{"id":1028,"date":"2026-05-18T08:45:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T08:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/?p=1028"},"modified":"2026-05-19T15:53:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:53:39","slug":"defra-strengthens-waste-carrier-laws-after-cow-approved-for-licence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/18\/defra-strengthens-waste-carrier-laws-after-cow-approved-for-licence\/","title":{"rendered":"Defra strengthens waste carrier laws after cow approved for licence"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u00a0<\/div>\n
\"Waste
Beau Vine was approved for a waste carrier licence in seconds. Credit: CLA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

New laws introduce identity and criminal records when applying for a waste carrier licence.<\/h4>\n

The legislation, which is being laid in Parliament this week, was announced last year<\/a> but comes after a recent high-profile stunt where a cow called Beau Vine was\u00a0approved for a waste carrier license<\/a> in seconds.<\/p>\n

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) called the current system \u2018broken and\u00a0outdated\u2019 and said it is being exploited by waste criminals.<\/p>\n

The new permit-based system will come into force in 2027 and require waste handlers to\u00a0undergo\u00a0identity and criminal\u00a0record\u00a0checks before receiving\u00a0a permit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Operators will also be required to demonstrate they are technically competent and display their permit number in advertising, including on vehicles.<\/p>\n

Anyone caught mishandling waste will also now face up\u00a0to five years in prison.<\/p>\n

Waste Minister Mary Creagh commented:\u00a0\u201cWaste cowboys have abused the system for too long, blighting our countryside and cities alike.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough our Waste Crime Action Plan, we\u2019re introducing rigorous background checks for waste traders, shutting down corrupt operators and kicking them out of the industry for good.\u201d<\/p>\n

The existing system came under scrutiny earlier this year when Ann Maidment, the director of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) South West, applied for a waste carrier licence for her cow<\/a>, Beau Vine.<\/p>\n

Reacting to the new laws, Maidment said,\u00a0\u201cIt should not have taken a cow getting approved to expose the problem, but it did help make the case for change. The priority now is making sure these reforms punish the criminals, not the compliant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut good law depends on good implementation. The new permit system must be tough on rogue operators without placing needless cost, delay or bureaucracy on farmers and small rural businesses already doing the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maidment previously commented that while Beau Vine excels at \u2018eating grass, lounging in the sun and a leisurely moo\u2019, waste management is beyond his remit.<\/p>\n

As part of the government\u2019s reforms<\/a>, the terminology is set to change from waste carriers, brokers and dealers (CBD) to \u2018waste controllers\u2019 and \u2018waste transporters\u2019.<\/p>\n

There will be three permit types: waste controller only, waste transporter only, and a combined waste controller-transporter permit.<\/p>\n

Defra is also introducing mandatory technical competence for permit holders and any nominated persons within a business.<\/p>\n

The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management\u2019s (CIWM) Dan Cooke welcomed the \u2018significant steps\u2019 as part of the government\u2019s wider Waste Crime Action Plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to see these strong and practical measures being implemented to target cowboys and crooks operating at the fringes of our sector,\u201d Cooke said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCIWM and the UK\u2019s professional resources and waste sector have been calling for this loophole to be closed for some time, so kudos to the government and regulators for committing to this positive change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The post Defra strengthens waste carrier laws after cow approved for licence<\/a> appeared first on Circular Online<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Beau Vine was approved for a waste carrier licence in seconds. Credit: CLA. New […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1028"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1029,"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028\/revisions\/1029"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}