Environment
These regulations aim to promote sustainable development and protect the environment.
You can find all 278 regulations that relate to environment here [opens in new window].
For ease of commenting we have broken these regulations into the following seven areas:
Our environment is vital to us, and now is a time it needs us more than ever. We need to strengthen our laws of protection so that our rivers open spaces and seas support the wide range of biodiversity we all value, and which enriches all our livesComment Tags: environment
We depend upon a healthy thriving environment for survival. It is a deeply complex system that cannot be isolated into parts and controlled. It is not valued or protected nearly enough already. We need farther reaching more comprehensive protection, not less.Comment Tags: environment
Our environment is vital to us, and now is a time it needs us more than ever. We need to strengthen our laws of protection; it’s ridiculous to scrap our existing ones. What we would gain is not even able to be mentioned in the same breath as what we would lose.Comment Tags: environment
The environment plays a crucial role in all our lives whether one is aware or not. Nature provides fresh water, clean air, food and regulates our climate. We are part of it not apart from it. The current government would be extremely foolish to remove the environmental protections that have worked well over the last couple of decades. The quick fix of economic growth over environmental regulations is short sighted and ultimately futile, resulting in a loss in quality of life for all citizens.Comment Tags: biodiversity, environment, nature
I am really amazed by the idea of seeing all environmental legislation as just a cost on business. We all depend on biodiversity and the natural world – apart from its intrinsic value and beauty. Economic value of tourism linked to a flourishing environment too. We must keep our environmental protection.Comment Tags: biodiversity, environment
Legislation to protect nature and the environment is not red tape – it is vital to the protection of our landscapes and wildlife. Before this protection was in place, our natural environment was seriously degraded by over exploitation and badly planned development. Even with it, and with the work of government agencies and organisations such as the RSPB, we still have a lot of work to do to ensure we hand a healthy environment on to our children. We are part of nature – we need a healthy natural environment for our own health and well being. It might make sense to bring different pieces of legislation together and simplify them but we must keep them.Comment Tags: biodiversity, environment, wildlife
COMMENTS ON WASTE REGULATIONS
There are two main categories of Regulations; those made under powers granted by UK primary legislation, i.e. Acts of Parliament, and those made to implement in the UK the legal provisions in Directives and other EU legislation.
Of the 40 Regulations listed for “Waste” for the Red-Tape Challenge, 29 are marked as EU and 11 UK.
EU Directives often set broad requirements which need rewriting to fit into the Common Law legal framework in England and Wales. Also, they often add necessary detail to co-ordinate the EU requirements with existing English and Welsh law. It has been suggested that this rewriting can “gold plate” the legal requirements. However, I have not identified any in the listed regulations. Thus, I do not consider further the 29 regulations essentially implementing EU law but look at the remaining 11 for England and Wales. Please note, I do not consider Scottish implications nor other waste regulations not listed.
The 11 listed regulations are:
1. The Waste and Air Pollution (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2007
2. Controlled Waste Regulations 1992
3. Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategies (Disapplication of Duties) (England) Regulations 2007
4. Joint Waste Authorities (Proposals) Regulations 2009
5. Joint Waste Disposal Authorities (Levies) (England) Regulations 2006
6. Joint Waste Disposal (Recycling Payments) (Disapplication) England Order 2006
7. The Waste Regulation and Disposal (Authorities) Order 1985
8. The Collection and Disposal of Waste Regulations 1988
9. The Waste Management (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1997
10. The Environmental Protection (Waste Recycling Payments) Regulations 2006
11. The London Waste and Recycling Board Order 2008
UK legislation is now mainly held on the National Archives web-site: “legislation.gov.uk”. The intention is that the site will show Acts of Parliament as updated by subsequent primary and secondary legislation. However, there is a back-log of amendments that is being reduced. Nevertheless, the detail of amendments to primary legislation, including those outstanding, can be found through the web-site.
The “Red-Tape Challenge” has identified 9 Acts and 278 regulations affecting the “Environment” by a search on“legislation.gov.uk” using that “theme” . However, this is not a complete list; e.g. the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 is omitted as are some other Acts concerning waste and the environment. More input is needed to tag appropriately all primary legislation and guidance is needed on using “themes”.
