Briefing: Brexit – implications for the waste sector

On 23 June 2016, the UK held a referendum on its membership of the European Union (EU). Although Greenland voted to leave the European Economic Community in 1985, there is no precedent for an entire member state leaving the EU and it is not clear in the event of a British exit (‘Brexit’) what kind of relationship the UK will hold with the EU in the future. The environment as a whole and the waste industry in particular are highly regulated by EU law and the authors summarise some of the uncertainties surrounding the UK's departure from the EU.