Medical waste processor SteriHealth has defended the Queensland Waste Reduction and Recycling Regulation 2011, disputing claims by business rival Ace Waste that they contradict the Act and allow for the inappropriate disposal of medical waste.

The dispute stems from one company interpreting regulations differently from a competitor, who then perceives that the have gained an unfair advantage.

That may be true, we do not know. However, what is clear is that regulators must work hard to compile authoritative and properly detailed regulations supported by Codes of Practice and informal guidance notes. At every stage, transparency is essential – though that is questionable in the case of UK regulators – with extensive consultation through an iterative process that perhaps may include a trial or assessment period.

We have, for many years, proposed risk assessment in the management of waste rather that an absolute black and white approach to regulation. That is now beginning to happen and risk assessment is finding a place, albeit cautiously.

The problem arises from terminology and approach to assessment. For reasons that are not clear, regulators shy away from the term risk assessment and couch that requirement if far less precise terms. That does not help. Nor does it promote a properly reasoned assessment, properly documented if necessary but instead leaves the situation wide open, and thus open to disagreement and ultimately to conflict.