Roadmap To Support Waste Regulations Initiative Outlined

18 August 2011

The British Standards Institution (BSI) has issued a notice outlining what issues it will examine as part of the initiative, which aims to reduce the regulatory burden on waste businesses, while helping the Environment Agency (EA) to focus on potential illegal activity

Published last week, the notice follows a letter sent by ministers earlier this year to waste companies and agencies where Government revealed it was keen to explore how standards could play a bigger role in waste regulation.

June's Waste Review hailed the roadmap as a way in which businesses could "take greater responsibility for their performance and be certified or permitted effectively, according to the level of assurance needed to demonstrate compliance".

BSI is carrying out the work with the involvement of Defra, the Department for business, innovation and skills (BIS), the EA, the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS) and Waste Watch.

Objectives

In the notice, BSI explained that the overall objectives of the project were to:

• Promote how achieving standards can provide a "high degree of assurance" that a business complies with waste regulation;

• Reduce the regulatory burden on compliant businesses;

• Identify which businesses could benefit from "lighter touch" regulation with support from standards, certification and accreditation;

• Help the EA to focus on "poor performance and illegal activity" rather than "well-managed" businesses;

• And, work with industry to identify and realise cost savings and other benefits.

Initially, the project will involve BSI conducting research into standards, schemes and regulatory initiatives.

Among the issues it will look at are:

• Existing standards and how they either do or could support waste regulatory compliance;

• What other schemes exist to support compliance;

• Where are "standards gaps";

• What standards could be developed for waste regulation;

• How can standards support waste regulation and enable compliance "effectively and efficiently";

• How effective are existing tools that advise permitting;

• What specific compliance issues can standards address;

What cost savings and other benefits does industry believe this can achieve.

Positive Reactions

Viridor, one of the UK's leading recycling, renewable energy and waste companies, welcomes the new project.

Speaking on behalf of the company, Corporate Responsibility and Regulatory Director, Simon Catford, said: "The correlation between standards and regulatory compliance is complex. We welcome this project as it presents a timely opportunity to identify areas where compliance can be demonstrated through standards as well as areas where improvements can be made to that effect.

"Voluntary standards such as those accredited by the BSI not only ensure compliance with regulations but provide a framework for ongoing improvements in the various areas they cover. Our BSI certifications in quality, environmental, safety and health management are examples of how standards can demonstrate compliance in practice and help businesses become more effective.

"Achieving any of the BSI accredited standards requires a comprehensive auditing and document management processes, which can in turn be used by the regulator as proof of compliance, thus reducing duplication in auditing. This would not only be a better way of using resources efficiently but could also result in cost reductions without compromising compliance. We look forward to seeing the outcomes of the project."

Viridor has led the way in the adoption of management systems in the waste sector. Viridor was the first waste management company that implemented and achieved ISO 14001 certification for an environmental management system across all of its main operational sites. Currently, all Viridor facilities are operated in accordance with its business management system to ensure continual performance improvement.

Darrel Moore