We have been advised by Lambeth Council that waste inspections are being carried out, please note the following:
Lambeth Council Environmental Services have been conducting Duty of Care inspections throughout the borough to ensure businesses are complying with their duty of care requirements under Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
This enables the local authority to make sure all businesses have a licensed commercial waste contractor in place to collect and dispose of all of their waste in the correct manner.
If a business has the appropriate Waste Transfer Notes or Contract with a licensed waste management company but is unable to produce the documents on inspection, Lambeth will issue a notice which gives the business 7 days to respond back with the documents. If you fail to produce the documents within the due date listed on the notice, a fixed penalty notice (FPN) of £300 will be issued, discounted to £180 for early payment.
In order to avoid a penalty, if you are a First Mile user and do not have the relevant paperwork, please contact First Mile as soon as possible on 0800 612 9894 or customers@firstmile.co.uk
If a business does not have a contract with a licensed waste management company, they are issued with a FPN on inspection for not complying with its Duty of Care requirements for the business.
Environmental Enforcement Officers will be asking a few questions and checking all documentation required by law under Section 34 of Environmental Protection Act 1990:
- who is collecting the commercial waste for the business
- what type of waste the business produces
- how the waste is stored
- how the waste is disposed of
If a business is found dumping their waste in black bags which is cleared by Lambeth’s waste contractors, the matter will be investigated as fly tipping and if a perpetrator is found then they will be issued a fixed penalty notice for £400 discounted at £250 for early payment under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Lambeth council requests all businesses to understand their responsibilities and should be aware of these legal requirements. All the relevant information is on the government body website gov.uk, Environmental Agency website, and legislations.com website.
