Fortnightly Bulletin – 12th April 2021
19 April 2021
Dates For Your Diary
31st July 2021
Incinerating specified healthcare wastes at a municipal waste incinerator: RPS
C23 – This RPS will be withdrawn on the 31st July 2021. After this date you must have a permit authorising the activity or stop accepting the wastes listed in condition 1 at your facility.
Legal Updates
Low risk waste positions: miscellaneous
Change made to ‘Storing and treating used electrical insulating oil for reuse: LRWP 57’: The EA have corrected a formatting error that made the waste codes in LRWP 57 appear without an asterisk for hazardous waste. All these waste codes now have an asterisk as they are all hazardous waste. Click here for further information.
The EA have also change made to ‘Recycling waste spectacles: LRWP 76’: List of Waste code was 20 03 01 now 20 01 99.
Source: EA daily Briefing 6th April 2021 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/low-risk-waste-positions-miscellaneous
Articles of Interest
Third of UK’s biggest companies commit to net zero
Almost 1 in 3 of the UK’s largest businesses are leading the way in the world’s transition to a low carbon economy, committing to align with UK government ambitions and eliminate their contribution to climate change by 2050.
As of today (Tuesday 31 March), 30 of the UK’s FTSE 100 companies have signed up to the United Nation’s Race to Zero campaign – the largest ever global alliance committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 at the latest, backed with science-based targets, with many opting to go even faster. Today’s milestone means pledges have doubled in the past 5 months, with companies including AstraZeneca, BT Group, Sainsbury’s, and Unilever and in total representing a total market capital of £650 billion.
With the upcoming UN Climate Summit COP26 in Glasgow later this year, the government is today calling on more businesses in the UK and around the world to take urgent action on their carbon emissions by signing-up to Race to Zero and setting out clear pathways to get to net zero.
Access to the full article.
Source: gov.uk, 31st March 2021
All talk, no action on net zero?
More and more businesses are setting net-zero targets – but how many of them are credible?
“Net zero is now the frame of reference for ambition on climate change,” says Steve Smith, greenhouse gas removal lead at the University of Oxford. This is encouraging. “It’s not long ago that large companies were proud to be publishing ‘10% reduction in CO2 in 10 years’ targets, which clearly wasn’t enough,” adds Nicola Stopps, CEO at consultancy Simply Sustainable.
A range of industries, from finance and insurance to retail and big oil, are shifting through the gears. Investors are predicting a ‘tectonic shift’ as capital is reallocated to sustainable assets. COP26 later this year is whipping up interest too, as is the concept of a ‘green recovery’ from the pandemic.
There is currently no defined standard for setting a net-zero emissions target. The Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) is currently undertaking a public consultation exercise on its draft ‘net zero standard criteria’, so a standard may be on the horizon. In the meantime, large corporations are setting targets while the international standards movement runs to catch up, says Jamie Pitcairn, technical director (sustainability and circular economy) at consultancy Ricardo Energy & Environment. […] More clarity is needed if genuine plans are to be sifted from the greenwash. Reporting organisations that can make themselves look better through “sleight of hand” will do so, says Massie at Eunomia. “Some companies are taking net zero very seriously and communicating transparently, but most are not.”
Access to the full article.
Source: IEMA.net, 19th March 2021
Fines and Prosecutions
Jail sentence for businessman who filled former quarry with dangerous waste
A business man from Cardiff was jailed for 2 years and 3 months for illegally disposing of 100,000 tonnes of waste at a former limestone quarry. The offence happened within the first nine months of 2016, sparking an intensive investigation by the Environment Agency into the management of the site.
The illegal operation, which accepted waste from around England, was described at Bristol Crown Court as one of the most serious risks of harm in the country during the past 30 years. The man was also jailed for a further 18 weeks, to be served concurrently, for supplying false information to the Environment Agency.
The firm, which ran the site under an environmental permit, failed to provide the court with any company accounts and was fined £72,000.
The Quarry was only permitted to accept ‘clean’ and ‘non-hazardous’ material including soil and construction waste for recovery purposes […] Samples taken from trial pits and bore holes revealed a high percentage of chopped/shredded plastics, metals, foam and other man-made materials. Analysis showed that about half the samples were hazardous and either carcinogenic or ecotoxic.
Read more about this case.
Ensure that your waste is being disposed of via reputable and suitably permit contractor; always carry out duty of care checks on the waste carrier and disposal sites. If your waste is disposed of illegally such as in the case above, and you cannot demonstrate that you have completed adequate duty of care, then you will also be liable for prosecution. Ignorance is no defence.
Source: gov.uk, 8th April 2021
Online Learning and Events
LAUNCH: Embedding Digital in Construction
29th April 9:30 – 11:30
Join the Supply Chain Sustainability School on Thursday 29th April for the public launch of the School’s new topic area – Digital. Discover a suite of learning materials to help your business thrive in the digital age. At this launch event, you’ll hear insights from industry experts on the benefits of digital leadership and learn more about the Digital learning materials available through the School.
Do we still need innovators in the Net Zero agenda?
2nd April 13:00 – 14:00
Innovation has been a core part of the global response to achieving Net Zero. The advancement in key technologies and the reducing cost of low carbon alternatives has been key to enable governments, businesses and individuals to make commitments that will limit the worst effects of climate change. We know that the next ten years are critical to meeting this global challenge; governments and business are increasingly translating what, only a few years ago, was emerging innovation into large scale implementation – what’s next for the Climate Innovators? In this Sustainability Delivery Group Experts will talk about experience of climate innovation in the UK and Europe and the innovation needed to make net zero a reality.
