The Environmental Protection Act 1990 imposes a duty of care on any person who imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste or, as a broker, has control of such waste. The duty requires such persons to ensure that there is no unauthorised or harmful deposit, treatment or disposal of the waste, to prevent the escape of the waste from their control or that of any other person, and on the transfer of the waste to ensure that the transfer is only to an authorised person or to a person for authorised transport purposes and that a written description of the waste is also transferred.
As such, the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991 were enacted to control and regulate the management and disposal of waste materials, ensuring that businesses and individuals handle waste in an environmentally responsible manner. The Duty of Care regulations play a pivotal role in safeguarding the environment and public health by preventing illegal dumping and encouraging proper waste disposal practices.
It is important to note that these Regulations were revoked by the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011.
