To manage your waste it is necessary to get the required licenses to process, collect, store and transport waste. Non-observance of the regulations may result in imprisonment, limitation of liberty or a fine, at best.
“Waste” is defined in the Act of 14 December 2012 as any substance or object being disposed of or intended to be disposed of by the owner, or any substance or object the owner is obliged to dispose of. Waste can be managed only by companies holding the necessary licenses, registered in the database of products, packagings and waste management or those which can present other required decisions or concessions. Anyone who does not observe the regulations knowingly exposes oneself to the risk of fines for non-compliance with the regulations. How much could the fine be?
No license for waste production
According to the regulations anyone who operates a plant without the required license or violates the conditions of such a license is subject to imprisonment, limitation of liberty or a fine. Therefore, it is so important to meet all legal requirements including necessary licenses before launching the business.
No license or authorization for waste storage
If the company holds no license covering waste storage, where a relevant decision is required, the consequences may be undesired. A company which does not observe the regulations will be obliged to pay a waste storage fee increased by 0.05 of the unit fee value payable for disposing the waste at the disposal yard per each day of storage. Even higher rates, amounting to 0.07 of the unit fee value payable for each tonne of waste per each day of storage, are applicable to those entities which store the waste at locations not designated for such a purpose.
No license for waste collection, processing and transport
Another license which is indispensable is the license to collect, process and transport waste which can be, alternatively, substituted with a relevant entry in the Waste Database. If a company makes a decision to manage their waste before receiving the licenses mentioned above it may face an administration fine ranging from PLN 1,000 to even PLN 1,000,000. Unlicensed transport itself translates into a fine of PLN 2,000 to PLN 10,000.
No waste register or a collective waste data specification
Companies which handle waste are obliged to keep records of waste and a collective waste data specification. If any of the above documents is missing, deadlines are not adhered to or the actual status is not truly reflected in the records a fine will be imposed.
In view of high amounts of the above fines no waste management-related business should be started before all necessary licenses are in place. The above mentioned documents are also applicable to catalytic converter collection points. We at DS Auto are fully aware of how important it is to observe the law and therefore we always pay attention to the completeness of the documentation we keep.