Fines exceeding $2 million, tighter controls on e-waste along with oil and gas waste, and mandatory financial security for operators are among the key features of Guyana’s proposed Integrated Solid Waste Management Bill and Regulations.
The proposals for the draft bill were unveiled during a national consultation on Friday held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal.
Legal Consultant for the UNEP Zero Waste Programme, Romel St. Hill, presented findings from a comprehensive analysis that informed the draft legislation.
Under the proposed framework, operators who engage in willful negligence or cause serious environmental harm could face fines exceeding $2 million and/or imprisonment from three to five years.
The draft bill proposes a graduated enforcement system, beginning with cooperative compliance notices and escalating to orders, ticketing, and criminal prosecution where voluntary compliance fails.
A major focus of the draft legislation is the establishment of a comprehensive e-waste management control framework, designed to address the growing risks associated with electronic waste. The framework provides multi-layered protection against heavy metals and hazardous components, safeguards public health, and promotes material recovery through controlled collection systems, licensed processing facilities, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) funding mechanisms.
The bill also introduces an Oil and Gas Waste Integration Framework, ensuring that waste generated by petroleum operations is managed within a coordinated national system. While aligning with the Petroleum Activities Act, the framework preserves the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority over hazardous waste classification, transportation, and disposal.
Another key provision is the requirement for financial security and closure obligations. Waste operators will be required to provide financial guarantees, such as bank guarantees, bonds, trusts, or escrow accounts, to ensure funds are available for site closure, post-closure care, and environmental remediation if a facility is abandoned or an operator defaults.
The draft bill is informed by an analysis conducted to identify current challenges within Guyana’s waste management system and to provide evidence-based recommendations aligned with international best practices and environmental law principles.
The assessment found that while multiple EPA regulations exist, including the Hazardous Waste Regulations (2000), Water Quality Regulations (2000), and Litter Enforcement Regulations (2013), they lack integration into a cohesive national waste management framework.
Among the system’s strengths are constitutional provisions for environmental protection, an established regulatory framework, EPA enforcement capacity, and the involvement of multiple stakeholder institutions. However, critical weaknesses were identified, including a fragmented legal framework, overlapping institutional mandates, outdated regulations, weak penalties, limited enforcement mechanisms, and the absence of circular economy principles and a formal waste hierarchy.
The analysis also highlighted external threats such as climate change impacts, rising waste generation, transboundary pollution, funding constraints, political instability, and lack of public awareness. Environmental impacts linked to these gaps include continued landfilling and open dumping, soil and water contamination, and biodiversity loss. Public health concerns include exposure to hazardous waste, disease vectors, landfill odours, and air and water pollution in vulnerable communities.
To address these challenges, the draft bill incorporates proven global principles promoted by UNEP and international environmental law, including the waste hierarchy, circular economy approaches, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes.
The waste hierarchy prioritises preventing waste at the source, followed by reuse, recycling and recovery, with disposal as the last resort. A circular economy approach aims to keep materials and products in use for as long as possible through reuse, repair, recycling and recovery, reducing reliance on landfilling and minimising environmental impacts. While, EPR schemes place responsibility on producers and importers to manage the environmental impact of their products, particularly packaging and electronic goods, by financing or organising collection, recycling and safe disposal.
Key features of the proposed legislation include updated definitions using modern, circular economy-aligned terminology; clearly defined institutional roles and coordination mechanisms; comprehensive licensing and permitting systems; waste segregation, recycling, and recovery requirements; and innovative financial instruments to ensure sustainable funding and cost recovery.
Special provisions are also included for biomedical waste, used oil, and other special waste streams, with strict colour-coding, labelling, containment, and secure handling requirements to protect workers and the environment.
Following the national consultations, the next steps of the bill will include a review at the Attorney General’s Chambers, Cabinet approval, and parliamentary passage. This will be accompanied by capacity building, training for government agencies, the private sector, and communities, and a phased transition to operational implementation.
The estimated timeline projects drafting and stakeholder validation within six months, parliamentary review and approval within 12 months, and full capacity building and operational transition within 18 months.
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