Samantha Riggs
Samantha is a criminal defence barrister and chartered waste and resources manager specializing in defending companies and individuals in environmental, financial and regulatory matters. She is recognized by the legal directories as a leading junior in the area of financial crime and known for her attention to detail. She is experienced in POCA and restraint proceedings. Over the past six years she has concentrated more on environmental law and is in constant high demand due to her specialist knowledge.
Recommended in Legal 500 as “the leading – and best junior – in the area of [environmental law] with a deep technical understanding of the waste industry”.
Also recommended in Chambers & Partners – “Clients value her practical and commercial advice as well as her fearless defence skills” and was shortlisted for Environmental and Planning Junior of the Year 2020.
Samantha has particular interest and expertise in waste management and environmental permitting and regularly provides early stage advice in corporate and regulatory investigations. She has taken legal challenges to the permitting regulations in a number of prosecutions. She is experienced in working with experts on technical aspects of cases and regularly speaks at industry events. Samantha sits on CIWM waste and health & safety steering groups, is also a member of UK Environmental Law Association sitting on the waste working and waste litigation party and a member of the Health & Safety Lawyers Association. Samantha is currently co-authoring The Practical Guide to Waste Management Law due for publication later this year.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 1996
Membership
- Member of the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management. Chartered Resource and Waste Manager
- UKELA
- CBA
- FLA
Qualifications
- MCIWM (2016)
- Called to the Bar (1996)
- Diploma in Law (1995)
- BA(Hons) History (1994)
Education
- Inns of Court School of Law (1995-1996)
- City University (1994-1995)
- University of London (1991-1994)
9 Contributions by Samantha Riggs
PRACTICE NOTES
Classifying products, by-products and production residues as waste: WFD Article 5 criteria, key case law and domestic guidance in the post‑Brexit context
By-product or waste?
Working out whether a substance or item counts as waste can be intricate. See Practice Note: Meaning of waste—what is waste? The task may require judging if the material is a product/by-product, or instead a production residue. The expression ‘by-product’ lacks a definition in domestic legislation, and production residues are especially hard to evaluate...
Environment
PRACTICE NOTES
Classifying waste disposal operations: definitions, Annex I D-codes, permitting and case law (England and Wales)
The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011
The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/988) gave effect in domestic law to the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC (WFD), as updated in 2018. Earlier Directives were put into practice through a suite of Acts and Regulations, among them:
the Environmental Protection Act 1990, notably section 34 on the duty of care owed by those handling waste
the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989 and the Controlled Waste (Registration of Carriers and Seizure of Vehicles) Regulations 1991 (SI 1991/1624), addressing registration of waste carriers
the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/1154), covering permits for waste disposal and recovery activities
the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/894), the Hazardous Waste (Wales) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/1806 (W.138)), and the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/336), regulating hazardous waste
the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, and subordinate legislation under those Acts, concerning waste plans
Delivery of the pertinent elements of the WFD still depends upon most of this framework, as modified where required by the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011...
Environment
PRACTICE NOTES
Determining whether material is 'waste': definition, exclusions, by-products, end-of-waste and case law (England and Wales)
Introduction
The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011, SI 2011/988 (Waste E&W Regs 2011), represents a significant waste law, although not the only one. It brought many of the requirements of the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC, as amended (WFD 2008), into domestic legislation within England and Wales...
Environment
PRACTICE NOTES
End-of-waste under Article 6 Waste Framework Directive: criteria, EA resource frameworks and Quality Protocols, self-assessment and case law in England and Wales
Waste—regulatory framework
The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011, SI 2011/988, brought the obligations of the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC (WFD) into domestic law in England and Wales. Earlier Directives were implemented through a range of Acts and Regulations, including, among others:
Environmental Protection Act 1990, in particular s 34, which addresses the ‘duty of care’ imposed on those responsible for waste
Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989 and the Controlled Waste (Registration of Carriers and Seizure of Vehicles) Regulations 1991, SI 1991/1624, covering registration arrangements for waste carriers
Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, SI 2016/1154, addressing the permitting of waste disposal and recovery operations and related activities
Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005, SI 2005/894; Hazardous Waste (Wales) Regulations 2005, SI 2005/1806 (W.138); and Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2016, SI 2016/336, also governing hazardous waste
Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, together with subordinate legislation made under those Acts, dealing with waste plans
End of Waste status is addressed in Article 6 of the WFD. Article 6(1) and (2) set out the European Commission’s power to establish end-of-waste criteria for certain specified waste streams...
