Duty of Care Legislation

How the Law Affects You

The Duty of Care is a code of practice to support the 1990 Environmental Protection Act section 34 (1). Waste can be solid, liquid or gaseous. The code of practice states, amongst other issues, that you must store waste safely and securely.

It applies to anyone who:

• produces or imports
• keeps or stores
• transports
• treats
• recycles
• disposes of waste

If you give waste to someone else, you must be sure they are authorised to take it and can transport, store, recycle or dispose of it properly. Movement of all controlled waste is monitored through Waste Transfer Notes (WTN).

If you break this law, you can be fined an unlimited amount or, in serious cases, be imprisoned.

For more detailed information on the Duty of Care, please visit the relevant section of the DEFRA website, where you will also find a Duty of Care summary leaflet that you can download in PDF format.

The Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012

These regulations make it a legal requirement to spearate and recycle waste from all businesses and organisations by 1st January 2014. This includes plastics, metals, paper, card, glass and, in some circumstances, food waste. You must also recycle these items in accordance with the Duty of Care.

Find out more by downloading the Zero Waste Scotland leaflet: The law is changing for every business in Scotland