Consultation on Zero Waste Regulations

Regulations to Deliver Zero Waste

A Consultation on the proposed Zero Waste

(Scotland) Regulations 2011

Purpose The Zero Waste Plan, published on 9 June 2010, set out the strategic direction for waste policy for Scotland and proposed 22 actions to be taken to deliver it. This consultation covers 3 of those actions relating to the introduction of regulatory measures to:

• require source segregation and separate collection of specified waste

materials; • restrict input to landfill (effectively banning materials which could be re-used

or recycled or which could be used to produce energy); and • restrict inputs to Energy from Waste facilities (effectively banning materials

which could be re-used or recycled). Consultation Arrangements Please send your views and comments on the proposals in this paper to:

Zero Waste Delivery Team Scottish Government Area 1-H Victoria Quay EDINBURGH EH6 6QQ

Tel: 0131 244 0205 Fax: 0131 244 0245

E-mail: [email protected] Responses should be made on the attached Respondent Information Form and returned to us by 28 February 2011. Earlier responses would be welcome.

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1.0 A Vision for a Zero Waste Scotland This vision describes a Scotland where resource use is minimised, valuable

resources are not disposed of in landfills, and most waste is sorted into separate

streams for reprocessing, leaving only limited amounts of waste to go for mixed waste treatment, energy from waste and landfill.

A zero waste Scotland will:

• be where everyone – individuals, the public and business sectors –

appreciates the environmental, social and economic value of resources, and

how they can play their part in using resources efficiently;

• reduce Scotland’s impact on the environment, both locally and globally, by

minimising the unnecessary use of primary materials, reusing resources where possible, and recycling and recovering value from materials when they

reach the end of their life;

• contribute to sustainable economic growth by seizing the economic and environmental business and job opportunities of a zero waste approach.

Successful implementation of Scotland’s Zero Waste Plan 2010 will help Scotland to achieve sustainable economic growth. Recycling represents a huge opportunity to

reduce dependency on imports and deliver a sustainable supply of basic raw

materials.

At the heart of the Zero Waste Plan is a change of mindset, a need for every one of

us to start viewing waste as a potential resource and to think about how to use that

resource most efficiently. Many businesses, individuals and public sector organizations are already making this shift and their leadership and achievements

must be replicated across Scotland.

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2.0 Introduction

2.1 The Zero Waste Plan 2010

Scotland has already embarked on the journey towards a more sustainable approach to waste and resources. Recycling rates continue to rise, volumes of waste being

sent to landfill are declining, and as a society we are increasingly aware of the

environmental impact of our activities. However, despite this progress, recyclable materials continue to be landfilled. The

Zero Waste Plan is underpinned by a determination to achieve the best overall outcomes for Scotland’s economy and environment by making best practical use of

the approach in the waste hierarchy: prevention, reuse, recycling and recovery.

The Zero Waste Plan sets out Government’s intention to develop regulatory

measures to drive source segregation, implement a phased programme of landfill

bans and ensure that only waste which could not have been recycled is incinerated.

Zero Waste Plan Action 4: The Scottish Government will introduce progressive bans on types of materials that may be disposed of in landfill, and associated support measures, to ensure that no resources with a value for reuse or recycling are sent to landfill by 2020.

Zero Waste Plan Action 8: To support the introduction of landfill bans, the Scottish Government will introduce regulations to drive separate collection and treatment of a range of resources in order to maximise their reuse and recycling value, and generate market supply. The initial focus will be on separate collection of food waste, in order to recover its material and energy value and avoid contamination of other waste materials. Zero Waste Plan Action 14: The Scottish Government will introduce regulatory measures to support the delivery of landfill bans, by ensuring energy from waste treatment is only used to recover value from resources that cannot offer greater environmental and economic benefits through reuse or recycling. These measures will supersede the current 25% cap which currently applies only to municipal waste, and are likely to result in similar amounts of resources being available for energy from waste treatment.

The following consultation contains a package of regulatory measures to deliver

these actions. They will initiate a step change in how waste will be managed in Scotland by aiming to:

• Maximise the quantity and improve the quality of materials available for recycling.

• Make sure that materials which could have been recycled are not wasted.

• Protect the environment by ensuring that only suitable waste streams are finally disposed of in landfill.

• Provide greater certainty for investment in infrastructure

• Manage waste according to its resource value and not according to where it

came from.

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The proposed regulations work together with other policy instruments (e.g. landfill tax

and recycling targets) to help achieve a zero waste Scotland and drive investment towards the most sustainable waste management solutions for Scotland in the long

term. Each measure should not be seen in isolation; they are package of

interdependent and complementary measures.

