Waste Management and Recycling
There are primarily two groups of qualifications in the Waste Management & Recycling sector. Our assessment delivery process for both is the same, though the reasons that employers or learners undertake them can vary. Funding may be available for some candidates or qualifications – see details here.
Under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) 2007 a permitted facility that receives waste or recycling materials to operate compliantly must have competent personnel. Under the CIWM/WAMITAB scheme Operator Competence Certificates are one of the qualifications that a candidate may need to achieve. Aimed at Managers or Supervisors the type of OCC required depends on the type of facility and the types of wastes/recyclate that the facility is permitted to receive. Under the scheme facilities are listed under Risk headings for each type of facility - candidates achieve the relevant qualification by demonstrating their competence in each appropriate unit of the Certificate, typically these would be;
- Low Risk – 4 units
- Medium Risk – 6 units
- High Risk – 12 units
Normally these awards are used for non-permitted waste and recycling sites for Operatives, Supervisors or Managers. There is no legal requirement for these qualifications, as under the EPR above, but they are a very good way for employers to train their personnel and for employees to demonstrate their competence in their job role. These awards are often the first time a candidate has received any form of qualification and can provide genuine employee motivation and long term commitment. They are suited particularly to the following -
- Waste producer employees who need a waste qualification for waste handling.
- Waste contractors who wish to demonstrate operator competence for Health & Safety or other reasons. For instance, Serac UK has developed, for mobile plant operators, an integrated training and assessment package to enable them to receive an accredited ‘plant ticket’ and relevant award.