Paragraph 39 - Secure Storage of medical, nursing or veterinary wastes

What the legislation says:

39.—(1) The secure storage at a pharmacy or at the premises of a medical, nursing or veterinary practice or a needle exchange facility, of the wastes listed in Table 15 (including those which are special waste) which have been returned to those places from care services, households or by individuals if—

(a) the total quantity of such returned waste at the pharmacy or premises does not at any time exceed 10 cubic metres;

(b) the total amount of such waste returned in any 24 hour period does not exceed 5 kilograms or, as the case may be, 5 litres; and

(2) The secure storage at the premises of a medical, nursing or veterinary practice of the wastes listed in Table 15 (including special waste) produced in carrying on that practice if—

(a) in the case of liquid waste, it is stored in a secure container and the total volume of that waste does not at any time exceed 23,000 litres;

(b) in any other case, either—

(i) it is stored in a secure container and the total volume of that waste does not at any time exceed 80 cubic metres; or

(ii) it is stored in a secure place and the total volume of that waste does not at any time exceed 50 cubic metres; and

(3) In the case of any waste batteries, secure storage under sub-paragraph (1) or (2) must take place in accordance with the treatment conditions.

(4) In this paragraph, “care services” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001

Table 15
Codes*	Types of waste
Wastes from electrical and electronic equipment (16 02)
16 02 09**	Transformers and capacitors containing PCBs
16 02 10**	Discarded equipment containing or contaminated by PCBs other than those mentioned in 16 02 09
16 02 11**	Discarded equipment containing chlorofluorocarbons, HCFC, HFC
16 02 12**	Discarded equipment containing free asbestos
16 02 13**	Discarded equipment containing hazardous components other than those mentioned in 16 02 09 to 16 02 12
16 02 14	Discarded equipment other than those mentioned in 16 02 09 to 16 02 13
16 02 15**	Hazardous components removed from discarded equipment
16 02 16	Components removed from discarded equipment other than those mentioned in 16 02 15
Batteries and accumulators (16 06)
16 06 01**	Lead batteries
16 06 02**	Ni-Cd batteries
16 06 03**	Mercury-containing batteries
16 06 04	Alkaline batteries (except 16 06 03)
16 06 05	Other batteries and accumulators
Wastes from natal care, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of disease in humans (18 01)
18 01 01	Sharps (except 18 01 03 – waste whose collection and disposal is subject to special requirements in order to prevent infection)
18 01 02	Body parts and organs including blood bags and blood preserves (except 18 01 03)
18 01 03**	Wastes whose collection and disposal is subject to special requirements in order to prevent infection
18 01 04	Wastes whose collection and disposal is not subject to special requirements in order to prevent infection (for example dressings, plaster casts, linen, disposable clothing, diapers)
18 01 07	Chemicals other than those mentioned in 18 01 06 (chemicals consisting of or containing dangerous substances)
18 01 08**	Cytotoxic and cytostatic medicines
18 01 09	Medicines other than those mentioned in 18 01 08
Wastes from research, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of disease involving animals (18 02)
18 02 01	Sharps (except 18 02 02 – wastes whose collection and disposal is subject to special requirements in order to prevent infection)
18 02 02**	Wastes whose collection and disposal is subject to special requirements in order to prevent infection
18 02 03	Wastes whose collection and disposal is not subject to special requirements in order to prevent infection
18 02 06	Chemicals other than those mentioned in 18 02 05 (chemicals consisting of or containing dangerous substances)
18 02 07**	Cytotoxic and cytostatic medicines
18 02 08	Medicines other than those mentioned in 18 02 07
Separately collected fractions (20 01)
20 01 31**	Cytotoxic and cytostatic medicines
20 01 32	Medicines other than those mentioned in 20 01 31 (cytotoxic and cytostatic medicines)
20 01 33**	Batteries and accumulators included in 16 06 01, 16 06 02 or 16 06 03 and unsorted batteries and accumulators containing these batteries
20 01 34	Batteries and accumulators other than those mentioned in 20 01 33
20 01 35**	Discarded electrical and electronic equipment other than those mentioned in 20 01 21 and 20 01 23 containing hazardous components
20 01 36	Discarded electrical and electronic equipment other than those mentioned in 20 01 21, 20 01 23 and 20 01 35
20 01 99	Other fractions not otherwise specified

* Codes referred to in the European Waste Catalogue.
** Includes special waste.

Registration Requirements:

Needs to be registered with SEPA but no fee is required.

This exemption can be registered online.

Where waste is being stored at the place of production, the activity does not have to be registered. However, establishments and undertakings can still use the paper form should they wish. This form should be sent to the Registrar at your local SEPA area office (addresses are given on the form)

The following questions and answers are provided to help you further understand this exemption:

Q. How long will the registration last? Will it require renewal at any time?
A. The registration of this exemption is not time limited but it can be de-registered by SEPA if it is not managed properly and no longer fulfills the criteria requirements of the exemption or if the activities cause pollution or harm to health. If the activity does comply with the exemption criteria the registration will not have to be renewed except where there is a significant change to the activity.