The enforcement body wrote to 19 businesses in England that reprocess plastics using heat last week, to warn they will need a permit when the current regulatory position statement on treatment of plastic waste expires in mid 2015 – unless monitoring is conducted to assess the risk of emissions.
During the last review of waste exemptions in 2010, the government disallowed the use of heat in the treatment of waste plastic to be exempt from some permitting requirements as it could not find evidence to show that harmful emissions were not being generated by plastics reprocessing facilities.
Emissions
Concerns over the practice are due to the chemical content mixed in with certain polymers – such as chlorine in PVC – which those in favour of regulation argue gives off harmful emissions when undergoing heat treatment.
At present, a regulatory position statement enables reprocessors to continue the practice of heat treating plastics waste while the Agency produces a standard rules permit.
But in a letter seen by letsrecycle.com, the Environment Agency’s Illegals & Waste team has warned that the statement is ‘likely to expire’ by the end of June 2015, at which time sites heat treating plastics will attract an application fee and a large annual subsistence charge.
‘Low risk’
In order to be regarded as ‘low risk’ or considered for a new exemption, the 19 reprocessors contacted have been asked to help set up an emissions monitoring programme – which the Environment Agency states it is not in a position to fund.
Under the scheme, an emissions expert in the Environment Agency would help coordinate the monitoring so that a ‘consistent’ methodology can be used and results across sites can be compared. The recyclers will have until November 28 to let the Agency know they want to be included in the scheme.
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The Environment Agency waste recovery team leader Mike A Smith wrote: “The key issue of emissions remains. I have tried to engage with the British Plastics Federation to help understand if there is a risk and have suggested that to move forward we would need monitoring done at a number of sites to show what the risk of emissions is.
“Unfortunately this has not progressed and so I am in a position where we need to review the regulatory position statement and establish a date by which it expires, which would likely be by the end of June 2015.
“I am writing to you to provide a final opportunity to address the emissions issue. If we can’t get the information we need we will have to withdraw the position statement on expiry and sites treating plastics will need a permit. This is likely to attract an application fee and an annual subsistence charge of several thousand pounds.”
Mr Smith added: “If all 19 companies were willing to contribute it shouldn’t cost too much and will save much more in the long term. I have already had a positive response to this from a couple of people that I have spoken to previously.”
Criticism
The ultimatum is understood to be unpopular with a number of plastics reprocessors, with fears that a number of smaller domestic reprocessors could be priced out of the market if permitting is implemented. One industry expert told letsrecycle.com that the move would likely ‘increase the UK’s dependence on exporters’ if the Environment Agency followed through with its proposals.
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