For decades we've focused regulatory attention on the companies operating waste facilities, driving vehicles, managing hazardous waste sites and carrying environmental permits. Meanwhile, anybody with a telephone, a laptop and a basic understanding of waste terminology could register as a broker and begin selling waste services with little or no technical competence requirement. Defra reforms may be about to change that.
The End of the Amateur Waste Broker?Since the beginning of time, one of the great anomalies of the waste industry has been that the people making the most important compliance decisions often needed the fewest qualifications. A waste transfer station manager requires permits, inspections, technically competent managers, environmental management systems and regulatory oversight. A hazardous waste treatment facility requires even more; yet a waste broker could arrange the movement of hazardous waste, clinical waste, POPs, chemicals, batteries and even international waste shipments with virtually no formal demonstration of technical competence whatsoever.
Finally, that may be about to change. At first glance, Defra's review of the Waste Carrier, Broker and Dealer system appears to be little more than a renaming exercise; Carriers become 'Transporters', Brokers and Dealers largely become 'Controllers' - but importantly the system moves into/towards the Environmental Permitting Regulations.
Whilst it sounds simple enough, it isn't. Buried within the consultation documents are clues that suggest something far more significant is happening. The original consultation proposed that applicants for 'Controller' permits should demonstrate "appropriate technical competence" and specifically described a 'Controller' as somebody capable of assessing waste and determining suitable destinations.
Subsequent commentary has reinforced this direction by confirming that 'Controllers' and 'Transporters' will eventually operate under Environmental Permitting Regulations with regulators requiring evidence of competence at application and renewal. More importantly, Defra has stated that the competence model is being developed using existing permit competence frameworks as a template and that should make everybody in the industry sit up and take notice.
The Shift Nobody Is Talking About
Historically, the waste industry has been built around operational competence. Can you safely operate a transfer station? Can you manage a treatment facility? Can you transport waste legally? The new proposals appear to recognise a different risk.
Increasingly, the most critical environmental decisions occur long before a waste vehicle arrives when someone decides how the waste is classified, whether it's hazardous, which EWC code applies, which treatment route should be used, whether a carrier is suitable, whether the receiving site is permitted to accept it and whether exports are lawful. In many cases that 'someone' is not the treatment operator, it's the broker, or rather, under the new terminology, the 'Controller'.
The person making compliance decisions is becoming more important than the person physically moving the waste. That is a fundamental change in regulatory thinking.
Why Brokers Should Be Paying Attention
Some brokers provide significant technical value through national account management, reporting and compliance support. Others operate largely as intermediaries, relying heavily on advice supplied by the contractors undertaking the work.
Some brokers may argue that they do not determine treatment routes and therefore should not be held to the same competency standards as permitted operators. However, the act of selecting a contractor is itself a compliance decision. If a controller appoints an unsuitable carrier, directs waste to an inappropriate facility or fails to undertake adequate due diligence, environmental harm can still occur. The regulator may increasingly view these decisions as requiring technical competence regardless of who physically handles the waste.
Many brokers simply obtain prices from waste management companies, add a margin and pass information between customer and contractor. The technical advice they provide is frequently little more than a reworded version of advice supplied by the waste company actually doing the work and the current system allows both models to operate under exactly the same regulatory framework.
Defra appears increasingly uncomfortable with that position because if a 'Controller' is responsible for ensuring proper classification, suitable treatment routes and lawful management arrangements, then competence becomes difficult to avoid.
Could Controllers Need WAMITAB Qualifications?
Not immediately, but eventually - possibly, and perhaps even probably. The consultation documents stop short of requiring Certificates of Technical Competence however, they repeatedly return to one theme: competence; which raises the obvious question - how can somebody demonstrate competence in waste assessment without understanding WM3 Hazardous Waste Assessment, The List of Waste, Mirror entries, Hazardous properties, Duty of Care requirements, Digital Waste Tracking, ADR interactions, Permit conditions, and and even International shipment controls.
For many experienced waste professionals, these subjects form part of everyday life.
For many brokers, they do not.
What Might the Future Look Like?
The most likely starting point - a mandatory qualification covering waste classification, Duty of Care, hazardous waste awareness, waste tracking and permit awareness - perhaps a one-day course with an assessment. This would be relatively inexpensive and consistent with Defra's indication that costs should remain proportionate.
A more structured approach in my opinion would be 'Controllers' nominate a technically competent individual who must hold an accredited qualification and undertake periodic refresher training. This model would mirror many existing environmental permitting arrangements.
Controllers may eventually require formally qualified personnel, continuing professional development and demonstrable technical oversight. In effect, a Controller would begin to resemble a permitted operator. The irony is that some of the highest-risk organisations under the proposed framework may be those that have historically operated with the least technical expertise.
A Controller is expected to make decisions about classification, treatment and destination.
If those decisions are wrong, environmental harm can follow and Defra's reforms appear designed to close that gap and so they should. For too long the industry has operated on the assumption that responsibility sits with the company physically handling the waste.
By 2030, I expect the UK to have a dedicated Waste Controller Competence qualification. It will probably sit somewhere between a basic Duty of Care course and a full WAMITAB Certificate of Technical Competence - likely delivered through organisations such as CIWM, WAMITAB or equivalent accredited bodies.
And when Digital Waste Tracking, pEPR and the new permitting regime are fully operational, waste classification knowledge may become one of the most valuable skills in the industry. For forty years the waste sector has largely valued the person driving the wagon.
The next decade may belong to the person who understands what is in it. Government information - link - more like this (absence of guilt) - link - more like this (brokers) - link
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