Health, safety and environmental

Contact: Gavin Reese

Health, safety and environmental

HSE consultations on alternatives for substances like Chromium Trioxide and Potassium hydroxyoctaoxodizincate dichromate

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have recently opened public consultation on a number of alternatives for substances like Chromium Trioxide and Potassium hydroxyoctaoxodizincate dichromate. The consultations consider the properties of the alternative substances, their technical and economic feasibility, hazards and risks of alternatives, and also their availability and suitability.

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Building Safety Regulator recruiting Resident Panel members

The Building Safety Act 2022 saw the creation of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) in England, as part of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The Act required the BSR to create a Residents' Panel to advise the regulator and to ensure residents are placed at the heart of its new regulatory regime.

The panel has been running for over a year, and the HSE/BSR are now seeking new members who are current residents of high-rise buildings or private landlords. They are looking to maintain a panel with a broad mix of HRB residents from different locations and housing types, including social housing, private rent, and leasehold owners.

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Call for evidence on the future guidance contained within Approved Document A (Structure).

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a call for evidence on the future guidance contained within Approved Document A (Structure), which covers the loadings on a building, and the construction of the structural elements including the foundations, walls, floors, roofs and chimneys. The consultation is open for 10 weeks from 10 February 2025.

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EA Chief Regulator proposes overhaul of environmental regulations

Dr Jo Nettleton, Chief Regulator of the Environment Agency, has called for reform of the environmental regulation framework to enhance protection and support business growth. A new report reveals that 93% of over 14,000 regulated businesses comply with environmental permits, with some non-compliant operators facing fines totaling £8.7m. The report highlights successes, such as shutting down 63 illegal waste sites, but also points to areas needing performance improvement, particularly in the water sector. Dr Nettleton advocates for updated legislation to provide regulators with better tools, suggesting changes to simplify processes, enabling faster responses, and to improve cost recovery.

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Health, safety and environmental

New EPR packaging legislation comes into force in the UK

On 1 January 2025, the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 came into force. These require brand owners, and other in-scope businesses, to record and report data on household packaging they supply in the UK and pay (potentially significant) EPR disposal fees to cover the costs of recycling it at the end of life. The scope of the regulations is broad and failure to comply can result in new civil sanctions and fines from the Environment Agency. The next reporting deadline is 1 April 2025 and the first EPR invoices will be issued in October 2025.

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Recyclability assessment methodology for EPR guidance

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has published technical guidance for the recyclability assessment methodology for packaging EPR. This will enable producers to assess the recyclability of their packaging - with ratings of 'red', 'amber' or 'green' depending on how easy the packaging is to recycle. From year 2 of the EPR scheme, these ratings will be used to determine 'modulated' EPR fees with lower fees for green-rated packaging, and incrementally higher fees for amber and red-rated packaging. Defra will publish further details about how EPR fees will be modulated later this year.

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