The regulatory amendments suggested have been informed by research work carried

out by Eunomia Consulting on landfill bans1. Their research indicated landfill bans,

when coupled with a “requirement to sort”, would deliver net environmental and financial benefits. The work focuses on defining waste by material type (to conserve

resources) or property (to protect the environment from the impacts of disposal).

2.2 The draft statutory instruments

There are two new statutory instruments proposed:

1. The proposed Zero Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2011 amend the:

• Environmental Protection Act 1990

• Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994

• Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000

• Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003 and

2. In addition, the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991 are

replaced by the proposed Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) (Scotland) Regulations 2011.

Drafts of these statutory instruments are contained in Appendix 1.

2.2 Summary of proposed regulatory measures The proposed regulatory measures take a resources based approach to managing

wastes from all sectors. In an all waste approach, waste can be broadly split into two

categories – sorted materials for recycling and unsorted waste requiring further

recovery and disposal. The proposed regulations reflect this split by taking a two pronged approach: (a) to maximise recycling and (b) to maximise resource recovery

and protect the environment through treatment of unsorted waste. Scottish

Government therefore proposes regulations to require:

1. Source segregation and separate collection of the key recyclable

materials. These materials are paper and card, glass, metals and plastics. Food waste is also targeted due to the environmental benefits of managing

biowastes separately.

Source segregation is a crucial component of a successful recycling strategy because it enables the quality of the materials to be maintained. Making

source segregation and separate collection a statutory duty aims to maximize

the quantities of high quality materials available for reprocessing. This will provide additional support for the recycling industry by helping to secure

supplies of high value materials. Consultees are asked to note specifically

that different requirements will apply to household waste collected by local authorities. More details are in sections 5.0 and 6.0.

1 http://www.wrap.org.uk/downloads/FINAL_Landfill_Bans_Feasibility_Research.f66a6ebf.8796.pdf

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2. A ban on mixing separately collected recyclable materials. Once recyclable materials have been segregated, they must be managed in a way

which does not compromise their quality. The proposed regulations will give

SEPA statutory powers to include conditions in environmental permits to

make sure that source segregated materials are not mixed with other wastes or materials in a way which would hinder their recycling potential. More

details are in section 7.0

3. A ban on landfilling the key recyclable materials. This supports the

upstream measures taken to maximise levels of quality recycling by banning

those same materials from landfill when source segregated and separately collected. More details are in section 8.0.

4. A restriction on the inputs to energy from waste (EfW) facilities. Not all

recyclable waste is segregated at source and in some cases it will end up in the unsorted waste stream. To ensure waste materials which could have

been reused or recycled are not incinerated, EfW inputs will be restricted,

through the environmental Permit, to residual waste and other suitable single stream wastes such as contaminated wood. This restriction means that

unsorted waste will not be able to go directly for EfW without first being pre-

treated. This provides a second opportunity to remove recyclate missed at the source segregation stage and ensure that Scotland does not simply move

from mass landfill to mass incineration. More details are in section 9.0

5. A property based ban on waste disposed of to landfill based on organic content. This is proposed in order to protect the environment from the

potential impacts of landfilling biodegradable waste. This will reduce both the

volumes and biodegradability of waste being sent to landfill. More details are in section 10.0

Under these proposals, much less waste will be transported directly from producer to

incineration or landfill. Source segregation will drive greater volumes of recyclable materials to appropriate treatment for recycling. Unsorted wastes will be pre-treated

to extract recyclable material, produce Refuse Derived Fuel and reduce

biodegradability of the landfilled fraction. These measures constitute a complementary package which will drive sustainable economic growth and

encourage Scotland to become one of the most resource efficient economies in

Europe.

2.3 Lead-in times for the proposed regulatory measures Introducing these measures will require appropriate lead-in times. Scottish

Government’s aim in setting the timings for introduction is to balance the need for

environmental improvement with the time required for local authorities and the waste management industry to make the necessary adjustments to their practices

and to develop the alternative infrastructure.

For example, the landfill bans research referenced above suggested a lead-in time

of 7-10 years for the case of a ban on the whole category of biodegradable waste.

In this scenario, it is also desirable for recycling levels to be already relatively high to allow for the resource efficiency gains from recycling (paper and card) and

composting and anaerobic digestion (of source separated green and food waste)

to be fully realised.

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A proposed timeline for the landfill bans is illustrated here:

Views are sought from consultees regarding timings of introduction for each of the five proposed regulatory measures outlines above.

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3.0 Waste Flows and Policy/Regulatory Drivers

Note: the diagram shows the waste flows and regulatory / policy intervention points discussed in this paper and does not show all possible waste / material flows in the economy

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4.0 Consultation Questions

Q1. Are there any other materials or waste streams which should be included in

these requirements to sort and separately collect?

