Under the Waste Management Act, what legal liability arises if waste generated at a business is entrusted without authorization or disposed of illegally?

The Waste Management Act imposes strict management responsibility over the entire process, from the discharge of waste to its final disposal, and ultimately a violation of the Waste Management Act can give rise to criminal liability not only for the party disposing of the waste but also for the business that discharges it.

First, under the Waste Management Act, a business must entrust waste to a disposal operator that has obtained a lawful license, and it bears a duty to manage and supervise whether the disposal process is carried out lawfully.

Therefore, even where waste is entrusted to an unauthorized company or left unattended without confirming the disposal route, this can be assessed as a violation of the Waste Management Act.

Representative types of violations of the Waste Management Act include ① entrustment to an unauthorized company, ② illegal dumping of waste, ③ unauthorized incineration, and ④ failure to comply with disposal standards, and different legal provisions apply to each of these acts, so the level of punishment, such as imprisonment or a fine, can vary depending on the type of violation.

In particular, where the type of waste falls under designated waste, the level of punishment can be further aggravated.

In addition, a violation of the Waste Management Act does not stop at criminal punishment; there is also a high possibility that it will lead to administrative dispositions such as suspension of the business's operations, revocation of its license, and the imposition of a penalty surcharge.

For this reason, it is difficult to be relieved of liability based solely on the circumstance that one "merely entrusted" the waste, and whether the duty of care was fulfilled in the entrustment process becomes the key standard of judgment.

Ultimately, to reduce risks related to the Waste Management Act, it is important to establish an advance management system, such as confirming whether the entrusted company is licensed, keeping records of the disposal process, and retaining contracts and handover documents, and if a problem arises, it is necessary to organize the facts at an early stage and set the direction of the legal response.