Environment
PRACTICE NOTES
Meaning of ‘waste’: definition, ‘discard’ interpretation, by-products, end-of-waste, exclusions, transfers, case law and Environment Agency guidance under the Waste Framework Directive and England and Wales regulations
Definition of Waste
'Waste' is described in the Waste Framework Directive, Directive 2008/98/EC (WFD), as any material or item that the holder discards, plans to discard, or must discard. For further details, see Practice Note: Meaning of waste—what is waste? Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC (as amended in 2018) (WFD). The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011, SI 2011/988, gave domestic effect to the WFD’s requirements in England and Wales under domestic law...
Environment
PRACTICE NOTES
Waste exclusions under the Waste Framework Directive: absolute, dependent and sediment carve-outs, special legislation interaction, and post-Brexit application in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Introduction
Waste is defined as ‘any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard’. Assessing whether something amounts to waste is complex and usually calls for a case-by-case evaluation of whether the holder has discarded an item, intends to do so, or is obliged to discard it. The term ‘discard’ must be construed in light of legislative provisions addressing the harmful effects of waste and the protection of the environment and human health. Nonetheless, some materials lie outside the scope of waste. This Practice Note describes the provisions dealing with matters excluded from the statutory definition of waste.
See also the following Practice Notes:
Meaning of waste—what is waste?
Meaning of waste—definition of waste
Waste projects—overview
Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016—waste installations, waste operations and exempt waste operations
Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016—permits, applications and exemptions
This Practice Note refers to EU law. Over time, law, policy and guidance on waste may change as domestic law and practice move away from EU law. However, many of the technical concepts and definitions that were relevant immediately before Brexit remain useful and in use...
Environment
PRACTICE NOTES
Waste hierarchy in England and Wales: duties on transfer, public authority responsibilities, permit conditions and life-cycle derogations under the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 and the WFD
What is the ‘waste hierarchy’?
Under the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011, SI 2011/988, reg 12, any establishment or undertaking that imports, produces, collects, transports, recovers or disposes of waste—or that, as a dealer or broker, has control of waste—must, at the point of transfer, take all measures reasonably available in the circumstances to apply the following hierarchy in order of priority:
prevention
preparing for re-use
recycling
other recovery (eg energy recovery)
disposal
The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 transposed the requirements of the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC (WFD) into domestic law...
Environment
PRACTICE NOTES
Waste recovery law: Waste Framework Directive definitions, Annex II R operations, backfilling, recycling, end-of-waste, permitting and leading cases (England and Wales)
Meaning of recovery
The term ‘recovery’ is set out in paragraph 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 9 to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/1154). It carries the same meaning as in the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/851, and associated terms are to be interpreted accordingly.
In the WFD, ‘recovery’ means any operation where the main outcome is that waste delivers a useful purpose by:
replacing other materials that would otherwise be used to fulfil a particular function within a plant or in the wider economy, or
being prepared to fulfil a particular function within a plant or in the wider economy
Annex II to the WFD provides a non-exhaustive list of recovery operations. Recovery is a central element of waste management under the WFD and, together with disposal activities, constitutes waste treatment as defined. Accurately classifying a waste treatment operation is crucial for compliance with the waste hierarchy and other WFD provisions. The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/988) transposed the WFD into domestic law...
Environment
PRACTICE NOTES
Waste, By-product or End-of-Waste: Legal Indicators, Case Law and Guidance
Waste indicators guidance
The EA has issued guidance ‘Check if your material is waste’, which assists in judging whether a material is waste, a ‘by-product’, or attains ‘end of waste’ status. As we move towards a more circular economy, waste indicators have evolved to support resource efficiency and productivity. For more on the circular economy, see Practice Note: Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency.
Positive waste indicators
Production residues
‘Production residues’ are substances not intentionally generated during extraction, production or manufacturing. They are usually regarded as waste unless they meet the tests for ‘by-products’, which are not treated as waste. See Practice Note: Meaning of waste—products and by-products.
In Commission v Italy, three separate enforcement proceedings were brought against Italy for failing to fulfil its obligations under Directive 75/442/EEC (as amended), and were heard by the same court on the same day. Each matter addressed different issues, although the core principles were considered together...
Environment
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