UK waste law is governed by a large number of regulations but the primary piece of environmental legislation in the UK is the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This came to replace the Control of Pollution Act 1974. Prior to 1974 the Deposit of Poisonous Waste Act 1972 introduced the concept of a notification system to control the movement of waste.
The new Act is wider reaching than both its predecessors. Of major importance to waste producers, carriers and disposal sites are sections 34 and 62. Section 34 is primarily about site licensing and states that any site that accepts waste must be licensed to do so. Section 62 deals with the consignment note system in broad terms, hence the use of the term section 62 to describe a set of special waste consignment notes.
