§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what monitoring has been undertaken by his Department to date on compliance with the duty of care rules established under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
§ Mr. YeoThe duty of care, in section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, requires all holders of waste—except private households—to take reasonable steps to prevent the illegal disposal of their waste. Under the duty, waste may be handed only to an authorised person and transfers of waste must be documented. It is in the nature of this duty that compliance is ensured mainly by each holder of waste in turn checking on the person to whom they consign waste, in order themselves to avoid committing an offence.
The Government therefore do not undertake nor require local authorities to undertake any monitoring or inspection of firms' compliance with the duty. However, there is some early evidence of a decline in fly-tipping incidents since the duty of care came into force on 1 April 1992.