Waste

We are one of the few UK law firms with a dedicated waste practice. This specialist team sits within the wider clean energy, waste & sustainability team.

The team is headed by Kirstin Roberts and Ben Derrington and Alison Ogley, who between them have 30 years + of specialist experience dealing with waste & recycling matters. The wider waste team includes Freeths specialists with a wealth of experience in waste management matters from real estate to construction; property litigation to employment.

Kirstin Roberts
Kirstin is a Chartered Waste Manager with CIWM (Chartered Institution of Wastes Management) and advises companies at all levels of the waste & recycling industry, from acting for EfW and AD facility owners and/or operators to reviewing and negotiating publicly procured contracts such as collections or treatment agreements with local councils, to advising on offtaker arrangements, feedstock arrangements, haulage agreements, SRF and RDF export agreements and waste contract disputes. Kirstin is listed as a Leading Individual in the Legal 500 (2023 edition).

Ben Derrington
Ben is an environmental, regulatory lawyer and member of the United Kingdom Environmental Law Association. He has a masters’ degree in Environmental Analysis & Assessment (Imperial College) and lead the Legal500 Tier-1 ranked Environment Team at his former firm. Ben advises on waste regulation including complex end-of-waste matters, environmental permitting of waste operations (including defence of enforcement action), energy from waste regulation, pollution incidents, contaminated land, water resources, climate change law, environmental information, Environmental Management Systems, crisis and risk management. Ben also works with our Regulatory Department to provide advice and training on crisis and risk management.

Alison Ogley
Alison acts for a wide range of development sectors, including minerals and waste, representing clients at Public Inquiries and through the Courts. She has particular expertise as lead advocate in major inquiries and hearings, representing clients appearing before the First Tier Tribunal and Magistrates Courts on environmental cases. Alison advises on contaminated land, environmental permitting and broader climate change and biodiversity issues for a range of business sectors. She is recognised as a leading individual for both Planning and Environment law in The Legal 500 and was voted one of the Women of Influence by Planning Magazine in 2021.

The team regularly advises in relation to:

• Major projects
• Local authority contracts – acting for both local authorities and private sector bidders
• SRF and RDF export
• MRF operators
• Feedstock agreements
• Haulage agreements
• Waste broker agreements
• Landfill – acting for operators and contractors
• Contracts with the third sector
• O&M contracts
• Liquid waste
• Environmental permits and similar authorisations
• Contamination of soil or water
• Odour, noise and dust abatement
• Packaging waste, WEEE and waste batteries
• Waste Regulation and Environmental Permitting
• End-of-waste and circular economy
• Health & safety including the defence of enforcement action by the HSE

We have genuine in-depth knowledge of the clean energy sector, with particular expertise in renewable energy, battery storage, distributed generation, heat and innovative/smart solutions.