Secondary legislation is also held on the web-site but is not amended, neither does there appear to be any easy way of identifying pertinent legislation. As an initial move, it is suggested that “legislation.gov.uk” should list all secondary legislation made under an Act with that Act or Acts. Subsequently, when the back-log of primary legislation amendments has been reduced, secondary legislation should also be amended.
The “Red-Tape Challenge” web-site gives links to unamended regulations but does not link directly to the primary legislation concerned. However, secondary legislation needs to be read in conjunction with the appropriate primary legislation before any decision is made whether any change is appropriate or even possible. Thus comments by the public on this web-site on unamended regulations may not lead to easy changes of a regulation but require changes to the primary legislation to be effective. Unless the “Red-Tape Challenge” is supported by primary legislation there may be little real progress.
Comments on the individual 11 UK regulations listed are below:
1. The Waste and Air Pollution (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2007
This makes minor changes to correct errors in a 1996 regulation and a 2007 regulation, not listed for consideration here, and a 2005 regulation in the EU list.
No action is needed.
2. Controlled Waste Regulations 1992
The 1992 regulations must be read with sections 45 and 75 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Section 75 gives the prime rules for classifying waste as household, industrial or commercial. The regulations identify specific wastes to be classified, or not to be classified, as household, industrial or commercial. Section 45 allows collection, but not disposal charges, to be made by local authorities for household waste listed in the regulations.
These regulations are needed for the proper handling of waste by local authorities. However, for the last few years Defra have been considering amendments to these regulations, primarily to allow local authorities to charge for the disposal of non-residential household waste such as waste from hospitals, schools and prisons.
The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management has commented, in depth, on the present regulations. Comments and proposals for improvement can be found at:
http://www.ciwm.co.uk/web/FILES/Technical/Classification_of_Wastes_-_RHobbs_Feb_10.pdf
The existing regulations are based on the Collection and Disposal of Waste Regulations 1988 made under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 (see item 8 below). As such, the terms household, industrial and commercial waste do not match terms in EU legislation; e.g. “waste from households” does not equate to the wider 1990 Act term “household waste”.
If time can be allowed for primary legislation it is suggested that the 1990 Act terms household, industrial and commercial waste should be redefined to match EU terminology; e.g. “household waste” could equate to “waste from households”, “industrial waste” could be waste, other than from households, shown as hazardous in the EU List of Wastes plus construction, mining, quarrying and agricultural wastes leaving “commercial waste” for the remainder. Such a simplification in primary legislation might well mean that there was no need for a successor to the 1992 regulations.
Nevertheless, as a priority new regulations are needed to replace and update the 1992 regulations.
3. Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategies (Disapplication of Duties) (England) Regulations 2007
These regulations place statutory duties on waste authorities but do not affect others.
The Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003 contains a statutory duty to produce Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategies (JMWMS), the Act also exempts many authorities from producing them based on their performance in meeting recycling targets and obtaining an ”excellent” in their Comprehensive Performance Assessment. These exemptions are no longer valid and Defra will consult local authorities on options for the future of JMWMS.
It is suggested that progress on reducing waste disposal to landfill now negates the need for formal JMWMSs. This would reduce the load on waste authorities.
4. Joint Waste Authorities (Proposals) Regulations 2009
The regulations set out the information that waste authorities which wish to make a Joint Waste Authority proposal have to submit. The regulations only directly affect waste authorities and remain valid.
No action is needed.
5. Joint Waste Disposal Authorities (Levies) (England) Regulations 2006
These regulations enable Joint Waste Disposal Authorities (JWDAs) to manage waste more sustainably in partnership with their Waste Collection Authorities (WCAs) by introducing a link between the WCAs payments and the tonnage of waste they deliver to their JWDA for disposal. This has worked and only directly affects waste authorities.
No action is needed.
6. Joint Waste Disposal (Recycling Payments) (Disapplication) England Order 2006
These regulations link with the previous regulations and simplified procedures by stopping the payment of recycling credits in joint areas. They only directly affect waste authorities.
No action is needed.
7. The Waste Regulation and Disposal (Authorities) Order 1985
These regulations established Joint Waste Disposal Authorities for certain areas. These continue and only directly affect waste authorities.
No action is needed.