Q2. Food waste is required to be presented in a dedicated container. Are there

any other recyclable materials which should be sorted and presented separately for collection in a dedicated container?

Q3. Do consultees have any comments on the new draft Duty of Care Code of Practice?

Q4. Do consultees consider that Government should mandate more specifically what actions waste collection authorities must take to improve recycling of

waste from households? If so, what are they?

Q5. What additional measures, if any, should Government consider in order to

oblige householders to recycle?

Q6. Do consultees agree that banning the listed materials accompanied by a “requirement to sort” will be effective in achieving high recycling rates? If not,

what additional or alternative measures could be adopted?

Q7. Do consultees consider that banning the listed materials accompanied by a

requirement to sort will help support investment in the infrastructure required

to achieve high recycling rates?

Q8. What pre-treatment do consultees consider is necessary in order to ensure

that only residual waste is managed in EfW facilities?

Q9. Do consultees agree that this is an appropriate measure to prevent over-

provision of residual waste management infrastructure?

Q10. What single stream waste, such as contaminated wood, do consultees

consider are appropriate for EfW?

Q11. Scottish Government intends that the EfW restrictions will apply immediately

to any new installation. What transitional period should be allowed for existing EfW installations to comply with the regulations?

Q12. Do consultees consider that the lead-in times for the landfill bans are reasonable?

Q13. What test method do consultees consider should be used to assess the level of biological activity?

Q14. Do consultees have any other comments?

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5.0 Source Segregation and Separate Collection 5.1 What is Proposed?

Prioritising high levels of closed loop recycling is central to achieving a zero waste

Scotland. The higher the quality of the waste materials collected for recycling the greater the environmental benefit. Recycling reduces the use of virgin materials and

energy required to extract and process raw materials.

The producer of waste, through their management at source, ultimately determines

the value which can subsequently be derived from it. In order to maintain a high

resource value, it is vital that recyclable materials are separated from other wastes at

source. This key action underpins the whole drive towards a zero waste Scotland. It supports market demand for high quality and high value recyclate and is the best way

to achieve high recycling rates.

Clean, uncontaminated recyclable materials command higher prices in the recycling

markets. Therefore, producers who source segregate may find that they can reduce

their costs of waste collection and disposal. Many waste management companies in Scotland already offer separate collection services and have reduced waste

management costs for many of their customers.

In order to give a clear signal to stakeholders about the importance of the zero waste objective of maximising the quantities of high quality recyclable materials sourced

from Scotland, the Scottish Government is proposing legislative change.

An extended Duty of Care on all waste producers (other than householders) will

require source segregation of the key recyclable materials. This statutory

requirement is intended to place a general responsibility for everyone to do the best

they can with their recyclable wastes and will require a significant change of mindset. No longer will it be acceptable to fill one mixed waste bin with all waste streams. This

reform will drive a step change in the way trade waste management operates in

Scotland for both producers and the waste industry.

These legislative amendments are supported by a new statutory Duty of Care Code

of Practice made under section 34(7) of the EPA 1990 which replaces all previous versions applicable in Scotland. The CoP also forms part of this consultation.

5.2 What do the regulations say?

Regulation 2 of the draft Zero Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2011 makes the

following amendment to section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

2.—(1) The Environmental Protection Act 1990(2) is amended as follows.

(2) After section 34(1) insert—

ì(1A) In subsection (1), references to a written description of the waste include text that

is—

(a) transmitted by electronic means;

(2)

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(b) received in legible form; and

(c) capable of being used for subsequent reference.î.


ì(2A) Subject to subsection (2D), it shall be the duty of any person who produces

controlled waste (other than an occupier of domestic property in respect of waste produced on that

property) to present the following wastes for collection separately from all other wastes:—

(a) glass;

(b) metals;

(c) plastics;

(d) textiles;

(e) paper; and

(f) card (including cardboard).

(2B) Subject to subsection (2D), it shall be the duty of any person carrying on an undertaking

whose activities consist of or include food production, food retail, food distribution or wholesaling

or food preparation to present the food waste produced by that person in the course of that activity

for collection separately from all other wastes.

(2C) Subject to subsection (2D), it shall be the duty of any person who carries controlled waste to

collect and carry separately from other types of waste those types of waste which have been

presented for collection separately in accordance with either subsection (2A) or (2B).

(2D) The duties contained in subsections (2A) to (2C) do not apply to the extent that compliance

with them would be unreasonable.î.


ì(5A) The Scottish Ministers may, by regulations, make provision imposing requirements on any

person who is subject to any of the duties imposed by subsections (2A) to (2C) as respects the

making and retention of documents and the furnishing of documents or copies of documents.î.


