Waste Management - Law and Practice Update 2026
Now in its 16th year, the course covers the approaches needed to ensure legal compliance with waste-related laws and the implications for the day-today management of wastes, covering variations between England/Wales/Scotland. Attendance will help to demonstrate ‘reasonable actions’ to comply with waste legislation and this can help to manage risks associated with a range of waste legislation, including environmental permitting and related exemptions, duty of care and hazardous wastes management.
Course Format
Virtual Course – These courses are run using the Zoom platform as a fully interactive course, just as our live courses are. We have had great feedback from delegates on these courses.
Waste management legislation across the UK continues to evolve rapidly. Failure to comply or to manage wastes effectively can lead to significant environmental harm and regulatory penalties. This has been recognised through the establishment of a dedicated Waste Crime Unit within the Environment Agency, tasked with tackling illegal waste activity and improving enforcement consistency.
It is therefore essential to maintain a strong understanding of the key legal requirements and their practical implications for everyday waste management operations.
By 2026, several major policy reforms will shape how organisations handle waste. These include the full implementation of Simpler Recycling for businesses and local authorities, the expansion of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, and the work of the newly appointed Circular Economy Taskforce, which is developing a national circular economy strategy.
Additionally, the government is introducing a Digital Waste Tracking System, planned to replace traditional paper-based waste transfer notes and hazardous waste consignment documentation. This new digital framework will enable real-time tracking of waste movements from origin to disposal, improving transparency, compliance, and data accuracy across the entire waste chain.
At the same time, regulators continue to focus on the accurate classification and description of wastes, particularly materials arising from screening activities (such as trommel fines). This has led to increased audits and inspections of permitted waste sites by the Environment Agency.
This course will examine these upcoming legislative and regulatory changes in detail, explain how they integrate with existing controls, and provide practical insight into their potential operational and compliance impacts for waste producers, carriers, and managers.
What you'll learn:
On completion of the course, attendees will:
Testimonials
A very useful update on waste law, well delivered by an expert in the field, I would recommend to anyone.
- James Cropper
Content was just right, and the trainer made the subject interesting by being knowledgeable and engaging all delegates. I booked onto this course for refresher and CPD time, but I learned a lot and am pleased I was able to attend.
- Emcor
Good group size & level of content. Was nice to be able to ask as many questions as needed. The trainer was very knowledgeable.
- Keyloop
My first time on this course as this is a new role at my company. The trainer's delivery of the course was excellent, I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who deals with waste management.
- Sedamyl
Really enjoyed the course. Content was really useful, and the trainer was knowledgeable and happy to answer questions.
- Bosch
The trainer made a subject that could have been hard to understand enjoyable and easy to follow – not an easy task.
- Registers of Scotland
Speaker was excellent and tailored the course to meet all our different experiences/needs. Very enjoyable and informative.
- The Sanctuary
An excellent presentation, answered all our questions fully with great examples. I have taken away lots of notes on things to follow up.
- William Hare
It’s the first time I have attended a remote training session with EBIS. I was impressed with the networking capabilities and being able to join groups within the session.
- Federal Mogul
Pitched just at the right level and worked well as a virtual course. Speaker was very knowledgeable.
- Bumi Armada
Excellent course. Perfectly pitched, which I’m sure everybody took something away from.
- Kingspan
Thanks for the day. The course was great.
- Vodafone
Speaker was very knowledgeable on the subject matter and made the course interesting and enjoyable, which can be hard to do when you are doing it remotely.
- Mondelez UK
The course was very informative and exactly what I was looking for in terms of information. It was clear, concise, and friendly.
- Willerby Landscapes
A very useful update on waste law, well delivered by an expert in the field, I would recommend to anyone.
- James Cropper
Content was just right, and the trainer made the subject interesting by being knowledgeable and engaging all delegates. I booked onto this course for refresher and CPD time, but I learned a lot and am pleased I was able to attend.
- Emcor
Good group size & level of content. Was nice to be able to ask as many questions as needed. The trainer was very knowledgeable.
- Keyloop
My first time on this course as this is a new role at my company. The trainer's delivery of the course was excellent, I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who deals with waste management.
- Sedamyl
Really enjoyed the course. Content was really useful, and the trainer was knowledgeable and happy to answer questions.
- Bosch
The trainer made a subject that could have been hard to understand enjoyable and easy to follow – not an easy task.