8. The Collection and Disposal of Waste Regulations 1988
These regulations were made under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 and should have been superseded by the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992 made under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. They live on (although most waste managers do not know this) as the powers and duties to collect industrial waste in the 1990 Act have not been commenced. As a result powers and duties for “industrial waste” continue under Part I of the 1974 Act in England and Wales (but not Scotland).
There appears to be no good reason for England and Wales not to follow Scotland with the commencement of section 45(2) of the 1990 Act. This would enable the repeal of the 1985 regulations and most of Part I of the 1974 Act by regulations under the 1990 Act.
9. The Waste Management (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1997
These regulations have already been repealed for England and Wales.
No action is needed.
10. The Environmental Protection (Waste Recycling Payments) Regulations 2006
These regulations, under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, set out the detailed requirements by which waste disposal authorities have a duty to make payments to waste collection authorities for increasing recycling within their area, and waste collection authorities have a power to make payments to third parties for increasing recycling in their area.
Joint waste disposal authorities now do not pay recycling credits to their collection authorities (see the 2006 regulations at item 6, above). Consideration should be given to simplifying accounting by ceasing the payment of all credits between waste authorities.
11. The London Waste and Recycling Board Order 2008
These regulations set out the membership and constitution of the London Waste and Recycling Board under the Greater London Authority Act 1999. They do not directly affect the public.
No action is needed.Comment Tags: environment, Waste
A clean, healthy and productive natural environment is a “common good” and as such is especially dependent upon comprehensive regulation. The fact that it is a common good means that no one individual can reap the benefits of sensible use and conservation. Unfortunately however, individuals can – and do – gain benefit (usually financial) through its consumption.
For example, a plot of green belt land has a value to local communities who use it, a value to all UK citizens that think that green belt land is important in itself, a biodiversity value, and maybe provides other services like flood defence. It is also worth a large amount of money to a developer who can build a housing estate on it. It is the role of regulation to protect the resource for the benefit of all, against the interest of the individual or company who seeks to make a profit from it.
While it should be the role of the government to make sure that businesses and individuals are not impeded by unnecessary regulation, it must at the same time work equally hard to ensure that regulation protects what is important to us as citizens. Removing regulation that is necessary to protect valuable national assets will result in a net reduction in value for everyone.Comment Tags: environment
Environmental protection needs to be strengthened, not reduced. It is not “red tape”, but essential protection against short-term gains that leave others to clear up the mess later.Comment Tags: environment
I am hugely against the watering down or removal of any of the environmental legislation or that relating to the right to roam. These were laws drawn up to protect the environment, people’s quality of life and right to visit the countryside and they should be maintained and where possible enhanced, not reduced in any wayComment Tags: environment
I am pleased to have regulation that places increasing emphasis on the maintenance of a living environment for society that provides clean air, water and food and also green space for people and wildlife. This RTC is commendable but really it comes down to this: Establish working groups of ‘experts’ and civil servants in the relevant policy area; develope financially effective, science and evidence based proposals that you then consult on widely (and amalgamate / update old legislation); pilot the resultant strategy / plans / projects and then implement refined versions more widely. This RTC process is a useful adjunct to this process but is no substitute for a proper process and opens up the possibility that a vocal response from the extremes of opinion in any one policy area will drive the creation of bad legislation. It ain’t rocket scienceComment Tags: environment, policy, red tape challenge
Part 2A of the EPA 1990 is already fit for purpose. There is of course an illusion of too much red tape which is created by other influencing factors. Why on earth Government chose recently to revise the statutory guidance instead of tackling these other known issues is beyond comprehension. How many more decades will it take before it dawns on them that Defra, the EA and the NHS can not agree upon what comprises an unacceptable intake of contamination. Clearly the commonly referenced and extremely conservative minimal risk levels are not sustainable and therefore a policy decision will be required. Resources should be targeted towards resolving this instead of providing new guidance which is already destined to fail because of it.Comment Tags: Contaminated Land, environment, EPA 1990, Part 2A, Part IIA
I have a great interest in hill walking and the outdoors . The ‘right to roam’ legislation should be left well alone, why change it. This is our country and we should be entitled to enjoy it. Walkeers are responsible people and respect the environment. We have a beautiful country why can’t we enjoy it, it also attracts plenty of tourism , good for the economy.Comment Tags: environment, right ot roam, walking