There has been widespread concern over whether local authorities and contractors could comply with the POPs rules in the wake of the Agency’s announcement in August 2022. This was when, as first revealed by letsrecycle.com, the Agency wrote to local authorities warning that waste sofas and all other waste upholstered domestic seating containing POPs must be incinerated (see letsrecycle.com story).
The letter warned that the EA would undertake an assessment of compliance “across the sector” from January 2023, which lead to widespread concerns over timelines (see letsrecycle.com story).
Now, in a letter on 8 November, the Agency has moved to reassure parts of the sector who were concerned.
Compliance
The letter explains that the Agency while it will be reviewing compliance from January 2023, “detailed on-site compliance assessments” will not happen until the second phase in August.
The letter explains: “From January 2023 we will review the state of compliance. We will then contact those local authorities who did not confirm compliance so we can understand their activities and needs, provide support where appropriate, and further encourage compliance promptly. We are also keen to ensure that we support economic growth as far as we reasonably can.”
The EA added that it will only carry out detailed on-site compliance assessments during this first stage unless if it has “difficulty acquiring relevant information”.
In August 2023 we plan to start compliance assessment in more detail
– Environment Agency
The letter then goes on to say that the ‘second phase’ will begin in August, “when we plan to start compliance assessment in more detail, at individual sites”.
“We will apply more regulatory scrutiny to those sites where activities pose a greater risk to the environment or human health,” the Agency warned.
This will involve targeted audits and inspections, reviewing procedures and tracking waste movement between parties before considering if enforcement action is required.
RPS
The Agency is now developing Regulatory Position Statements to provide more detailed guidance regarding enforcement of the legislation, while maintaining an acceptable level of risk to the environment and human health.
“These will address concerns around storage, segregation and shredding. We will notify you as these Statements are published,” the letter remarked.
Measures
The legislation set out by the Environment Agency earlier this year explained that – effective immediately – waste upholstered domestic seating containing POPs must not be landfilled, mixed with other non-POPs-containing wastes, reused or recycled.
The furniture affected includes all upholstered waste sofas, home office chairs and bean bags, for example. These items must be sent for incineration or used as a fuel in, for example, a cement kiln.
The Agency’s default position now is that all councils should assume upholstered waste domestic seating contains POPs and must be incinerated.
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