31 December 2022 • 3 minute read
Environment, Health, Safety and Product Compliance: December round-up
- A large company has been sentenced to a fine just shy of £1 million after being convicted (after plea) of an offence under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This represents the highest ever fine for an offence under the Order and at a level now commonplace for large organisations in respect of health and safety offences.
- DEFRA has issued a statutory instrument (SI) to give effect to how and when producers must collect and report data under extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging waste. No date has yet been given for the formal start of EPR (principally relating to registration and fee payment in relation to packaing waste) but the draft Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (England) Regulations 2022 require producers to collect and report data in 2023. The draft legislation would be effective from February 2023. A document published with the legislation refers to EPR starting in 2024.
- Plans for discarding EU-derived laws by virtue of the retained EU law bill have been called “not fit for purpose” by the government’s own independent assessor which further decreases the likelihood that this law will be sunsetted by the end of 2023.
- A company has been fined close to £1 million following an explosion incident involving failures by the organisation to use effective extraction systems.
- The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has recently served a range of enforcement notices following issues relating to failures involving vehicles and plant at a large infrastructure site and one relating to the non-compliant transport of dangerous goods by a transport company.
- The UK government has delayed the proposed ban on junk food adverts before 9pm on TV and online until 1 October 2025.
- A coroner has called for more effective allergen labelling on food products indicating that “free from” and “vegan” labels can be misleading to consumers.
- The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has stated its intention to extend the recognition of CE marked construction products in GB until 30 June 2025.
- Proposed new EU packaging rules are set to reform single-use and reusability especially in a foodservice and hospitality context, with a degree of likelihood that parts of the UK will introduce similar legislation. Meanwhile, the Scotland Deposit Return Scheme has been delayed from the August 2023 schedule.