LAWR

SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE Edoc - the new way to transfer waste A new online system for recording waste transfers has got overwhelming backing from the waste and resource management sector. Liz Gyekye finds out why free online system called electronic duty of care (edoc) allowing waste operators to replace conventional paper-based waste transfer notes was launched last month. It had been developed over the past four years by the Environment Agency (EA) in partnership with Government bodies and the UK waste sector. The main benefit of the system is the time, cost and administrative-burden savings it will drive compared with the old system. Waste management businesses can use the new system. Local authorities that provide commercial waste collection services will also be able to create, share, edit, sign and record all waste transfers electronically. And, according to estimates, it could save authorities up to £1m a year by negating the need for costly business waste surveys. The edoc team say that quite a few local authorities have contacted them about the new system. Local authorities anticipate that it will enable them to get records back much more easily. They also say that they often spend a lot of time chasing up customers to get signed tickets back in order to have the proper legal record. They expect the online option will help with this. Denbighshire County Council waste officer Gill Lewis says: "As a local authority, using the edoc system would make life a little less fraught when it comes to producing the yearly WTNs for our trade customers - who will hopefully register with edoc also. We also issue 'point of sale' WTN's on a daily basis for customers that purchase their trade sacks from our One Stop Shops. We find it is an uphill battle to get customers to respond and return their signed WTNs - despite extensive education most view the WTN as a nuisance." Waste transfer regime Exeter County Council cleansing and fleet manager Simon Hill concurs and adds: "We are looking forward to using the electronic waste transfer notes in 2014 – this will save us many hours of office time and enable better record- keeping, for our own waste as well as waste arising from our commercial collections. We currently generate just over 1,000 annual notes for our commercial waste customers and 20 to 30 a month for our own collected waste." The waste transfer regime in the UK is a self-policing system which allows legitimate operators to prove they are doing the right thing with waste. It also provides a system for regulators to carry out audits of waste and ensure compliance with the duty of care. So, edoc allows for a relevant regulatory officer (from e.g. Environment Agency, SEPA or a local authority) to send a notification in edoc to a user to ask to see waste transfer records. This is no different from normal – the only difference is that the edoc allows the notification to be sent electronically through the system if the recipient is a registered user). Regulatory authorities cannot see a firm's waste transfer records on edoc in any other circumstances. Any business or organisation producing or handling business waste in the UK is required by law to keep a record of waste transfers for at least two years. For many this has meant creating and keeping paper records – something which many highlighted as cumbersome, time- consuming and costly thorough the governments' 'Red tape challenge'. Several of the large waste management businesses and representatives from Morgan Sindall, BPI, The British Council, Eco-Oil, Elite Furniture and Premier Print and Promotions are among those looking at how they could benefit from switching to edoc. Speaking about edoc, cleaning and waste management specialist Helistrat chief executive Bernard Amos says: "The edoc system is a brilliant idea and I'd encourage all companies to take it up. More and more we are moving towards paper-free ways of doing business and this makes perfect sense. It's quicker, easier to trace and will help prevent fraud by removing the opportunity for people to take advantage of the revenue from waste." The system has only been up and running for a more than a month and it has already seen lots of activity on its system. An edoc spokeswoman says: "We'll be reporting on take-up at regular intervals so watch this space." 12 Local Authority Waste & Recycling March 2014 A March 2014 Local Authority Waste & Recycling 13 brigade-electronics.com Call 01322 420300 or visit your stockist Driving Global Safety 4 Cameras 1 Image 0 Blind Spots Backeye ® 360 NEW, intelligent, 360° camera monitor systems Actual Backeye® 360 image. Backeye® 360 eliminates problem blind spots; potential dangers for anyone or anything in a vehicle's path. Digital images from four ultra wide-angle cameras are combined to create a 360°, bird's-eye view of the vehicle, delivering a clear, real-time picture on the driver's monitor, preventing accidents, saving money and lives. Backeye 360 LAWR.indd 1 07/02/2014 16:06 We manufacture bespoke Shredders for Shredding... \Clinical Waste \Tyres \Metal \Mobile Shredding \Plastics \Confidential Documents \WEEE \Electronic Media Storage Devices \Textiles \Organic Waste \Fuel Large, coarse, superfine and everything in between at Ulster Shredders. Cogry Works, 65 Creagh Rd, Castledawson Magherafelt. BT45 8EW T. +44 28 7965 0050 F. +44 28 7965 0025 Want to find out more about our range of Industrial Shredders? Email us at info@ulstershredders.com or visit our website. ulstershredders.com

• Cover