What this guidebook covers
Oil, filters, coolant, batteries, paint, tyres, airbags and refrigerant: a dealership produces a steady stream of waste, and under the duty of care it stays your responsibility after it leaves the yard. Waste and pollution offences carry unlimited fines and up to 5 years in prison.
This guidebook covers 6 environmental standards with 18 checkpoints: waste duty of care, hazardous waste consignment notes, bunded oil storage, drains and interceptors, legal tyre storage and collection, and A/C refrigerant (F-gas).
The 6 environmental standards
| Code | Standard | Ideal fix time |
|---|---|---|
| ENV-01 | Waste duty of care | 7 days |
| ENV-02 | Hazardous waste consignment notes | 72 hours |
| ENV-03 | Oil storage bunded | 30 days |
| ENV-04 | Drains and interceptors | Immediate |
| ENV-05 | Tyres stored and collected legally | 7 days |
| ENV-06 | A/C refrigerant (F-gas) | 7 days |
How to run a UK environmental and waste audit, step by step
- Confirm what applies. List every waste stream and its carrier; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own regulators and some different rules.
- Walk the site, standard by standard. Score each of the 18 checkpoints Pass, Fail or N/A. N/A only where the standard rules it out, with the reason recorded. Look inside the general skip, check the oil tank bund, and trace where yard and wash-bay drains go.
- Capture the evidence. A pass counts only with proof captured at the time of the audit: waste transfer and consignment notes, carrier registrations, interceptor service records and F-gas logs.
- Give every fail an owner and a fix time. Record what you saw and who owns the fix. Each standard carries an ideal fix time, from immediate to 30 days, counted from audit submission (see the table above).
- Fix it, then prove it. The site fixes the cause and uploads proof of closure; the auditor checks the proof before closing the finding.
- Re-check at the next audit. Confirm closed findings stay closed, and look for the same fail at your other sites so one gap doesn't repeat across the network.
Who this guidebook is for
- Service and body shop managers
- Facility managers
- Auditors
A reference document, not legal advice. Fines and rules change: check the current text with the regulator or your legal adviser before acting.
