It is important that local collection, treatment and reprocessing capacity is retained
Northern Ireland Environment Agency
The Northern Irish Environment Agency (NIEA) – which is responsible for regulating the storage, treatment, recycling and disposal of waste in Northern Ireland – has issued a long-awaited set of criteria to allow the additional storage of recyclable material during the current “difficult time”.
The response mirrors that issued by the Environment Agency for England and Wales in November 2008, which also branded the downturn as “unprecedented” and said that permitted companies would be able to store material for up to six months (see letsrecycle.com story).
Although the position taken by Northern Ireland is the same as in England and Wales, a spokesman for the Northern Irish Department of Environment said: “The Department was still considering this matter when the announcement was made in Great Britain.”
Position
A statement released by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) said: “These are difficult times for many councils and operators and we will work with them to minimise impacts on the environment now and in the longer term. It is important that local collection, treatment and reprocessing capacity is retained.”
Companies or councils now looking to benefit from an exemption, permit or licence extension in Northern Ireland would need to meet the following criteria to be deemed eligible:
• Where recyclables need to be stored, this should be at locations regulated by NIEA through a permit, licence or registered exemption.
• Operators who hold a licence and expect to need additional storage for a short period (up to six months) should approach NIEA to discuss a temporary increase in storage of recyclable materials at their site. Operators must ensure that their plans do no present a significant increased risk to the environment.
• If operators expect to need extra storage capacity for longer than six months they should apply for a licence variation.
• Operators may be able to make use of exemptions from waste licencing. Exemptions come with some restrictions that the operator must comply with. Operators should also check with their planning authority, landlord and insurer that they are allowed to store these materials at their site.
• It is the operator's responsibility to ensure that they remain compliant with other requirements such as planning permission.
The Agency body also warned that it would take firm enforcement action against anyone exporting or importing waste illegally, and intends the additional material licencing rules as a means of retaining local collection, treatment and reprocessing capacity.
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