- Registers of Scotland
Speaker was excellent and tailored the course to meet all our different experiences/needs. Very enjoyable and informative.
- The Sanctuary
An excellent presentation, answered all our questions fully with great examples. I have taken away lots of notes on things to follow up.
- William Hare
It’s the first time I have attended a remote training session with EBIS. I was impressed with the networking capabilities and being able to join groups within the session.
- Federal Mogul
Pitched just at the right level and worked well as a virtual course. Speaker was very knowledgeable.
- Bumi Armada
Excellent course. Perfectly pitched, which I’m sure everybody took something away from.
- Kingspan
Thanks for the day. The course was great.
- Vodafone
Speaker was very knowledgeable on the subject matter and made the course interesting and enjoyable, which can be hard to do when you are doing it remotely.
- Mondelez UK
The course was very informative and exactly what I was looking for in terms of information. It was clear, concise, and friendly.
- Willerby Landscapes
Course Programme:
Programme
09:15-9.30 | Course registration
09:30 | Start and introductions
• Delegate and course introductions:
09:40 | Waste legislation update, circular economy and Environment Act implications
• Overview of current waste policy direction, circular economy principles, resource efficiency, waste reduction targets and the wider move away from a “throwaway culture”.
• Consideration of Environment Act implications for waste management, including:
- Product design requirements
- Residual waste reduction
- Future legislative change
10:30 – 10:45 | Mid-morning break
10:45 | Simpler Recycling, waste targets, food waste and tax updates
• Update on separate collection requirements, including:
- Workplace recycling
- Food waste collections
- Business recycling duties
- Enforcement activity
• Review of related fiscal and policy drivers, including:
- Landfill tax changes
- Plastic packaging tax
- Emerging product-specific waste issues such as textiles, vapes and WEEE
Extended Producer Responsibility and Deposit Return Scheme
• Explanation of EPR principles, including:
- Affected organisations
- Packaging activities
- Reporting duties
- Labelling requirements
- The role of PackUK
• Discussion of:
- Modulated fees
- Packaging design incentives
- Payments for waste management costs
- Likely business impacts
• Overview of DRS proposals, including:
- Return point requirements
- Exemptions
- Implementation issues
- Potential impact on recyclate quality
12:15 – 13:15 | Lunch
13:15 | Duty of Care and Digital Waste Tracking
• Refresher on the legal Duty of Care under section 34 EPA, including:
- Authorised persons
- Permitted sites
- Prevention of escape
- Written descriptions
- Transfer documentation
• Review of current transfer note and consignment note requirements, including:
- List of Wastes codes
- SIC codes
- Electronic records
- Retention periods
• Detailed update on Digital Waste Tracking, including:
- UK-wide scope
- Affected waste streams
- Information requirements
- Real-time tracking ambitions
- Registration duties
- Charging
- Phased rollout
| Waste carrier, broker and dealer registration changes
• Review of the current upper and lower tier registration system and why reform has been proposed.
• Explanation of proposed waste transporter and waste controller permits, including:
- Registered exemptions
- Competence expectations
- Permit conditions
- Fees
- Links with Digital Waste Tracking
14:45 – 15:00 | Afternoon break
15:00 | Waste classification, EWC codes and mirror entries
• Review of why accurate waste classification matters, including links to:
- Duty of Care
- Permitting
- Mixing bans
- Consignment notes
- Landfill acceptance
- Cost implications
• Step-by-step approach to using the European Waste Catalogue, including:
- Chapter selection
- Process-based codes
- Material-specific codes
- Chapter 16
- Appropriate use of “99” codes
• Explanation of:
- Absolute hazardous entries
- Mirror hazardous entries
- Absolute non-hazardous entries
- Mirror non-hazardous entries
| Hazardous waste separation, POPs, PFAS, exemptions, environmental permitting and technical competence
• Update on hazardous waste segregation and mixing duties, including:
- The need for reliable segregation procedures
• Overview of current issues relating to POPs, PFAS and priority waste streams, including:
- Plastics
- Upholstery
- Lithium batteries
- Other difficult wastes
• Review of environmental permitting options, including:
- Exemptions
- Low risk waste positions
- Regulatory position statements
- Standard rules permits
- Bespoke permits
- Technically competent management requirements
15:30 | Wrap Up and Close
• Key learning points, delegate takeaways and any remaining questions.
