The Environmental Protection Act’s basic purpose is to protect and improve the environment in which we all live. It provides regulations and targets for a vast range of activities, from the way industry deals with its waste to the types of materials that should be adopted in building homes.

The Act contains special provisions for manufacturers using PVC-u in their products. Here, the act requires that they should reuse or recycle their plastic waste wherever possible. Plus it demands that they keep records of how and where they dispose of every waste consignment leaving their factory gates.

Government officers can ask to view these records at any time and there are potential penalties for companies that have not complied with the standards.

EPA legislation also covers methods of disposal for a vast range of materials. These are extremely strict where waste is classed as hazardous and even for relatively inert substances such as PVC-u, there are clear legal requirements to use safe, responsible, authorised disposal methods.

The Act is constantly being amended and updated, with legislation becoming ever stricter. Landfill facilities, whilst still relatively plentiful in the UK, will inevitably become scarcer and governments are taking steps now to discourage this disposal channel, principally through increased taxation.

This means that the argument for recycling, which is already financially compelling, will become even more attractive in the years to come.