Did you know?

•  Retail and wholesale is the third largest contributor of London’s economy with around 37,000 shops.
• £4.5 Billion is spent in the West End alone, making it the UK’s largest retail centre
• The industry accounts for 17% of all waste in London
• In the UK 13 billion plastic bags are used every year.

 A lot can be done to encourage different practices for handling and reusing waste.  Trial charging will soon commence for shops using plastic bags, but businesses can do more and at the same time save money. 

 Want to know how?  Please contact Business Link London on 0845 6000 787

Environmental law and you:

The law on environmental issues is continually changing so it is important for you to know what could affect your business.  Listed below are some examples that could be relevant:

•  Packaging Regulations – Applies to companies handling over 50 tonnes of packaging and turnover £2million per year.
• Hazardous Waste Regulations (HWR) – Associated with the expanding list of hazardous wastes.
• Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations (WEEE) - Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipments Regulations affect all forms of electrical equipment, from mobile phones to battery power tools. These will be classified as hazardous waste and need to be deconstructed before disposal.
• Duty of Care – Requires you to store, keep records and transfer waste to an authorised person.
• Landfill Tax – Currently the tax is set at £15 per tonne of waste, and could possibly soar to £26.
• Domestic Sewage – Some retailers have similar water use to households, and wastewater of a ‘domestic’ nature.
• Trade Effluent and Discharge Consents – Large retailers may discharge water which isn’t of a domestic nature.
• Pollution Prevention – Domestic sewage must be discharged to a foul sewer as apposed to surface water drains.
• Climate Change Levy (CCL) – A levy introduced to limit the quantity of energy used by businesses such as gas and electricity.

Get the full picture - contact Business Link London on 0845 6000 787

For more advice on legislation, please visit the NetRegs site here.

Please note that this is only an overview of legislation should not be taken as legislative advice