Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989

Offence of transporting controlled waste without registering

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• (1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, it shall be an offence for any person who is not a registered carrier of controlled waste, in the course of any business of his or otherwise with a view to profit, to transport any controlled waste to or from any place in Great Britain.

• (2) A person shall not be guilty of an offence under this section in respect of—

• (a) the transport of controlled waste within the same premises between different places in those premises;

• (b) the transport to a place in Great Britain of controlled waste which has been brought from a country or territory outside Great Britain and is not landed in Great Britain until it arrives at that place;

• (c) the transport by air or sea of controlled waste from a place in Great Britain to a place outside Great Britain.

• (3) The Secretary of State may by regulations provide that a person shall not be required for the purposes of this section to be a registered carrier of controlled waste if—

• (a) he is a prescribed person or a person of such a description as may be prescribed; ...

• (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (4) In proceedings against any person for an offence under this section in respect of the transport of any controlled waste it shall be a defence for that person to show—

• (a) that the waste was transported in an emergency of which notice was given, as soon as practicable after it occurred, to the regulation authority in whose area the emergency occurred; or

• (b) that he neither knew nor had reasonable grounds for suspecting that what was being transported was controlled waste and took all such steps as it was reasonable to take for ascertaining whether it was such waste; or

• (c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (5) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

• (6) In this section “emergency”, in relation to the transport of any controlled waste, means any circumstances in which, in order to avoid, remove or reduce any serious danger to the public or serious risk of damage to the environment, it is necessary for the waste to be transported from one place to another without the use of a registered carrier of such waste.

Registration of carriers

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• (1) Subject to section 3 below, the Secretary of State may by regulations make provision for the registration of persons with regulation authorities as carriers of controlled waste and, for that purpose, for the establishment and maintenance by such authorities, in accordance with the regulations, of such registers as may be prescribed.

• (2) Regulations under this section may—

• (a) make provision with respect to applications for registration;

• (b) impose requirements with respect to the manner in which regulation authorities maintain registers of carriers of controlled waste;

• (c) provide for the issue of a certificate of registration ... to a registered carrier of controlled waste both on his registration and on the making of any alteration of any entry relating to him in a register of such carriers;

• (d) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (e) provide that the provision by a regulation authority to a registered carrier of such copies of a certificate of registration as are provided in addition to the certificate provided ... in pursuance of provision made by virtue of paragraph (c) above is to be made subject to the payment of a charge imposed under the regulations.

• (3) Provision contained in any regulations under this section by virtue of subsection (2)(a) above may, in particular, include provision which—

• (a) prescribes the manner of determining the regulation authority to which an application is to be made;

• (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (c) prescribes the period within which an application for the renewal of any registration which is due to expire is to be made;

• (d) imposes requirements with respect to the information which is to be provided by an applicant to the authority to which his application is made;

• (e) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3A) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (d) of subsection (3) above—

• (a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (b) the power to impose requirements with respect to information under paragraph (d) of that subsection includes power to make provision requiring an application to be accompanied by such information as may reasonably be required by the regulation authority to which it is to be made.

• (4) Provision contained in any regulations under this section by virtue of subsection (2)(b) above may, in particular, include provision—

• (a) specifying or describing the information to be incorporated in any register maintained by a regulation authority in pursuance of any such regulations;

• (b) requiring a registered carrier of controlled waste to notify a regulation authority which maintains such a register of any change of circumstances affecting information contained in the entry relating to that carrier in that register;

• (c) requiring a regulation authority, to such extent and in such manner as may be prescribed, to make the contents of any such register available for public inspection free of charge; and

• (d) requiring such an authority, on payment of such charges as may be imposed under the regulations, to provide such copies of the contents of any such register to any person applying for a copy as may be prescribed.

• (4A) Regulations under this section may include provision for—

• (a) the registration of a person as a carrier of controlled waste to be subject to conditions relating to the vehicles used by him in transporting such waste; or

• (b) the revocation by a regulation authority of the registration of a carrier of controlled waste who has breached a condition imposed on him under paragraph (a) above.

• (4B) Provision contained in any regulations under this section by virtue of subsection (4A) above may, in particular, include provision—

• (a) for inspection by a regulation authority of the vehicles of registered carriers of controlled waste for the purpose of ensuring compliance with conditions imposed under subsection (4A)(a) above;

• (b) for a regulation authority to impose charges on registered carriers of controlled waste in respect of such inspections.

