The Environmental Agency is the competent authority for enforcing the Waste sections (Part 5A) of the Public Health Act.

These sections transpose Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on Waste (repealing Directives 2006/12/EC on Waste, Directive 91/689/EEC on Hazardous Waste, part of Directive 75/439/EEC on Waste Oil); Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators (repealing Directive 91/157/EEC); the PCBs Directive 96/59/EC; the Incineration of Hazardous Waste Directive 94/67/EC, the Waste Oils Directive 75/439/EEC and Regulation (EC) 1013/2006 on transfrontier shipments of Waste.

Our responsibilities include:

• Issuing of Waste Licences and their enforcement or any conditions attached to them

• Inspection of waste operators , waste producers and waste disposal facilities

• Registration of waste collectors and brokers

• Investigation of waste complaints and subsequent follow-ups

• Administration of transfrontier shipment of waste procedures, documentation and consents.

• Formulation of a Waste Management Plan.

• Maintain public register s of waste licences and registrations issued.

• Conducting waste surveys

Waste Licensing

Any person wishing to carry out certain waste "prescribed activities" as described in Section 192D of the Public Health Act must first apply for a licence following the procedure outlined below:

The prescribed activities are:

1) Disposal of waste

2) Recovery of waste

3) Abandonment, dumping or otherwise depositing on land in so far as such activity is not disposal

4)Collection of waste oil

5) Disposal of waste oil

6) Regeneration or use of waste oil as a fuel

7) Storage of waste oil

8) Disposal of the residues of regeneration or from combustion of waste oil

9) Collection of hazardous waste

10) Transportation of hazardous waste

11) Incineration of waste

1. The prospective applicant must place a notice using Form 3 in the Gibraltar Gazette and one local newspaper.

1. Not less than fourteen days after the notice first appeared in the Gazette and the press the applicant then submits the application to the Environmental Agency.

1. The applicant should make the application (Form 1)   not less than two months before the licence is required

1. A temporary licence without prior notification may be granted to allow the applicant to deal with a waste emergency. (Form 5)

Waste Registration

Persons collecting waste on a professional basis, or arranging as dealers, or brokers for the disposal or recovery of waste on behalf of another person, require to be registered (Form 7) . Their names will then be entered into the public register. This register and the register of waste licences are available for inspection by any member of the public at the offices of the Environmental Agency during normal working hours.

Transfrontier Shipment s of Waste (TFS)

Regulation (EC) 1013 / 2006 establishes two procedures for the authorization (or otherwise) of shipments of waste between member states of the European Union and certain other signatories of the OECD Decision and Basel Convention.

Application is made in the first instance to this Agency being the competent authority of dispatch. The required documentation is assessed and then sent to the competent authority of destination (EU country for waste going for recovery or nearest approved facility for waste destined for final disposal ). Copies of the documentation are also sent to any competent authority/ies of transit (if applicable). What procedure is applicable will depend on the nature of the waste and the treatment that it will receive.

The two procedures controlling the import to or export from Gibraltar of waste material are:

The first procedure - Full written Notification and Prior Authorization

The second procedure - Applies to wastes included in the Green List and sent for recovery (only applies to quantities over 20kg)