The UK Waste Management Industry
The system for demonstrating technical competence has been developed by WAMITAB and the waste management industry and is unique to the UK. Elements of the system, particularly the occupational standards that are in effect best practice, can be applied to countries outside the UK (see International).
Technical Competence
Before the Environmental Protection Act 1990, there was no requirement under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 for an operator on a licensed site to demonstrate technical competence.
The introduction of the Environment Protection Act 1990 contained requirements for a person to be fit and proper to hold a waste management licence. Part of the requirements for "Fit and Proper Person" in law means that the activities must be in the hands of a technically competent person, this was further defined in regulations which came into force in 1994.
In 1994 the UK Government introduced requirements for the persons in charge of licensed waste management facilities to be technically competent. For new facilities where applications were made after May 1st 1994 the requirements applied straight away. For those facilities that already had licenses or the equivalent local authority resolutions under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 a series of exemptions and transitional arrangements were made in the 1994 Waste Management Licensing Regulations and subsequent amendments.
The legislation prescribed the method of demonstrating technical competence. For operators of licensed landfill sites (except very small non-biodegradable waste sites), waste treatment plants, civic amenity sites and waste transfer stations certification through the Waste Management Industry Training and Advisory Board (WAMITAB) is required. This is an NVQ based system, which leads to the award of a Certificate of Technical Competence (COTC) relevant to that type of facility. For operators of all other types of licensed waste management facilities the Agency makes an assessment through the licensing process. The legislation also requires that the day to day control of the activities permitted by the Waste Management Licence be in the hands of a technically competent person, qualified as above.
Types of Awards
There are twenty-two COTCs within the terms of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 (as amended). The correlation between activities and types of COTC are illustrated in the following two tables.
Table 1 - from Waste Management Licensing (Amendment) Regulations 2003
| Number | Type of Facility | Certificate Code |
| 1 | Landfill site for hazardous waste | G |
| 2 | Landfill site for hazardous waste - single waste stream | G or H |
| 3 | Landfill site for non-hazardous waste | G or I |
| 4 | Landfill site for non-hazardous waste - single waste stream | G,H,I or J |
| 5 | Landfill site for inert waste with a total capacity of greater than 50,000 cubic metres | G,I or K |
| 6 | Landfill site for inert waste with a total capacity of greater than 50,000 cubic metres - single waste stream | G,H,I,J,K or L |
| 7 | Closed landfill site for hazardous waste | G or M |
| 8 | Closed landfill site for hazardous waste - single waste stream | G,H or M |
| 9 | Closed landfill site for non-hazardous waste | G,I or M |
| 10 | Closed landfill site for non-hazardous waste - single waste stream | G,H,I,J or M |
| 11 | Closed landfill site for inert waste with a total capacity of greater than 50,000 cubic metres | G,I,K or M |
| 12 | Closed landfill site for inert waste with a total capacity of greater than 50,000 cubic metres - single waste stream | G,H,I,J,K,L or M |
| 13 | Treatment plant where hazardous waste is subjected to a chemical or physical process | S |
| 14 | Treatment Plant where hazardous clinical waste is subjected to a physical or chemical process | S or Ss |
| 15 | Treatment plant where hazardous waste is subjected to a chemical or physical process for the treatment of contaminated land | S or T |
| 16 | Treatment plant where non-hazardous waste is subjected to a chemical or physical process | S or U |
| 17 | Treatment plant where non-hazardous waste is subjected to a composting process | S,U or W |
| 18 | Treatment plant where non-hazardous waste is subjected to a chemical or physical process for the treatment of contaminated land | S,T,U or V |
| 19 | Treatment plant where non-hazardous clinical waste is subjected to a chemical or physical process | S,Ss or X |
| 20 | Treatment plant where inert waste is subjected to a chemical or physical process | S,U or Y |
| 21 | Transfer station for hazardous waste where the capacity of the facility is greater than 5 cubic metres | II |
| 22 | Transfer station for hazardous clinical waste where the capacity of the facility is greater than 5 cubic metres | II or JJ |
| 23 | Transfer station for non-hazardous waste where the capacity of the facility is greater than 5 cubic metres | II or KK |
| 24 | Transfer station for non-hazardous clinical waste where the capacity of the facility is greater than 5 cubic metres | II,JJ or LL |
| 25 | Transfer station for inert waste where the capacity is greater than 50 cubic metres | II,KK or MM |
| 26 | Civic amenity site where the amount of waste accepted is 5000 tonnes per annum or less | II,KK or NN |
| 27 | Civic amenity site where the amount of waste accepted is greater than 5000 tonnes per annum | II or KK |
| 28 | Site where waste is burned in an incinerator designed to incinerate waste at a rate of more than 50 kilograms per hour but less than 1 tonne per hour | OO |
Table 2
Introduction of New COTC Standards - 1 April 2003