12. Registration of waste carrier

(1) The provisions of this section shall come into effect 12 months after the coming into operation of this Act.

(2) Subject to subsection (6), no person shall cause or effect the movement of controlled waste within Botswana or the trans-boundary movement of controlled waste without being registered as a waste carrier under the provisions of this section:

Provided that any person carrying on business as a waste carrier before the commencement of this Act or such other person as the Minister may determine on the recommendations of the Director, may, upon being registered, continue in such business or commence operations of such business pending the determination of the application for a licence under section 13.

(3) An application for registration in terms of subsection (2) shall be in the prescribed form and shall contain information relating to-

(a) the type, volume, mix and constituents of the waste that is expected to be transported in the course of business annually;

(b) the type, make and registration number of the vehicles which are used to carry the different kinds of waste; and

(c) details of the qualifications of each driver employed to drive the vehicles registered under paragraph (b), and of other persons employed thereto.

(4) The Director shall issue a waste carrier certificate to every person registered or exempted from registration as a waste carrier, which certificate shall be prima facie evidence of registration or of exemption from registration of the waste carrier as the case may be.

(5) Any waste carrier aggrieved by the refusal of the Director to register him may, within 28 days from the date of such refusal, appeal against the refusal to the Minister:

Provided that any person carrying on business as a waste carrier before the commencement of this Act, may continue in such business pending the decision of the Minister.

(6) The Minister may, by order, exempt certain persons from registering as waste carriers under this Act.

(7) A waste carrier shall, when requested by a police officer or an authorised officer, produce for inspection, a registration certificate issued under subsection (3).

(8) Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this section, shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to a fine not exceeding P300 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two months or to both.

(9) Any person registered under this section may have such waste carrier registration revoked if such person is convicted of an offence under this Act.

13. Licensing of waste carriers

(1) The provisions of this section shall come into effect 18 months after the coming into operation of this Act.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (12) no person shall cause or effect the movement of controlled waste within Botswana or the trans-boundary movement of controlled waste without a waste carrier licence issued under this section.

(3) Subsection (2) shall not apply to-

(a) the transportation of controlled waste between different places within the same premises;

(b) the transportation of controlled waste in transit from a country or territory outside Botswana to another and such waste is not deposited in Botswana, provided that the person carrying the waste is not resident in Botswana and holds the prescribed qualifications or other qualifications recognised by the Director to transport controlled waste; or

(c) householders occasionally transporting their own household waste from their premises to the nearest collection or disposal point.

(4) An application for a waste carrier licence shall be in the prescribed form which form shall, where applicable, be subject to Regulations made in compliance with the Basel Convention, under section 45.

(5) An applicant for a licence under this section shall append to the completed application form-

(a) the certificate issued under section 12(4); and

(b) such other documentation as may be required by the Director.

(6) The Director may, by notice served on an applicant, require the applicant to furnish in writing, within such reasonable time as is specified in the notice, such further information in connection with the application as the Director may reasonably require.

(7) On application duly made, the Director may-

(a) grant a waste carrier licence, on such conditions as he may determine; or

(b) refuse to grant a waste carrier licence where the applicant-

(i) has failed to satisfy any of the requirements; or

(ii) has been convicted of a prescribed offence under this Act.

(8) The Director shall notify the applicant in writing of his decision with respect to the application.

(9) Subject to the conditions specified in the waste carrier licence, it shall remain in force for a period not exceeding two years.

(10) The renewal of the waste carrier licence may be granted by the Director, upon payment, by the applicant, of a prescribed fee and shall be valid for such period as may be specified therein.

(11) Any waste carrier aggrieved by the refusal of the Director to grant him a licence may, within 28 days from the date of such refusal, appeal against the refusal to the Minister:

Provided that any person carrying on business as a waste carrier before the commencement of this Act, may continue in such business pending the decision of the Minister.

(12) The Minister may, by order, exempt certain persons from being licensed as waste carriers under this Act.

(13) A waste carrier shall, when requested by a police officer or an authorised officer, produce for inspection, the licence issued under subsection (7).

(14) Any person who carries waste without a valid licence shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to a fine not exceeding P600, and for second and subsequent offence to a further fine not exceeding P200 for each day the offence continues.

(15) Any person licensed under this section may have such licence revoked if such person is convicted of an offence under this Act.

(16) In proceedings against any person for an offence under this section, it shall be a defence for that person to show-

(a) that the controlled waste was transported in an emergency, notice of which was given within 48 hours of such transportation, to the local authority in whose area the emergency occurred;

(b) that he neither knew nor had reasonable grounds for suspecting that what was being transported was controlled waste and that he took all such steps as it was reasonable to ascertain whether it was such waste; or

(c) that he acted under instructions from his employer.

(17) In this section, "emergency" means, in relation to the transportation of any controlled waste, any circumstances in which, in order to avoid, remove or reduce any serious risk of harm to the environment or to human, animal or plant life, it is necessary for the waste to be transported from one place to another without a waste carrier licence issued under this Part.