Waste duty of care

The duty of care for waste places an obligation on all ‘holders’ of waste to meet certain requirements that help ensure protection of the environment from the point of waste production to its final recovery or disposal.

The origin of the duty is found in the 11th Report of the Royal Commission for Environmental Pollution (RCEP) 1985, which, among other things, recognised that ‘alongside the duty of care employers have in relation to the health and safety of their employees and others, producers and handlers of waste have a duty in relation to the general care of the environment’.

Section 34 Environmental Protection Act 1990

The legislative basis for the duty of care is the section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990).

In England and Wales, the duty of care requires that the waste holder (ie any person who imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste, or anyone who acts as a broker or dealer of waste) takes all such measures as applicable to them in that capacity as are reasonable in the circumstances:

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to prevent any other person

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