This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Controls tighten on hazardous wastes
01/04/2004
Controls on the handling and monitoring of hazardous wastes have been tightened.
From today the Special Waste Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2004 lay out a timetable for applying the regulatory regime to a broader range of hazardous wastes, and improving information flow about these wastes. There will be a short transition period until 1 July.
This will ensure that proper measures are in place for following movements of these wastes from production to disposal.
Welcoming the new Regulations, Allan Wilson, Deputy Minister for Environment & Rural Development, said:
"The Scottish Executive is determined to ensure effective protection of public health and the environment. Achieving best practice in waste handling and disposal is an important element of our waste management policy.
"These measures being introduced today will ensure that the full range of hazardous wastes are carefully monitored and tracked from the point they arise. Taken together with our Landfill (Scotland) Regulations we are making sure that these wastes are being disposed of properly.
"The Executive is keen to improve the way we deal with such waste. These new Regulations are another important step in achieving that objective."
The Special Waste Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2004 amend the Special Waste Regulations 1996 in accordance with recent developments in European law.
The majority of the provisions come into effect on 1 July 2004.
This review of the Special Waste Regulations was promised in the National Waste Plan, which Ross Finnie, Minister for Environment and Rural Development, launched in February 2003.
These amendments were proposed in the consultation paper Safer Special Waste: Amendments to Special Waste Regulations, published in November 2003.
Copies of the National Waste Plan are available at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/environment/natwasteplan.pdf