Background

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Scottish Executive have launched a consultation exercise to find out how the current regulations governing waste management could be improved.

The Scottish Executive is responsible for all aspects of waste law and regulations in Scotland, other than green taxes, product specifications, and imports and exports of waste into and out of the UK. As environmental regulator, SEPA implements all waste regulations, and provides technical and practical advice contributing to the development of policy and legislation.

Feedback from the waste management industry and local authorities indicates that there is much to commend about the Scottish Executive and SEPA’s approach to waste management regulation within the UK context. However, it is also evident that the “complexity, costs and bureaucracy” associated with waste management licensing are a common bugbear.

The Better Regulation of Waste initiative aims to determine if existing guidelines are effective and support Scotland’s commitment to increase recycling rates and reduce the reliance on landfill.

The Scottish Executive and SEPA wish to seek views on the current legislative and regulatory system, with a view to capitalising on the good work already undertaken and to improve the regime and its practical application.


This consultation closed on 22nd June 2007.

• Better Waste Regulation consultation document (108k pdf)
  
• News Release
  Request a hard copy of the consultation document or send an e-mail request for information
  
  

Better Waste Regulation Consultation Report

This report is a consolidation of the responses received and will be followed by an action plan in spring 2008. This will include details and associated timescales of elements of the legislation we will seek to change as well as changes that SEPAintend to enact internally to improve our delivery of the regulations.

Both SEPA and the Scottish Government would like to take thisopportunity to thank all those who participated in the consultation.

• Report (791k pdf)

Telephone number for enquiries: 01786 457700 and ask for Waste PolicyConsultees should note that it may not be possible to consider responses which arrive after the deadline. SEPA or the Scottish Executive may wish to publish responses to this consultation paper or to deposit them in its library. All responses will be available publicly unless a respondent specifically asks for their response to be treated confidentially. Confidential responses may be included in any statistical summary of numbers of responses received or views expressed.