• (5) Subsections (2) to (4B) above are without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above.

Restrictions on power under section 2

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• (1) Nothing in any regulations under section 2 above shall authorise a regulation authority to refuse an application for registration except where—

• (a) there has, in relation to that application, been a contravention of the requirements of any regulations made by virtue of subsection (2)(a) of that section; or

• (b) the applicant or another relevant person has been convicted of a prescribed offence and, in the opinion of the authority, it is undesirable for the applicant to be authorised to transport controlled waste.

• (2) Nothing in any regulations under section 2 above shall authorise any regulation authority to revoke any person’s registration as a carrier of controlled waste except in accordance with regulations under subsection (4A) of that section or where—

• (a) that person or another relevant person has been convicted of a prescribed offence; and

• (b) in the opinion of the authority, it is undesirable for the registered carrier to continue to be authorised to transport controlled waste;

but registration in accordance with any regulations under that section shall cease to have effect after such period as may be prescribed or if the registered carrier gives written notice requiring the removal of his name from the register.

• (3) Regulations under section 2 above may require every registration in respect of a business which is or is to be carried on by a partnership to be a registration of all the partners and to cease to have effect if any of the partners ceases to be registered or if any person who is not registered becomes a partner.

• (4) Nothing in any regulations under section 2 above shall have the effect of bringing the revocation of any person’s registration as a carrier of controlled waste into force except—

• (a) after the end of such period as may be prescribed for appealing against the revocation under section 4 below; or

• (b) where that person has indicated, within that period, that he does not intend to make or continue with an appeal.

• (5) In relation to any applicant for registration or registered carrier, another relevant person shall be treated for the purposes of any provision made by virtue of subsection (1) or (2) above as having been convicted of a prescribed offence if—

• (a) any person has been convicted of a prescribed offence committed by him in the course of his employment by the applicant or registered carrier or in the course of the carrying on of any business by a partnership one of the members of which was the applicant or registered carrier;

• (aa) a partnership has been convicted of a prescribed offence committed at a time when the applicant or registered carrier was a member of that partnership;

• (b) a body corporate has been convicted of a prescribed offence committed at a time when the applicant or registered carrier was a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of that body corporate; or

• (ba) where the applicant or registered carrier is a partnership, a person who is a member of that partnership—

• (i) has been convicted of a prescribed offence;

• (ii) was a member of another partnership at a time when a prescribed offence of which that other partnership has been convicted was committed; or

• (iii) was a director, manager, secretary, or other similar officer of a body corporate at a time when a prescribed offence of which that body corporate has been convicted was committed; or

• (c) where the applicant or registered carrier is a body corporate, a person who is a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of that body corporate—

• (i) has been convicted of a prescribed offence; or

• (ia) was a member of a partnership at a time when a prescribed offence of which that partnership has been convicted was committed; or

• (ii) was a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of another body corporate at a time when a prescribed offence of which that other body corporate has been convicted was committed.

• (6) In determining for the purposes of any provision made by virtue of subsection (1) or (2) above whether it is desirable for any individual to be or to continue to be authorised to transport controlled waste, a regulation authority shall have regard, in a case in which a person other than the individual has been convicted of a prescribed offence, to whether that individual has been a party to the carrying on of a business in a manner involving the commission of prescribed offences.

Appeals against refusal of registration etc

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• (1) Where a person has applied to a regulation authority to be registered in accordance with any regulations under section 2 above, he may appeal to the Secretary of State if—

• (a) his application is refused; or

• (b) the relevant period from the making of the application has expired without his having been registered;

and for the purposes of this subsection the relevant period is two months or, except in the case of an application for the renewal of his registration by a person who is already registered, such longer period as may be agreed between the applicant and the disposal authority in question.

• (2) A person whose registration as a carrier of controlled waste has been revoked may appeal against the revocation to the Secretary of State.

• (3) On an appeal under this section the Secretary of State may, as he thinks fit, either dismiss the appeal or give the regulation authority in question a direction to register the appellant or, as the case may be, to cancel the revocation.

