MoreThanWaste.com - PRNs - regulatory changes following going electronic (14/02/2007)

"The changes announced by Defra are subject to Parliamentary approval"

As reported by MoreThanWaste previously, the National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD) for data provision and for the issue of electronic evidence of compliance has been developed by the Industry, led by the Advisory Committee on Packaging, working with Defra and the Environment Agencies.

The system started operation on 1 February, allowing obligated businesses to provide their packaging data to the Environment Agency online. The system is available at the NPWD website.

This online NPWD system is intended to increase the ease of reporting for industry and reduce errors from manual data entry from hard copy forms. In order to support the maintenance and development of the NPWD, Defra has indicated that there will be a corresponding increase in fees. The Department does not consider that the costs are significant, amounting to approximately £34,500 per year overall.

However to ensure that this is legally possible, the Regulations have been amended to allow for both paper and electronic evidence.

Other technical changes

Despite a previous de-regulatory measure to reduce the number of producers that must submit an operational plan (OP), over 200 plans were received by the Department in 2006.

The statutory criterion for submission of OPs by large individually registered producers has therefore been changed to “ having an obligation of at least 500t". It is estimated that this will reduce the number to around 100 with an estimated saving to businesses of approximately £100,000 in admin costs in 2007.

There are also changes that affect exporters:

The Regulations will be amended to provide the Agencies with a power to refuse accreditation to businesses that have committed, for example, Trans Frontier Shipment of Waste Regulations (TFS) offences and the conditions of accreditation will include a specific reference to compliance with TFS requirements.

In addition, where there is export of material for reprocessing overseas, the end destination reprocessor will have to be identified not just an interim recipient. This is necessary for the exporter to be able to comply with Article 6(2) of the packaging waste Directive.

The changes announced by Defra are subject to Parliamentary approval.

New fee rates published by Defra can be seen by clicking here.


	PRNs - regulatory changes following going electronic (14/02/2007) "The changes announced by Defra are subject to Parliamentary approval" As reported by MoreThanWaste previously, the National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD) for data provision and for the issue of electronic evidence of compliance has been developed by the Industry, led by the Advisory Committee on Packaging, working with Defra and the Environment Agencies. The system started operation on 1 February, allowing obligated businesses to provide their packaging data to the Environment Agency online. The system is available at the NPWD website. This online NPWD system is intended to increase the ease of reporting for industry and reduce errors from manual data entry from hard copy forms. In order to support the maintenance and development of the NPWD, Defra has indicated that there will be a corresponding increase in fees. The Department does not consider that the costs are significant, amounting to approximately £34,500 per year overall. However to ensure that this is legally possible, the Regulations have been amended to allow for both paper and electronic evidence. Other technical changes Despite a previous de-regulatory measure to reduce the number of producers that must submit an operational plan (OP), over 200 plans were received by the Department in 2006. The statutory criterion for submission of OPs by large individually registered producers has therefore been changed to “ having an obligation of at least 500t". It is estimated that this will reduce the number to around 100 with an estimated saving to businesses of approximately £100,000 in admin costs in 2007. There are also changes that affect exporters: The Regulations will be amended to provide the Agencies with a power to refuse accreditation to businesses that have committed, for example, Trans Frontier Shipment of Waste Regulations (TFS) offences and the conditions of accreditation will include a specific reference to compliance with TFS requirements. In addition, where there is export of material for reprocessing overseas, the end destination reprocessor will have to be identified not just an interim recipient. This is necessary for the exporter to be able to comply with Article 6(2) of the packaging waste Directive. The changes announced by Defra are subject to Parliamentary approval. New fee rates published by Defra can be seen by clicking here.