Waste Industry Update March 2010
Co-incineration – WID application is clarified by the European Courts
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has issued a judgement which asserts that a power plant which mainly uses non-purified gas from a gas plant as an additional fuel in its production activities, is to be regarded jointly with that gas plant as a co-incineration plant for the purposes of the Waste Incineration Directive (WID). The judgement arose from a question referred to it for a preliminary ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court in Finland (Case C-209/09), following an appeal from Finnish energy company Lahti Energia against the decision that their gas and power plant constituted a co-incineration plant within the meaning of the WID.
Article 3(4) of the WID establishes that an incineration plant is any unit or piece of equipment dedicated to the thermal treatment of waste with or without recovery of the combustion heat generated. Article 3(5) goes on to define a co-incineration plant as any plant whose main purpose is the generation of energy or production of material product, using waste as a regular or additional fuel or in which waste is thermally treated for the purpose of disposal. “Waste” is defined in Article 3(1) as any solid or liquid waste within the meaning of the Waste Framework Directive.
Lahti Energia had applied to the East Finland Permit Authority (EFPA) for an environmental permit in respect of the activities carried out in its separate gas and power plants. Incineration of non-purified gas produced from the thermal treatment of waste in the gas plant took place in the power plant. The EFPA issued a provisional permit to the company, with conditions made on the basis that the gas plant which produces gas and the power plant burning the gas together constituted a co-incineration plant within the meaning of the WID.
It is worth noting that the ECJ had previously provided a preliminary ruling in this case (C-317/07). When the case reverted back to the Finnish Courts though, the company advised that it was no longer implementing the planned process of gas purification from the thermal treatment of waste in its gas plant. However, despite the earlier judgement of the ECJ, Lahti Energia were of the view that a co-incineration plant is a plant which mainly used synthesis gas obtained from waste, whereas they used such gas only as an additional fuel and in its residual form. As a result, a further reference for a preliminary ruling was made regarding the question of whether combustion as an additional fuel in the boiler of a power plant of gas generated in a gas plant was to be regarded as an operation under Article 3 of the WID, if the gas conducted for combustion is not purified after the gasification process?
In the eyes of the ECJ, the question of whether or not the company’s plant was to be defined as a co-incineration plant within the meaning of the WID, boiled down to the technical and functional link between the two plants. It concluded that where the gas obtained from thermal treatment of waste in the gas plant is transported in its non-purified form to the power plant where it is used as an additional fuel, then the two plants can in fact be regarded as a single entity whose objective is to generate power. In that entity, all the waste is thermally treated for disposal in a two-stage process – one stage taking place in the gas plant and consisting in thermal treatment of the waste, and the other taking place in the power plant and consisting in the burning of gaseous substances produced by the thermal treatment carried out in the gas plant.
The judgement (Case C-209-09) may be accessed via the following website:
http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/Jo1_6308/
EA reveals new exemption for WEEE
The Environment Agency (EA) has announced a further exemption for the handling of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), which will be provided with the amendment of the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations (EPR) later this year. Currently, only two exemptions exist for WEEE under the EPR – (1) for the repair and refurbishment of WEEE, and (2) for the secure storage of WEEE pending recovery elsewhere. At present, the existing repair exemption does not relate to dismantling of WEEE, and the storage exemption relates only to WEEE taken as a whole.
It is the EA’s intention that an additional exemption will be introduced to cover the actual dismantling of WEEE prior to onward recovery of its components, as well as for the secure storage of component parts for the purpose of recovery elsewhere.
The EA’s position statement makes it clear that they will not pursue an application for a permit under the new exemption, provided that certain conditions are met. These are that:
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the total quantity of wastes treated or stored over any 12 month period will not exceed 1,000 tonnes;
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the best available treatment, recycling and recovery techniques (set out in the 2006 document entitled ‘Guidance on Best Available Treatment and Recovery and Recycling Techniques’ (BATRRT) produced by DEFRA, WAG and the Scottish Government) will be used when treating waste;
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storage of waste will be in a manner that does not hinder the environmental objective of its reuse or recycling;
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treatment of waste does not include the degassing or capture of ozone depleting substances; and
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the key objectives of the Waste Framework Directive will be met, ensuring that the waste is recovered or disposed of in a way that causes minimal harm to human health or the environment.
