Looming PPC deadline for landfilling activities
SOURCE: CIWM, OCTOBER 2007
From 30th October, all landfills meeting the PPC criteria or falling within the definition of “landfill” under the landfill regulations need a PPC permit. This doesn’t mean that all landfilling will be regulated under PPC. Exceptions include the use of inert waste for redevelopment, restoration or filling-in work, or for construction purposes, giving opportunities for substantial non-PPC restoration schemes.
Post-deadline, only waste that has been pre-treated can be accepted at landfills. (This requirement already applies to hazardous waste). Treating includes sorting. Landfill operators will have to ascertain from waste producers that treatment has taken place, since it is they - not the producer - who are obliged to ensure that waste has been treated. EA Guidance suggests it is best practice for operators to obtain a declaration stating the type of treatment carried out and the waste volumes sorted for recovery or other treatment. However, some caution is warranted. Although “sorting” amounts to treatment, it must change the characteristics to reduce the volume or hazardous nature of the waste, facilitate its handling or enhance recovery. Thus the removal (by general sorting) of a fraction of waste may result in the residual waste having a higher concentration of polluting substances, so the total waste stream must be considered, not just the residue.
AUTHOR: VINCENT BROWN
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