ì(6A) Any person who fails to comply with any of the duties imposed by subsections (2A)

to (2C) or with any requirement imposed under subsection (5A) shall be liable on summary

conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.î.

(6) In section 34(7), for “the duty imposed on them by subsection (1) above” substitute “the

duties imposed on them by subsection (1) and subsections (2A) to (2C)”.

5.3 Who does the new Duty apply to?

This Duty applies to all waste producers with the exception of householders. This

means that for example, all shops, offices, factories, restaurants, schools and hospitals must comply with this new duty. For more information on how source

segregation will be increased for waste from households, please see Section 6.0.

The requirement to source segregate food waste is targeted specifically on those

undertakings involved in food production, food retail or food preparation. This

includes food manufacture, canteens, kitchens, schools, restaurants and

supermarkets.

The Duty also applies to waste carriers who collect source segregated materials.

Waste collectors must make sure that the efforts made by producers to source segregate are not undermined once those materials are collected and transported.

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5.4 What do waste producers have to do?

Under these proposals waste producers have a new statutory duty to:

• Present glass, metal, plastic, textile, paper and card for collection separately from all other wastes.

• Present food waste for collection separately from all other wastes if carrying on

an activity consisting of food production, food retail or food preparation.

In order to comply with this Duty, it will be necessary to have separate containers for

the listed recyclable wastes. With the exception of food waste, which must be

collected in a dedicated container, it is satisfactory under this duty for the listed recyclable wastes to be collected in the same container as each other. This is called

‘co-mingling’. The co-mingled wastes will be separated either at the kerbside or

further treated at a Materials Recovery Facility (“MRF”).

5.5 What must waste collectors/carriers do?

Under these proposals waste carriers have a new statutory duty to:

• Collect and carry source segregated recyclable materials separately from other

wastes.

• Provide a suitable collection service to their customers.

It is the duty of a waste carrier to collect and carry separately the listed recyclable

waste materials where these have been segregated by the producer. As a carrier of

waste you have a duty to ensure that these recyclable materials are not contaminated with other wastes whilst you are the holder.

A breach of the Duty of Care may result in enforcement action being taken. In addition to the penalties under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 carriers could

also lose their registration to carry waste.

5.6 What will happen to the recyclable waste after collection?

To further complement efforts to source segregate and separately collect, waste managers will be prohibited from mixing these source segregated wastes with

unsorted wastes at a transfer station. Further, these source segregated materials are

banned from landfill. These measures ensure that recyclable waste separated at

source is directed towards recycling.

5.7 Consultation questions

Q1 Are there any other materials or waste streams which should be included in

these requirements to sort and separately collect?

Q2 Food waste is required to be presented in a dedicated container. Are there any

other recyclable materials which should be sorted and presented separately for

collection in a dedicated container?

Q3 Do consultees have any comments on the new draft of the Duty of Care Code of

Practice?

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6.0 Household waste collected by Local Authorities

6.1 What is proposed?

The Duty of Care (as described in the previous section) applies in only a very limited sense to individual householders. Waste from households is almost always collected

by, or on behalf of, local authorities. Therefore, a different regulatory mechanism is

proposed for waste from households.

The proposed regulation amends Section 45 of the Environmental Protection Act

1990 to require Scottish waste collection authorities to take all technically,

environmentally and economically practicable measures to provide separate collection services to households for the listed recyclable materials.

Local authorities provide services to a wide range of different housing circumstances based on geographic and socio – economic variables. Best practice guidance for

collection systems, which optimise capture of recyclates and ensure that the quality

of the material is not compromised, is being developed by Zero Waste Scotland. This work will help local authorities design whole collection systems (for recyclate /

“sorted” waste and mixed / “unsorted” waste) which have both environmental and

economic benefits.

The Zero Waste Plan makes it clear that the focus of municipal waste policy has

moved away from landfill diversion towards maximising levels of high quality

recycling. Levels of high quality recycling can be maximised through separation and collection systems which keep materials clean and free from contamination. This

requires a change of mindset for both local authorities and the householders being

provided with the service.



following amendment to section 45 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990

Separate collection of recyclable waste: Scotland

(7) After section 45B insert—

ìSeparate collection of recyclable waste: Scotland

45C.—(1) This section applies to any waste collection authority whose area is in Scotland (“a

Scottish waste collection authority”).

(2) Subject to subsection (5), where a Scottish waste collection authority has a duty by

virtue of section 45(1)(a) to arrange for the collection of household waste from any domestic

property, the authority shall ensure that the arrangements it makes in relation to that property

include arrangements for the provision of receptacles to the occupier of that property which will

enable the occupier to present—

(a) the wastes referred to in subsection (3) for collection separately from all other wastes;

and

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(b) food waste for collection separately from all other wastes.

