Our Trading Standards Service recognise that the care and protection of the environment is one of the most important issues facing society today.
We provide help and advice, as well as enforcement, in a number of environmental legislative areas. These include: -
Composition and use of Packaging
One of the legal obligations of The Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003 (as amended) is that packaging volume and weight must be reduced to the minimum amount necessary whilst maintaining safety and hygiene and still being acceptable to consumers and adequately protecting the product.
The regulations require packaging to comply with concentration limits for heavy metals, and with the essential requirements on composition and the re-usable and recoverable (including recyclable) nature of the packaging.
For further information please go to The Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment website.
Energy Labelling of White Goods
We are responsible for the enforcement, at retail level, of legislation which requires various household appliances, such as fridges, dishwashers, washing machines and tumble driers, to be labelled with their energy efficiency rating.
The labels include colour coded bars for easy comparison, and, go from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient). Products which are labelled correctly can assist the consumer in determining what products to buy.
For further information please go to The DirectGov website.
Energy Performance of Buildings
Trading Standards conduct checks to ensure that owners of properties for sale or rent have Energy Performance Certificates for their buildings.
These Certificates ensure potential purchasers or tenants clearly know up front how energy efficient the house is and so can make a fully informed choice. Certain larger local authority public accessed buildings will also be inspected.
Sellers and landlords are responsible for providing energy performance certificates when these are to be sold and rented out.
Builders are required under the Building Regulations 2000 to provide EPCs for newly constructed buildings.
For all sales and lettings, in both domestic and non domestic sector, an EPC must be made available to any prospective buyers or tenant at the earliest opportunity, and no later than the time at which information in writing is first given on request to such a person, or such a person views the building concerned.
An EPC made available for these purposes must be accompanied by its recommendation report.
Furthermore, written particulars, paper or electronic, for domestic properties placed on the market for sale or let, must include either the asset rating from the EPC or the EPC itself.
Occupiers of larger public buildings (such as hospitals or government offices) are responsible for showing a display energy certificate (DEC) in a prominent place. The occupier must also be in possession of an advisory report which is valid for seven years.
For further information please go to these websites:-
Air Conditioning
An increasing number of buildings and homes have air conditioning systems and these could now come under new legislation to ensure that the systems are running efficiently. The Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations 2007 has been extended to include all air conditioning systems over 12KW – whether in business or private use.
The legislation requires that an accredited energy assessor must inspect the system by January 2011. The assessor will submit a written report containing recommendations on how to improve the efficiency of the system.
The air conditioning systems used in a building make a significant contribution to both the energy costs and carbon emissions of a business and Trading Standards will enforce the Regulations by incorporating them into their routine inspections.
The inspections are designed to give building owners and operators essential information about the performance of their units and must be be carried out by an accredited energy assessor who will provide a written report on how to improve the efficiency of the system.
The report will help businesses save money, save energy and reduce carbon emissions.
Frequently Asked Questions: Air conditioning systems (PDF 24kb)
Accredited Energy Assessors can be found on the EPC Registers website.
For further information call Trading Standards on (01495) 235291 or email tradingstandards@caerphilly.gov.uk.