Defra Review of Universities and Colleges and the Schedule 2 Controlled Waste Regulations

4th February 2010

DEFRA is currently reviewing the regulations relating to premises subject to Schedule 2 in the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992. In addition to other premises, this also relates to premises such as universities, and so may have potential impact on your areas of responsibility.
The review has come about as due to the rising cost of collecting and disposing of waste, there is uncertainty within Local Authorities regarding how they would be able to budget for an increasing in Schedule 2 customers. Currently, Local Authorities are only able to charge for the collection of waste; however the rise in cost is mainly due to increased disposal costs. As such, the current legislation is seen as out of date and therefore Defra are undertaking this review.
There is a good deal of confusion and concern over the current regulations. We understand that most waste from universities is currently handled by private contractors. Obviously local authorities are worried about the potential impacts on their budgets if facilities managers decide to seek local authority services in order to save money.
Equally, a number of Schedule 2 customers have been approached by consultants offering to save them money and recommending that they use local authority services. Many customers are not aware of the provisions of Schedule 2 which mean that they are unlikely to be able to negotiate the same service from a local authority as they currently enjoy with their private contracts.
While we plan to consult formally on changes to the regulations, we should also like to address these concerns in the short-term, to limit the confusion in the period before new legislation can be introduced.
Defra plan to issue guidance on the current Regulations in February, and would like to ensure that the main government departments and agencies affected are content and have had an opportunity to contribute.
If you would like to contribute, please contact Iain Patton on ipat@eauc.org.uk