(3) The wastes are:

(a) glass;

(b) metals;

(c) plastics;

(d) textiles;

(e) paper; and


(4) Subject to subsection (5), where a Scottish waste collection authority is subject to the duty set

out in subsection (2) it shall collect and carry separately from other types of waste—

(a) wastes referred to in subsection (3) which are presented for collection separately

from other types of waste by the occupier of that property; and

(b) food waste which is presented separately for collection by that occupier.

(5) Subsections (2) and (4) do not apply to the extent that separate collection and carriage would

not be technically, environmentally or economically practicable.î.

6.3 Why is this change of focus important?

The environmental benefits of reducing reliance on primary resources through

recycling are well established. The Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC requires Member States to put in place measures to promote high quality recycling.

Key materials identified as being readily recyclable are paper, metal, plastic and

glass. The Directive also promotes better management of biowaste (biodegradable

park and garden waste, food and kitchen waste).

Due to the requirements of the Landfill Directive, the focus, up to now, has been on

reducing the amount of biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill. This has led to the development of some waste management options which do not maximise the

resource value of the materials contained in the waste, despite nominally meeting the

targets of the Landfill Directive. Scottish Government considers that diverting waste

from landfill is not always the same as recycling.

The focus for local authorities will shift from diversion of Biodegradable Municipal

Waste from landfill and towards achieving high levels of closed loop recycling. This directs efforts towards activities which are further up the waste hierarchy than landfill

diversion. Greater source segregation of recyclable materials, food and green waste

will also be necessary to meet the targets set out in Annex A of the Zero Waste Plan.

6.4 What will happen to the recyclable waste after collection? Consultees are asked to note that this regulatory approach only differentiates

between waste from households and waste from commercial & industrial premises at

the source segregation and separate collection stage. Once collected, the Zero Waste Regulations deal with all waste, regardless of its origin, in the same way -

based on its properties and management method, and not based on its source.

This illustrates one of the differences between this approach under the Zero Waste Plan and earlier strategic approaches to waste. Earlier waste strategies focused

mainly on municipal waste management, the driver being the Landfill Directive

requirements to divert biodegradable municipal waste out of landfill. The Zero Waste

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Plan takes an all waste approach ensuring that the same treatment standards are

applied and the regulatory requirements are the same for all wastes – regardless of whether the waste is household, municipal or commercial & industrial.

Therefore, once the household waste has been collected the same requirements as

described in section 5.6 apply. Waste managers will be prohibited from mixing these source segregated wastes with unsorted wastes at a transfer station and the source

segregated materials are banned from landfill.

6.5 Consultation Questions

Q4 Do consultees consider that Government should mandate more specifically the

actions waste collection authorities must take to improve recycling of waste from households? If so, what are they?

Q5 What additional measures, if any, should Government consider in order to oblige householders to recycle?

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7.0 Ban on mixing separately collected recyclables


It is important that sorted recyclables are not contaminated after efforts have been made both to segregate materials at source and to collect and transport them

separately from other wastes and materials.

These regulatory provisions mean that any environmental permit for waste

management will include condition(s) to prohibit the mixing of separately collected

wastes with other waste where such mixing would hinder future recycling. These

ensure that efforts put into source separation are not undermined later by poor management.



following amendment to the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994

Amendment of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994

3.—(1) The Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994(3) are amended as follows.

(2)After regulation 12D insert—

ìConditions of [waste management] licences: separately collected wastes

12E.—(1) SEPA shall ensure that any [waste management] licence granted or varied on or

after…..contains such conditions as it considers necessary to ensure that waste which has been

collected and carried separately from other types of waste in accordance with section 34(2C) or

section 45C(4) is not mixed with any other type of waste or material, to the extent that such

mixing would hamper further recovery.

(2) Any [waste management] licence which is in force on….. is modified so as to include,

as a condition of the licence until it is next varied, the following condition:

ìThe mixing of any waste which has been collected and carried separately from other

types of waste in accordance with section 34(2C) or section 45C(4) of the Environmental

Protection Act 1990 with any other type of waste or material is prohibited to the extent

that such mixing would hamper further recovery.î.

(3) In the event of any inconsistency between the condition set out in paragraph (2) and

any other condition of the licence, that other condition shall be superseded by the condition set out

in paragraph (2) to the extent of such inconsistency.î.

