§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish the regulations and code of practice on the duty of care under section 34 of the Environment Protection Act 1990; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. TrippierMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, together with the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales, has today laid before Parliament the code of practice and the regulations made under section 34 (duty of care) of the Environment Protection Act. An associated circular will be issued to local authorities.
The duty of care will come into force on 1 April 1992. From that date, every business in Britain will be responsible for taking measures to ensure that their waste goes only to authorised, responsible destinations, whether that is for recycling or for disposal. Anyone who fails to take care of their waste will be guilty of a criminal offence.
The regulations, code of practice and circular have been further improved and clarified in the light of the many comments received. The code of practice offers practical advice for all those subject to the duty.
I believe that this measure will be widely welcomed by responsible industry, as well as by all who care about what happens to waste. It must be right for the producers and holders of waste to take responsibility and account for where they send their waste. This should go a long way towards cutting off at source the supplies of waste that are now heedlessly and illegally dumped.
This is a great advance in the legal control of waste.