The regulatory position is due for review in November 2010. In the meantime, the newly issued statement may be viewed via at:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Business/MWRP_RPS_049_Dismantling_of_WEEE_Jan_2010.pdf
The BATRRT guidance techniques for WEEE may be viewed via the following link:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/producer/electrical/documents/weee-batrrt-guidance.pdf
WRAP boosts AD output
Further promotion has been given for the increasingly popular use of anaerobic digestion (AD) as a treatment method for biowastes as SEPA reveals that digestate produced from this process will no longer be subject to regulatory waste controls, where it meets PAS 110 specification and is applied to land. AD produces both a biogas which can be used to produce renewable heat or power, and digestate, which can be used to return organic matter to soils.
SEPA’s decision comes with the launch of the UK-wide PAS110:2010 specification, produced by WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), Afor (Association for Organic Resources) and the British Standard Institute (BSI). The industry-led specification will support the development of markets for products source segregated from biodegradable materials. Producers can check that digestates are of consistent quality and fit for purpose against the specification.
As a result of SEPA’s regulatory position, digestate which meets the specification will no longer need to register for a waste management exemption with SEPA for the application of PAS110 certified digestates to land, saving significant costs to operators of AD plants.
SEPA’s Regulatory Position sets out the PAS standards for digestates that AD plant operators will need to meet. The standards underpin the twofold purpose of the PAS, which is to ensure that digested materials are made using suitable inputs in the AD process (there are a number of criteria here including that the waste input materials are derived from animal or plant origin and have been collected separately from other wastes and not combined with any other waste amongst other conditions) and to ensure that the process has been well managed and monitored so as to produce digested material that meets market needs and protects the environment.
The full SEPA Regulatory Position on PAS110 digestate is available at:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Business/WEEE_2009_amendments_factsheet_.pdf
http://www.sepa.org.uk/about_us/news/2010/waste_no_more_for_anaerobic_di.aspx
The full WRAP PAS110:2010 may be viewed at:
http://www.wrap.org.uk/downloads/PAS110_vis_10.308cbce2.8536.pdf
Meanwhile, the potential of AD continues to be explored, as news comes that Wales is to host a number of innovative trials designed by WRAP. Focus will be on the commercial potential of PAS100 compost and digestate within new landscape and brownfield regeneration projects.
Due to start later this month, the trials are geared towards developing end market use in the regeneration of quarries, open cast mines and landfill sites and will demonstrate to local authorities that the diversion of organic waste from landfill holds environmental and economic benefits. It is the first time that WRAP will trial the possibility of AD being used as a biofertiliser. Both green compost and food-derived compost produced to PAS100 specification and WRAP’s Quality Protocol will be tested together with the digestate.
Results from the trials are expected to be reported during 2010 and 2011.
More information on the PAS100 digestate trials in Wales may be read at:
http://www.wrap.org.uk/media_centre/press_releases/wales_to_host.html
MWD reaches Scotland
The Mining Waste Directive (MWD) gets a further extension in the UK with the introduction of the Management of Extractive Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2010. These were laid before the Scottish Parliament on 24th February and, with the exception of one provision, will enter into force on 1st April 2010. Meanwhile, the permitting parts of the MWD were implemented in England and Wales by way of amendments made to the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations (EPR) 2007.
Although the Directive came as a response to accidents at mines in Romania and Spain which caused extensive environmental damage involving hazardous substances – it nonetheless recognises that the vast majority of mining operations do not carry similar risks and advocates a proportionate and risk-based approach to dealing with mining waste. Its message is particularly suited to Scotland, where almost all waste is inert and therefore benefits from lighter controls. For instance, regulation 7 of the Scottish Regulations lowers the requirements placed on operators for the preparation of waste management plans for inert waste – provided that the waste is not ‘Category A’ waste, subject to the additional requirements under Part 6.