(3) After regulation 17(3) insert—

ì(3A) In the case of an exempt activity involving the storage, treatment, recovery or disposal of

waste by a person at a site other than the place at which that waste was produced, paragraph (1)

applies only if that person ensures that waste which has been collected and carried separately from

other types of waste in accordance with section 34(2C) or section 45C(4) is not mixed with any

other type of waste or material to the extent that such mixing would hamper further recovery.î.

Regulation 4 of the Zero Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2011 makes the following

amendment to the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000:

(3)

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Amendment of the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000

4.—(1) The Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000(4) are amended as

follows.

(2) After regulation 9 insert—

ìConditions of permits: separately collected wastes

9A.—(1) SEPA shall ensure that any permit granted or varied on or after…. in respect of any

activity falling within Schedule 1 Part 1 Chapter 5 or 6 contains such conditions as it considers

necessary to ensure that waste which has been collected and carried separately from other types of

waste in accordance with section 34(2C) or section 45C(4) of the Environmental Protection Act

1990 is not mixed with any other type of waste or material, to the extent that such mixing would

hamper further recovery.

(2) Any permit which is in force on…. in respect of any such activity is modified so as to include,

as a condition of the permit until it is next varied, the following condition—

ìThe mixing of any waste which has been collected and carried separately from other types of

waste in accordance with section 34(2C) or section 45C(4) of the Environmental Protection Act

1990 with any other type of waste or material is prohibited to the extent that such mixing would

hamper further recovery.î.

(3) In the event of any inconsistency between the condition set out in paragraph (2) and any other

permit condition, that other condition shall be superseded by the condition set out in paragraph (2)

to the extent of such inconsistency.

7.2 What does this mean for licence / permit holders?

In practice, waste managers will be required to ensure that the listed source

segregated recyclables are kept separate from unsorted waste streams once

unloaded at a transfer station or any other waste management facility.

(4)

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8.0 Landfill Bans - Materials


This consultation includes a proposal to introduce two types of landfill ban. The first type, which this section covers, is a series of material based bans. The second type

of ban is a property based ban based on biodegradable content (discussed in section

10).

The materials proposed to be banned from landfill are paper and card, glass, metal,

plastics, textiles and food waste.

The landfill bans research referenced in section 2.1 indicated that banning recyclable

materials from landfill is most effective when accompanied by a “requirement to sort”.

These material based landfill bans therefore support the upstream requirements to sort the key recyclable materials (discussed in sections 5, 6 and 7) and are not an

alternative to these requirements.

Practical implementation guidance on both the materials and property based landfill

bans has been drafted and forms part of this consultation.


Regulation 5 of the draft Zero Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2011 makes the following amendment to the Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003:

Amendment of the Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003

5.—(1) The Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003(5) are amended as follows.

(2) After regulation 11(1)(fa) insert—

ì(fb) as from…., any waste which has been collected and carried separately from other

waste types in accordance with section 34(2C) or section 45C(4) of the Environmental

Protection Act 1990;

8.3 What materials are banned?

The materials which are banned from landfill are source segregated glass, metal,

plastic, textile, paper, card and food waste.

It is important for consultees to understand that banning these materials from landfill

does not mean that they must be removed from mixed/unsorted waste prior to

disposal in landfill sites. Unsorted wastes arriving at landfill sites are still likely to contain the listed materials. The bans apply only to materials which have already

been sorted for recycling – either as part of the new Duty of Care or by householders

using the service provided by their waste collection authority. The ban does not, by itself, increase levels of recycling for these key materials.

Mandatory source segregation and the household waste services provided by waste collection authorities, supported by education and enforcement will, over time,

remove the listed wastes from the unsorted waste stream. In time, this unsorted

(5)

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waste will be subject to the property based ban, ensuring that it is diverted from

landfill towards alternative treatment (see section 10).

A flow diagram illustrating the materials based bans is shown below.

8.4 What does this mean for landfill operators? Landfills are regulated through a permitting system under the Pollution Prevention

and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000 (PPC Regulations). Landfill permits will be

amended to include permit conditions making it an offence for landfill operators to accept these source segregated wastes for disposal at their landfill sites.

8.5 How will these bans be timed?

The upstream source segregation requirements for the listed recyclable materials are

the main driver for delivering high quality materials into the recycling markets.

Scottish Government intends to introduce the “requirement to sort” before introducing the corresponding landfill ban.

This is in order to provide the waste management industry and local authorities with sufficient time to organise their collection services and develop the required

additional recycling infrastructure before the ban comes into effect.

Scottish Government proposes to introduce landfill bans on source segregated dry

recyclables and food waste in 2015. This is two years after the requirement to sort

enters into force. Therefore, the programme provides two years to develop collection

infrastructure and a further two years to develop treatment infrastructure.

