Payments for delivering pre-separated waste EPA 1990 s.52A
English waste disposal authority must compensate collection authority for separation requirement costs; may pay for pre-separated waste; disputes arbitrated.
52A A waste disposal authority in England which is not also a waste collection authority shall pay to a waste collection authority within its area such amounts as are needed to ensure that the collection authority is not financially worse off as a result of having to comply with any separation requirements. A waste disposal authority in England which is not also a waste collection authority may pay to a waste collection authority within its area— which performs its duty under section 48(1) above by delivering waste in a state of separation, but which is not subject to any separation requirements as respects the delivery of that waste, contributions of such amounts as the disposal authority may determine towards expenditure of the collection authority that is attributable to its delivering the waste in that state. The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision about how amounts to be paid under subsection (1) above are to be determined. Regulations under subsection (3) above may include provision for amounts to be less than they would otherwise be (or to be nil) if conditions specified in the regulations are not satisfied. Any question arising under subsection (1) above shall, in default of agreement between the paying and receiving authorities, be determined by arbitration. A waste collection authority in England which is not also a waste disposal authority shall supply the waste disposal authority for its area with such information as the disposal authority may reasonably require— for the purpose of determining amounts under this section, or for the purpose of estimating any amounts that would fall to be determined under this section were the collection authority to be subject to particular separation requirements. In this section “ separation requirements ”, in relation to a waste collection authority, means requirements about separation included in directions given to it under section 51(4)(a) above.
Text in force at .
Source: legislation.gov.uk — The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), reproduced under licence Open Government Licence v3.0.
What it actually says
This section applies only to waste disposal authorities in England that are not also waste collection authorities. It requires them to pay their local waste collection authority enough money to make sure that the collection authority does not lose money because it had to follow separation requirements – that is, directions under section 51(4)(a) about separating waste before delivery.
The disposal authority may also choose to make voluntary payments to a collection authority that separates waste without being required to, to help cover the extra costs. The Secretary of State can make regulations setting out how the mandatory payments under subsection (1) must be calculated, and those regulations can reduce or cancel payments if certain conditions are not met.
If the two authorities cannot agree on the amount due under subsection (1), either side can take the dispute to arbitration. The collection authority must give the disposal authority any information reasonably needed to work out the payment or to estimate what the payment would be if separation requirements were in place.
When it applies
- A waste collection authority receives a direction from the Secretary of State requiring it to separate paper, glass and plastic before delivering waste to the disposal authority, and it claims compensation for the extra sorting costs.
- A waste collection authority voluntarily starts separating food waste to reduce landfill costs, and the disposal authority agrees to pay a contribution towards the cost of separate collection.
- A disposal authority demands information from the collection authority about the tonnages of separated waste, but the collection authority refuses to provide it, leading to a dispute.
- Two authorities cannot agree on how much compensation is due for a new separation requirement, and they go to arbitration.
- The Secretary of State issues regulations specifying a formula based on weight and type of separated waste, and the disposal authority uses that formula to calculate payment.
What this section does not say
- This section does not cover payments for recycling waste under section 52.
- This section does not apply to Scotland (see section 45C).
- This section does not cover disputes about the content of separation directions (which are governed by section 51).
- This section does not give a right to payment for a waste collection authority that is also a waste disposal authority.
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This page reproduces the text of EPA 1990 s. 52A in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in England and Wales.