The Landfill
( England and Wales ) Regulations 2002 came into force
on 15 June 2002 . These new regulations implement the
Landfill Directive (Council Directive 1999/31/EC), which
aims to prevent, or to reduce as far as possible, the
negative environmental effects of landfill. The regulations
will have a major impact on waste regulation and industry
in the UK .
Existing landfills must demonstrate that they will
be able to comply with the directive if they wish to
operate beyond July 2002. The ability to comply will
be reviewed through a conditioning plan form that must
have been submitted to the Environment Agency by 16 July
2002 .
Nine out of 10 operators submitted their conditioning
plans to the Environment Agency on time. We have received
896 of the expected 1,045 conditioning plans from operators
(figures correct as of 19 July 2002 ).
Following submission, the plans will be assessed and
prioritised against a standard set of criteria by the
Environment Agency’s Conditioning Plan Assessment
Centre. Operators will be required to apply for a PPC
permit, based on the conditioning plan prioritisation,
between 2003 and 2006.
Changes are likely to be required to operating landfills
over the next few years in order to comply with the Landfill
Directive. For example, the Directive sets challenging
national targets for the reduction of biodegradable municipal
waste going to landfill.
In summary, the Directive requires that:
-
Sites are to be classified into one of three categories:
hazardous, non-hazardous or inert, according to the type
of waste they will receive
-
Operators submit site conditioning plans for all existing
sites by 16 July 2002
-
Operators demonstrate that they and their staff are
technically competent to manage the site and have made
adequate financial provisions to cover the maintenance
and aftercare requirements of the site
-
Higher engineering and operating standards will be
followed
-
Biodegradable waste will be progressively diverted
away from landfills
-
Certain hazardous and other wastes, including liquids,
will be prohibited from landfills
-
Pre-treatment of wastes prior to landfilling will
become a requirement
The Environment Agency has a statutory
responsibility for the regulation of landfill sites and
will have a primary responsibility for implementing the
landfill regulations. In preparing for implementation of
the directive, the Environment Agency is proposing to review
and update existing technical guidance on landfill development
and operation.
A brief guide to Landfill Waste Acceptance
Criteria
This is an introduction to the rules for
accepting waste at landfills. It represents our current
understanding of the position and may be subject to change.
A list of more detailed guidance is at the end of this
note.
The Landfill Directive aims to reduce
reliance on landfill as a disposal option, minimise the
impacts of landfills on the environment and human health,
and ensure consistent standards across the EU. It aims
to do this by:
-
setting minimum standards for the location, design,
construction and operation of landfills
-
setting targets for diversion of biodegradable municipal
waste from landfill
-
controlling the nature of waste accepted for landfill
This note is concerned with the latter element - waste
acceptance criteria (WAC).
Background
Historically, decisions on the types
of waste acceptable at landfills were entirely based on
site-specific risk assessment. Licences controlled the
quantities and types of waste to be accepted and often,
in the case of hazardous waste, specified maximum loading
rates for particular wastes or components substances. Landfill
operators had to have systems (acceptance procedures) in
place to ensure that incoming waste was within those limits.
Those producing waste or delivering waste
for landfill had an obligation under the Duty of Care to
ensure that the waste was properly described. This is still
the case.
The Landfill Directive requires that individual
landfills accept only hazardous waste or non-hazardous
waste or inert waste hence ending (since July 2004) the
practice of co-disposal. The move to dedicated landfills
for hazardous waste has dictated tighter controls over
site engineering and 'quality' of the waste going into
the sites.
The Directive specifically restricts waste
inputs in two ways:
- By explicitly banning certain wastes from landfill
- By applying acceptance criteria to waste destined
for landfill. EU-wide acceptance criteria were adopted
in December 2002.
In England and Wales waste going to
landfill is controlled under the following regulations:
- The Landfill ( England and Wales ) Regulations 2002
- The Landfill ( England and Wales ) (Amendment)
Regulations 2004
- The Landfill ( England and Wales ) (Amendment) Regulations
2005
The 2002 regulations are already in force. The 2004
regulations are partly in force and together with the
2005 regulations come fully into force from 16th July.
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