8.6 Consultation questions Q6 Do consultees agree that banning the listed materials accompanied by a

“requirement to sort” will be effective in achieving high recycling rates? If not, what additional or alternative measures could be adopted?

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Q7 Do consultees consider that banning the listed materials accompanied by a “requirement to sort” will support investment in the infrastructure required to achieve

high recycling rates?

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9.0 Energy from Waste Restrictions


Not all waste will be sorted into separate streams for recycling. An unsorted waste stream will remain. The restrictions on EfW inputs and the property based landfill ban

are the proposed regulatory instruments to manage the unsorted waste stream.

This section of the consultation presents the proposal to restrict inputs to EfW plants.

For the purposes of the restrictions, Energy from Waste plant includes incineration,

gasification, pyrolysis and other Advanced Thermal Treatment technologies. It does not include Anaerobic Digestion plants which treat either source segregated biowaste

or the biological fraction of unsorted waste to produce a biogas which is

subsequently used to generate energy.

The approach to EfW under the Zero Waste Plan is not solely about using waste to

generate energy instead of fossil fuels. Energy from Waste is truly sustainable only if

the waste which is burnt could not have been reused or recycled. Therefore, the reasons for introducing restrictions are twofold:

• To conserve resources. For waste management to be sustainable in the long

term, resources which could have been reused or recycled must not be incinerated. Until segregation at source becomes commonplace in all

households and businesses there will be recyclable materials remaining in the

unsorted waste stream. Pre-treatment will recover the remaining value from recyclable material in unsorted waste, remove non-combustibles to make a

high calorific fuel and reduce the tonnage going forwards to suitable EfW

technologies.

• To ensure that investment in residual treatment infrastructure does not lock

Scotland into supplying EfW plants with large quantities of waste in order to

generate energy. Scottish Government considers that investment in infrastructure which depends on continuing high levels of unsorted waste, at

the expense of delivering flexible long term solutions, could undermine the

overall Zero Waste objectives. Over provision of residual waste treatment infrastructure could undermine the economic case for recycling. The

quantities of unsorted waste generated will decrease over time as progress is

made towards high levels of recycling (at least 70%) and waste prevention measures reduce overall waste arisings. Although EfW has an important

contribution to make in managing unsorted waste and providing electricity and

heat, this must not be at the expense of efforts to prevent and recycle waste

which have higher overall climate change and resource efficiency benefits.

Therefore, in order to ensure that waste management in Scotland does not move one

step up the hierarchy from landfill to mass incineration, Scottish Government intends to introduce regulations which will restrict inputs to Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities

to

• Residual wastes. • Other suitable waste types. For example, it may be best to burn waste types

such as treated wood and waste oil and to recover energy.

22

This resource centered solution shows that EfW is not a substitute for high quality

recycling achieved through source segregation and separate collection, but can be complementary to these upstream measures.

That inputs to EfW facilities should be restricted to residual waste only is not a new

policy. What is proposed here is that practical implementation will move from the land use planning system to regulation by SEPA of day to day operations. This proposal

will replace the 25% energy from waste cap for local authority collected municipal

waste with an approach that requires equivalent treatment standards for all waste streams and sectors (household, commercial and industrial waste), irrespective of

which party collects the waste.

This measure is not intended to add to current stringent environmental protection

measures. The existing Waste Incineration Directive standards provide robust

controls designed to protect the environment and human health.



following amendments to the PPC Regulations:

Conditions of permits: incineration and co-incineration

9B.—(1) SEPA shall ensure that any permit granted or varied on or after……for a waste

incineration installation contains such conditions as it considers necessary to ensure that

wastes accepted for incineration or co-incineration comprise only residual wastes or [other

suitable wastes- to be defined] or both.

(2) In this regulation and in Schedule 4, “residual wastes” means wastes which have been

subject to all reasonably practicable efforts to extract recyclable material prior to

incineration or co-incineration.î.

(3) In Schedule 4 Part 1 paragraph 1B(1)—

(a) in paragraph (d), omit “and”;

(b) in paragraph (e), at the end insert “; and”; and

(c) after paragraph (e) insert—

ì(f) only residual wastes or [other suitable wastes- to be defined] are

accepted by the operator.î.

9.3 What is ‘residual waste’?

Residual waste is defined in the draft Zero Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2011 as

“wastes which have been subject to all reasonably practicable efforts to extract recyclable material prior to incineration or co-incineration”

In practical terms this means the following:

• Source segregated recyclable waste cannot go to EfW.

• Unsorted waste cannot go directly from the producer to EfW.

• Rejects from Materials Recovery Facilities can be accepted at EfW. • Unsorted waste which has been undergone pre-treatment can be accepted at

EfW.

