The guidance comes in the form of a protocol, “The quality protocol for the production of aggregates from inert waste”, produced by WRAP with support from the Highways Agency and the Quarry Products Association.
There has been much confusion in recent years over the precise definition of waste in recent years with a number of court cases and a recent pledge by the European Commission to consider publishing a definition.
The work by WRAP is expected to be of interest to a wide range of recyclers as it has been issued in a clear and easily readable form.
WRAP said publication of its paper has been prompted by recent European Court of Justice (ECJ) rulings on the definition of waste. “These have impacted on the use of construction aggregates processed from inert waste due to uncertainty about when the waste can be considered fully recovered.”
WRAP aims to provide a single control process for producers of recycled and secondary aggregates from which they can reasonably state and demonstrate that their product has been fully recovered. It hopes to achieve this through the protocol which has been developed with input from the Environment Agency.
Confidence
The protocol is also designed to boost purchasers' confidence as all products should follow the same standards. It also gives a clear audit trail to ensure compliance with waste management legislation, and will be taken into account by Environment Agency officers.
Environment minister Elliot Morley welcomed the initiative. “I am hopeful that this approach will become a template for other waste streams,” he said.
And Environment Agency chair Sir John Harman said: “It is vital we turn around the perception in the industry that waste and waste law is 'too difficult' to deal with.”
Crunch issue
The WRAP protocol says the Agency may consider some materials are not waste before they are used as aggregate which is expected to a point of note for other materials sectors. This has been something of a crunch issue in the past, particularly in the case of scrap metal.
This aggregates/waste protocol, says the document, will provide support over taking a decision about waste status, “i.e. if all the criteria specified in this protocol are met, then it would indicate that the material is
probably no longer waste. Of course, whether a substance or object is waste is ultimately a matter for the Courts and the holder is advised to keep a record of any decisions made.
The protocol can be viewed on the aggregates section of the WRAP website www.wrap.org.uk/reports .
The protocol is in the form of a PDF.
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