• (4) Where on an appeal made by virtue of subsection (1)(b) above the Secretary of State dismisses an appeal, he shall direct the regulation authority in question not to register the appellant.

• (5) It shall be the duty of a regulation authority to comply with any direction under this section.

• (6) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision as to the manner in which and time within which an appeal under this section is to be made and as to the procedure to be followed on any such appeal.

• (7) Where an appeal under this section is made in accordance with regulations under this section—

• (a) by a person whose appeal is in respect of such an application for the renewal of his registration as was made, in accordance with regulations under section 2 above, at a time when he was already registered; or

• (b) by a person whose registration has been revoked,

that registration shall continue in force, notwithstanding the expiry of the prescribed period or the revocation, until the appeal is disposed of.

• (8) For the purposes of subsection (7) above an appeal is disposed of when any of the following occurs, that is to say—

• (a) the appeal is withdrawn;

• (b) the appellant is notified by the Secretary of State or the regulation authority in question that his appeal has been dismissed; or

• (c) the regulation authoritycomply with any direction of the Secretary of State to renew the appellant’s registration or to cancel the revocation.

• (9) This section is subject to section 114 of the Environment Act 1995 (delegation or reference of appeals etc).

Duty to produce authority to transport controlled waste

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• (1) This section applies where an authorised officer of a regulation authority or a constable reasonably believes that controlled waste has been, is being or is about to be transported in contravention of section 1(1) above.

• (2) The authorised officer or constable may—

• (a) require any person appearing to him to be or to have been engaged in transporting that waste to produce his (or, as the case may be, his employer's) authority to do so;

• (b) search any vehicle that appears to him to be a vehicle that has been, is being or is about to be used for transporting that waste;

• (c) carry out tests on anything found in any such vehicle (including by taking away samples for testing of anything so found);

• (d) seize any such vehicle and any of its contents.

• (3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(a) above, a person's authority for transporting controlled waste is—

• (a) his certificate of registration as a carrier of controlled waste;

• (b) such copy of that certificate as satisfies requirements specified in regulations made by the appropriate person; or

• (c) such evidence as may be so specified that he is not required to be registered as a carrier of controlled waste.

• (4) Where an authorised officer or constable has required a person to produce an authority under subsection (2)(a) above, the person must do so—

• (a) by producing it forthwith to the authorised officer or constable;

• (b) by producing it at a place and within a period specified in regulations made by the appropriate person; or

• (c) by sending it to that place and within that period.

• (5) In acting under subsection (2) above an authorised officer or constable may—

• (a) stop any vehicle as referred to in paragraph (b) of that subsection (but only a constable in uniform may stop a vehicle on any road);

• (b) enter any premises for the purpose specified in paragraph (b) or (d) of that subsection.

• (6) A vehicle or its contents seized under subsection (2)(d) above—

• (a) by an authorised officer of a regulation authority, are seized on behalf of that authority;

• (b) by a constable in the presence of or at the request of an authorised officer of a regulation authority, are seized on behalf of that authority;

• (c) by a constable in any other case, are seized on behalf of the waste collection authority in whose area the seizure takes place.

• (7) A person commits an offence if—

• (a) he fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement imposed under paragraph (a) of subsection (2) above;

• (b) he fails without reasonable excuse to give any assistance that an authorised officer or constable may reasonably request in the exercise of a power under that subsection;

• (c) he otherwise intentionally obstructs an authorised officer or constable in the exercise of a power under that subsection.

• (8) A person is not guilty of an offence by virtue of subsection (7)(a) above unless it is shown—

• (a) that the waste in question was controlled waste; and

• (b) that the waste was or was being transported to or from a place in Great Britain.

• (9) Where an authorised officer or constable has stopped a vehicle under subsection (5) above, he may (in addition to any requirement that may be imposed under paragraph (a) of subsection (2) above) require any occupant of the vehicle to give him—

• (a) the occupant's name and address;

• (b) the name and address of the registered owner of the vehicle;

• (c) any other information he may reasonably request.

• (10) A person commits an offence if—

• (a) he fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement under subsection (9) above;

• (b) he gives information required under that subsection that is—

• (i) to his knowledge false or misleading in a material way, or

• (ii) given recklessly and is false or misleading in a material way.

• (11) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.