ensure the separate storage and collection of paper, glass, metal and plastic waste; with those who fail to comply faced with potentially unlimited fines.
Following a summary conviction in a magistrate’s court, businesses could face a fine of £5,000 ($8,100/€6,300); but for more serious offences that are heard in a crown court, businesses could face “totally unlimited” fines.
Alex Wignall, Customer Services Manager at BusinessWaste.co.uk, commented: “It is shocking that 90 percent of the businesses we spoke to had no idea that these changes are set to come into law very soon. The cost of not complying with these new regulations could be catastrophic for businesses – small businesses in particular.
“Businesses don’t have much time left to implement these changes, so if they aren’t separating their recyclables already then they really need to start right now. If they don’t, they could find themselves being slapped with unlimited fines by the courts, something which can obviously cause huge damage to any business involved.”
The new legislation originated from the EU Waste Framework Directive, and means that co-mingling recyclables with non-recyclable waste types will become a criminal offence. However, mixing recyclable waste types together will still be categorised as separation and will be permitted. The new waste regulations resemble those already in force across Scotland.