Waste Legislation Overview and Update

Jeanette Wooster

Environment Officer

Waste is……..

“ any substance or object…. Which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard”(Article 1a Waste Framework Directive)

What is waste?

This is not waste!

Environment Agencyand waste- what is our role?

� Visiting waste sites and farms on planned inspections

� Dealing with new applications for waste sites� Incident response � Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations

2000 (PPC Regulations)

If you treat, keep or dispose of controlled waste….

� You could need either a waste management licence or an exemption

� Or you could fall under the low risk waste category

What is an Exemption?� If you dispose/recover waste without a Waste

Management Licence you commit a criminal offence

� But member states can make Exemptions for small scale, low risk activities involving:� people carrying out waste disposal at the

place where the waste was produced; and/or� recovering waste

Exemption 30 - Burning waste plant tissue in the open

Exemption 7A - Spreading (industrial) waste on land for agricultural benefit or ecological improvement

Exemptions 11& 17 - Setting up recycling schemes

Case Study 2: Reducing pesticide pollution and managing waste

Case study 3: Generating electricity from slurry

� Food Waste + slurry electricity for the grid

� The capacity of the farm is for 15,000 tonnes of food waste per year .

� A Waste Management Licence will be required

Main Challenges� Power company are currently unsure if they

want to use it. They charge £75 000 to connect to the grid

� Obtaining planning permission and

agreeing a location with the planners

Green belt using existing facilities

Case study 4: Chubb Fire have turned hazardous waste from fire extinguishers into a fertilizer

� 95% by weight of all extinguishers returned to Chubb Fire are recycled

� 10 tonnes of powder per week used to be sent to landfill

� The powder is removed in a booth, filtered and processed as an agricultural fertiliser

Main Challenges� Finding a company who could use the powder� Took Chubb over a year to find a company

who were cost effective� Cheaper than the £4500 per week hazardous

waste landfill fee

Summary� Waste legislation affects most businesses in

some way� Recently farmers have had to make

significant changes with how they deal with waste

� Waste does provide opportunities for businesses

Further information

• Jeanette Wooster Tel: 01491 828591Jeanette.wooster@environment-agency.gov.uk

• Katherine Buy Tel: 01491 828481Katherine.buy@environment-agency.gov.uk

• 08708 506 506 - Customer Contact Centre

• www.environment-agency.gov.uk