Tag Archives: Waste

January 2022 Update: EU Sustainability Outlook: Key Developments In EU Sustainability Law and Policy

Our European Public Policy team is pleased to share with you our monthly newsletter, which looks at key developments in EU sustainability law and policy. This month’s edition includes the following:… Continue Reading

July 2021 Update: frESH Law Horizons: Key Developments in UK and EU Environment, Safety and Health Law, Procedure and Policy

Our Environmental, Safety & Health team is pleased to share with you the latest edition of our monthly newsletter, frESH Law Horizons: Key Developments in UK & EU Environment, Safety and Health Law and Procedure; providing bite-size updates on EU and UK law, procedure and policy. The updates covered in this month’s edition include (among … Continue Reading

April 2021 Update: frESH Law Horizons: Key Developments in UK and EU Environment, Safety and Health Law, Procedure and Policy

Our Environmental, Safety & Health team is pleased to share with you the latest edition of our monthly newsletter, frESH Law Horizons: Key Developments in UK & EU Environment, Safety and Health Law and Procedure; providing bite-size updates on EU and UK law, procedure and policy. This month’s edition includes the following: The government has … Continue Reading

Supporters of US Plastic Pollution Reduction Bill Press On Despite Challenging Times

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in increased use of disposable plastics and plastic waste reduction efforts have experienced setbacks as the need for these products grows. Nonetheless, proponents of a federal bill aimed at reducing plastic waste, the “Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act,” (the Act) continue to advocate for its passage.  Recently, Sen. Tom … Continue Reading

How Thoroughly do UK Businesses Need to Investigate What Happens to Their Waste After They Have Transferred It?

A recent prosecution by the Environment Agency, where a company was ordered to pay £327,000, has highlighted potentially difficult issues for businesses in complying with the statutory waste duty of care. What is the Statutory Waste Duty of Care? All businesses generate waste of some description: from paper and kitchen waste in offices, to hazardous … Continue Reading

December 2018 Update: Key Developments in UK and EU Environment, Safety and Health Law, Procedure and Policy

We are pleased to share our latest edition of “frESH Law Horizons: Key Developments in UK & EU Environment, Safety and Health Law, Procedure and Policy”.  In the December edition, we summarise 29 developments in the environmental, safety and health sector. Top stories this month include: Three companies, all operating on the same site found liable … Continue Reading

Left In The Lurch – Another UK Landlord Convicted Following Tenant’s Unlawful Waste Operations

Recent caselaw demonstrates that regulators are prepared to prosecute landlords as a direct result of their tenants’ unlawful waste operations. Landlords should consider this possibility when negotiating with prospective tenants and put in place reasonable safeguards to protect themselves. However, victims of fly-tipping may potentially face a similar risk of prosecution against which such safeguards … Continue Reading

US BUILD Act Clarifies Tenant Standing for Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser Protections from Contaminated Property Liability

When President Trump signed the omnibus spending bill on March 23, 2018, he also enacted the Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development Act of 2018 (BUILD Act) (not to be confused with the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act of 2018—yet another BUILD Act of 2018). Among the several provisions within the BUILD … Continue Reading

October 2018 Update: Key Developments in UK and EU Environment, Safety and Health Law, Procedure and Policy

We are pleased to share with you the latest edition of “frESH Law Horizons: Key Developments in UK & EU Environment, Safety and Health Law, Procedure and Policy”. In our October edition, we summarise more than 35 developments in the environmental, safety and health sector. Some of the top stories this month include: The Health and … Continue Reading

D.C. Circuit Further Clarifies the RCRA Definition of Solid Waste Rule Ruling

On March 6, 2018, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals modified its 2017 ruling in American Petroleum Institute v. EPA, No. 09-1038, concerning US EPA’s Definition of Solid Waste (DSW) Rule under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which defines when hazardous recyclable materials are excluded from regulation as hazardous waste.  The end result … Continue Reading

Enforcement of UK Waste Exemptions – No Longer the Light Touch?

Registered waste exemptions are not to be treated lightly and compliance with their conditions is not flexible, as the Environment Agency has reinforced in a recent case.  A lengthy investigation culminating in a nearly £20,000 fine has been handed down by Chelmsford Magistrates Court in relation to illegal deposits of waste on farmland in Essex. … Continue Reading

What does Brexit mean for the Circular Economy?

One area of EU law which is developing rapidly relates to improving the circular economy. There are a number of legislative proposals in the pipeline, but with the prospect of the UK leaving the EU in the next few years, what are the implications for these circular economy initiatives, and could there be opportunities for … Continue Reading

Successor Local Authorities May Be Liable Under the UK Contaminated Land Regime

The recent decision of the High Court in Price and Hardwicke v Powys County Council determined that a local authority may acquire potential liability under the contaminated land regime (“CLR”) from its statutory predecessor, notwithstanding that the CLR did not enter into force until over 5 years after the transfer of liabilities took place.… Continue Reading

Piercing the Corporate Veil Following Breaches of UK Environmental Permits

The recent Court of Appeal decision in R v Powell and Westwood contains an interesting insight into the extent to which company directors may find themselves personally liable for the cost of remediating contamination which has been caused or knowingly permitted by the companies that they control. It has confirmed that the corporate veil should … Continue Reading

UK Sentencing Council Definitive Guidelines for Environmental Offences – The Shape of Things to Come?

The recent decision in R v Southern Water Services Limited (2014) has seen the Court of Appeal take a very firm stance against a utilities provider, upholding a fine of £200,000 following a conviction under regulation 38 of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 (the ‘2010 Regulations’) for discharging untreated sewage into the … Continue Reading
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