However the overall aim of the Regulations is to secure the necessary procedures to ensure that material such as waste rock, tailings and overburden, extracted from mines and quarries, is controlled in a way that addresses the key concerns of the MWD, those of public safety and protection of the environment. This is done primarily from a planning angle, transposing most of the Directive’s requirements through existing planning application procedures. Therefore all new sites requiring a waste management plan, and in some cases a permit, must apply for mineral extraction within the existing planning system. Operators are thus encouraged to adopt a focussed and consistent approach to waste issues, enabling compliance with the MWD whilst minimising additional costs.
Transitional provisions are in place for existing sites who, under regulation 5(2) have an extended deadline to obtain planning permission before 1st May 2012. For extractive waste areas and certain waste facilities which are less strictly monitored by the MWD (including inert waste), the only requirement is to obtain approval of a waste management plan before this date. However, approval is not needed where the extractive waste is deemed non-hazardous or comes from non-polluting soil or peat.
The full Regulations may be viewed via the following link:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/ssi2010/ssi_20100060_en_1
EA guidance puts streamlined WEEE regime in the spotlight
The Environment Agency (EA) has issued guidance on the streamlined WEEE regime, following the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment) Regulations 2009 having entered into force on 1 January 2010. The Amendment Regulations were designed to reduce the overall administrative burden on businesses by streamlining the WEEE system, implemented by the WEEE Regulations 2006, which ensure that producers of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) take the financial responsibility for the environmental impact of products which they place on the market, especially when those products become waste.
The EA’s ‘WEEE Amendment Regulations Factsheet’ sets out the implications for approved authorisation treatment facilities (AATFs), approved exporters (AEs) and producers who are members of the Producer Compliance Scheme (PCS), following the recent amendments made. The guidance highlights some of the key changes introduced for AEs, ATFs and PCSs in respect of the conditions of approval for the 2010 compliance:
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Reuse, Recycling and Recovery Targets – PCSs are no longer responsible for ensuring that targets for the reuse, recycling and recovery of WEEE are met for the compliance periods starting 1 January 2010 – it is now the sole responsibility of AATFs who issue evidence for WEEE received for treatment, to meet the targets set out in the Amendment Regulations from 1 January 2010 onwards.
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Reporting – the Amendments make a specific condition of approval for AATFs and AEs to have the systems and procedures in place to ensure that they provide accurate reports to the EA in connection with complying with the reporting requirements under the 2006 Regulations. AATFS and AEs must now also report on the amounts of WEEE received from or on behalf of PCSs. In turn, PCSs are to provide the EA with information on the amount of WEEE in tonnes that is collected and sent for treatment or recovery, including the details of each AATF or AE receiving the WEEE.
Other changes made are that PCSs will no longer have to reapply for approval every three compliance periods – instead, scheme approvals will be ‘open-ended’ and schemes must provide updated ‘rolling’ operational plans by 31 July each year.
Finally, AATFs and AEs will welcome the changes applying to Evidence Notes – Evidence Notes have been simplified to reflect the new requirement that only WEEE received (rather than treated, recovered or recycled) will need to be declared on the note. The Amendment Regulations also make it clear that evidence may be issued by AATFs and AEs for the reuse of whole appliances.
The EA’s guidance should be viewed as supplementary to the main guidance notes issued by the Department of Business Innovation on the 2006 Regulations in January this year, applying to businesses and individuals involved in the sale, purchase and disposal of EEE from 1 January 2010.
The EA’s Factsheet on the streamlined WEEE regime may be viewed via the following link:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Business/WEEE_2009_amendments_factsheet_.pdf
Landfill Tax fills the coffers
The standard rate of Landfill Tax is to increase from £40 per tonne to £48 per tonne on 1st April 2010. This was announced in last year's Budget, and judging by the experience of the past few years we can expect an announcement about next year's increase in this year's Budget. The Government announced several years ago that it intended to keep raising the rate of Landfill Tax, and although it is now well past its original target of £35 per tonne, it shows no sign of stopping! The latest published estimate of total receipts for 2009 shows that yield is now actually falling as the twin downward pressures of the recession and the cost of sending waste to landfill have begun to outweigh the ever-increasing rates, so an announcement of another increase in the rate for next year seems likely.
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