The Landfill Directive states that the holder or operator of a landfill must be able to show that any waste allowed onto the site meets with certain permit conditions and the waste acceptance criteria. This must be demonstrated by waste acceptance procedures.
The European Technical Adaptation Committee has recommended criteria and procedures, which are likely to be considered by the Council of Ministers in October 2002 and due to be introduced in July 2005.
But until the introduction of full measures, national interim criteria and procedures have been set. The Environment Agency's draft guidance explains the interim waste acceptance criteria and procedures as given in the Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002 and the Duty of Care Regulations 1991.
Goals
The guidance has been prepared with three main goals: to explain interim acceptance criteria for the classes of landfill under the Landfill Directive, to explain waste characterisation and testing requirements under the Directive and to outline the full waste acceptance procedures and criteria that are expected to come into force on or after July 2005.
The Agency said in a statement: “This guidance is relevant to site operators in the preparation of permit applications and to waste carriers and producers who also play a role in these matters.” Comments on the guidance should be made by 15 November 2002.
In July 2002, the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee criticised delays in the implementation of the waste acceptance criteria. In a report on hazardous waste, the committee said it was “profoundly concerned” that the criteria had not been agreed before the Landfill Directive came into force on 16 July.
“This delay should not have occurred. The criteria are crucial to landfill site operators' decisions about what category of site they wish to operate,” the report said.
Comments on the guidance should sent to Jill Rooksby at the Environment Agency by e-mail: jill.rooksby@environment-agency.gov.uk or by post: CPAC, c/o Block 1 Government Buildings, Burgill Road, Westbury on Trym, BS10 6BF.
The guidance can be viewed at: www.environment-agency.gov.uk/commondata/105385/consultation1.pdf.
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