Registering for membership of Blockbuster Video stores is harder to achieve than registering on the Environment Agency's waste carrier database, a senior Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) official declared this month. The comparison was used to emphasise the need for more registrations and other changes as DEFRA prepare to reshape duty of care legislation, due to a number of loopholes and weaknesses in the current system.
A simplified duty of care governing waste is planned for April 2009 and is set to be accompanied by a massive education campaign. DEFRA confirmed that a consultation paper on proposed changes to the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations SI 1991/2839 is to be published in May 2008. There will be amendments to various regulations including those governing waste carriers, waste consignments, brokers and the stop, search and seize powers available to the authorities. The changes will also include giving local authorities and the Environment Agency more powers to issue fixed penalty notices and measures to promote greater understanding of the requirements governing the movement of wastes.
Explaining the consultation, DEFRA senior policy officer Andrew McIntosh said, "We don't think there is anything fundamentally wrong with the duty of care but there needs to be greater awareness, Our research shows that 90% of small businesses and traders are not aware of the duty of care."
