The guidance is crucial to the commercial and industrial sector in the UK because from 30 October , waste will not be able to be landfilled unless it is pretreated in a way that meets regulatory requirements.
Importantly, municipal waste will not be directly covered by the new requirements because In there are specific statutory diversion targets in place that local authorities must meet.
The guidance document explains that therefore “landfilled municipal waste can be regarded as treated waste that does not require further treatment. Accordingly, landfill operators do not need to make checks on municipal waste.”
The situation will be different if non-municipal waste is added and then on-site verification procedures carried out by landfill operators should be sufficient to detect any obviously non-municipal materials.
Three point test
The essence of the regulations is that from October 30 business producers of waste will have to make sure it is treated in some way. A three point test will be applied. This involves determining what treatment will be applied. This can be physical, thermal, chemical or biological processes (including sorting) that change the characteristics of waste in order to reduce its volume or hazardous nature, facilitate its handling or enhance recovery. Assuming such a process is followed (part one of the test), and the characteristic of waste is changed (part two of the test) then part three of the test will be whether the waste is reduced in volume or hazardous nature of its handling is facilitated or its recovery is enhanced.
Liz Parkes, head of waste at the Environment Agency, said: “From 30th October 2007, new rules mean waste must be treated before it is disposed of at a landfill site. At the same time, liquid waste will be banned from any landfill.
“Waste treatment is good for the environment, as it encourages the recycling of waste and reduces the impact of the waste we send to landfill. Much of the waste we send to landfill is already treated, however for some wastes more effort is needed. Treatment can simply be separating the waste on site, and recycling one or more of the separated components.”
Ms Parkes added: “There are many easy ways to treat waste and deliver real environmental improvements. If you are a waste producer, now is a good time to review how you manage your waste, including whether it needs to be produced at all. If your waste does go to landfill, check to see if it is already being treated. If it isn't you will need to treat it or ensure that your waste management company does this for you.
“It’s also an ideal opportunity for waste producers and landfill operators to discuss how they need to adapt to these changes and take more responsibility for their waste. We will continue to encourage this dialogue as these new rules bed in after October. Rather than having our staff standing at the entrance to landfill sites checking individual loads, our focus will be on helping business to improve the way they manage their waste.”
The full guidance is now available and can be seen on the Environment Agency website as a PDF at Pretreatment guidance
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