It's a good idea to keep up to date with environmental legislation relevant to the retail sector.
Contact the Envirowise Advice Line on freephone 0800 585794 for information about legislation and how it could affect your business.
Contact the British Retail Consortium (BRC) for advice and information about new developments affecting the retail sector or visit the BRC website (www.brc.org.uk).
Download relevant legislation from www.hmso.gov.uk. You can also buy it from The Stationery Office (Tel: 0970 600 5522, E-mail: customer.services@tso.co.uk, Web: www.tso.co.uk).
In the meantime here are some highlights that might be useful as you consider what is of most importance to your store.
Duty of Care
This law requires that you store your waste properly and prevent it from harming the environment. You must also ensure that all waste collected from your store is transferred to an 'authorised person' such as the local council or a waste contractor. This person must have a licence to carry waste and should give you a waste transfer note that describes the waste and its origin. Under the law you must keep all waste transfer notes for at least two years.
Hazardous waste
The Environment Agency regulates the disposal of hazardous waste. A consignment note must accompany every movement of hazardous waste. Everyone involved with the transfer of hazardous waste must retain a copy of the consignment note. Copies must also be passed to the Agency. More details can be found at www.environment-agency.gov.uk.
Landfill tax
The Government imposes a tax on all waste sent to landfill. This tax is designed to penalise the excessive use of landfills and to encourage businesses to reduce and recycle waste. This is one of the reasons why the cost of trade waste collections has gone up and will continue to increase.
The tax is currently £14/tonne of waste. By 01/04/04 the tax will be £15/tonne of waste. The Government is also under pressure to bring landfill tax in the UK into line with the rest of Europe; this could see the rate almost doubling to £26/tonne.
Packaging waste regulations
These apply to larger stores and require them to recover and recycle a certain percentage of their packaging waste. The regulations currently apply to companies with an annual turnover of over £2 million and which handle more than 50 tonnes/year of obligated packaging. To find out more about the regulations and how to calculate waste obligations, contact the Envirowise Advice Line on freephone 0800 585794.
Climate Change Levy
This is a tax on energy use and is added automatically to your bill. Look at your recent bill to see how much you were charged in that period for the levy. Typically it adds around 10% to the cost of energy. The aim is to encourage businesses to reduce the amount of energy used in the UK and help the UK to reach its target of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide (the global warming gas) produced to 20% of the 1990 levels by 2010.
Domestic sewage
Small retailers have a similar water use profile to households and generate mainly effluent (wastewater) of a ‘domestic’ nature, eg effluent from staff toilets, washbasins, showers and kitchen areas. The charge for this forms part of the bill from your local water company.
Trade effluent
Retailers that produce effluent containing substances such as fats and grease can discharge this to the sewer, but only with the prior agreement of the water company. This is known as trade effluent and includes all rinse water, washing water and any other related discharge. The water company charges for trade effluent according to a formula which takes into account its volume, content and how much treatment it will need.
Pollution prevention
Businesses need to take care what goes down their drains and must store oils or chemicals properly. All domestic sewage must be discharged to a foul sewer for transfer to the sewage works. Surface water drains (eg in the gutter) must only be used for clear water, as the discharge is not treated before it goes into rivers or soakaways.
For information about the correct storage and disposal of wastewaters and other liquids, contact your local council, the Environment Agency or the Envirowise Advice Line (freephone 0800 585794).