23

As levels of source segregation are currently low compared to the levels required to

meet the recycling objectives of the Zero Waste Plan, there remains fairly significant quantities of potentially recyclable material in unsorted waste, (i.e. black bags, litter

bins, skips). There are a number of treatment technologies which can be used to

extract recyclable material from unsorted waste and render the resulting waste

stream “residual”. These are discussed in the accompanying implementation guidance document. Non-ferrous metals and dense plastics, which are lost during the

incineration process, but which have value as recyclate, should be extracted through

pre-treatment.

There may also be other materials which, although not present in large volumes, are

valuable and should be recycled. Such an example is Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). Electronic gadgets may contain small quantities of

valuable raw materials such as gold and other metals and the elements referred to as

the “rare earth metals”. These are essential in a range of high technology

applications such as super-conductors, lasers, renewable technologies, medical equipment, communications and defence etc. The mining and processing of these

metals can have serious environmental consequences and, currently, most of the

global supplies come from China.

25

9.5 What will this mean for EfW operators?

At the gate any unsorted waste would be rejected and directed for pre-treatment.

Otherwise, all waste accepted for EfW would be expected to

a) have come from a compliant waste treatment plant and be declared ‘residual

waste’ on the Waste Transfer Note (WTN).

b) have undergone appropriate pre-treatment as a front end process at the EfW facility.

c) be a suitable single stream waste such as contaminated wood, waste oil etc

and declaring itself to be so on the WTN.

SEPA, when regulating the inputs to incineration and co-incineration plants will

periodically audit residual waste suppliers to ensure that only suitable waste types

allowed by the permit conditions are being accepted for EfW. It will be an offence under the PPC Regulations to incinerate or co-incinerate waste which is not residual

waste. It is expected that incinerator operators will ensure that their suppliers either

carry out this treatment or they do it in-house.

9.6 Consultation Questions Q8 What pretreatment do consultees consider is necessary in order to ensure that

only residual waste is managed in EfW facilities?

Q9 Do consultees agree that this is an appropriate measure to prevent over-

provision of residual waste management infrastructure?

Q10 What single stream wastes, such as contaminated wood, do consultees

consider are appropriate for EfW?

Q11 Scottish Government intends that the EfW restrictions will apply immediately to

any new installation. What transitional period should be allowed for existing EfW

installations to comply with the regulations?

26

10.0 Landfill Bans – Measurable Property


Scottish Government proposes to introduce a measurable property landfill ban based on biodegradable content. This type of ban acts in the same way as a landfill ban on

unsorted waste.

The purpose of this landfill ban is:

• to reduce the volumes of waste being landfilled by directing unsorted waste to pre-treatment.

• to extract remaining resource value from the unsorted waste stream.

• to protect the environment from the climate change impacts of landfilling

biodegradable waste.

Unsorted waste will have to be stabilised in a pre-treatment process to reduce the

level of biological activity to a defined threshold. As with the other measures proposed under the Zero Waste Plan, it takes an “all waste” approach and does not

make any distinction between “municipal waste” and waste from other sources.

In order to define the threshold of biological activity, the draft Regulations suggest using a Total Organic Carbon content of less than 3%. Views are sought from

consultees on possible alternatives.

Implementation guidance on this landfill ban and the material based bans

discussed in Section 8.0 is published alongside this consultation and forms part of

it.

10.2 What do the regulations say? Regulation 5 of the draft Zero Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2011 makes the

following amendments to the Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003:




ì(fb) ….

(fc) as from…….., any waste with an organic content greater than three percent of the total

content;î.

10.3 What does this mean?

The expected outcome would be to move waste out of landfill and into alternative

mixed waste treatments such as Mechanical Biological Treatment, Mechanical Heat Treatment and EfW. What alternative treatment is provided will depend on a number

of factors and will be left to the market to determine, subject to the requirement that

(6)

27

any waste incinerated is ‘residual’ and any waste landfilled meets the

biodegradability threshold.

Under this framework, unsorted waste treatment operators will remove recyclable

materials to produce a ‘residual’ waste stream for incineration and a stabilised

fraction for landfill. If these efforts have not been made and the waste has not been stabilised to below the threshold, processors will not be able to describe the landfill

fraction as “pre-treated prior to landfill” on the Waste Transfer Note.

Plants which seek to meet this threshold through biological treatment will have to

demonstrate compliance through the environmental permit. This will require a testing

plan to be developed to show that the stabilised waste meets the limit under standard operating conditions.

10.4 How will biological activity be measured?7

Several European countries have established standards for defining stabilised

wastes, based on measures of biological activity (see Table below). Outputs from stabilisation processes will retain some level of biological activity. The degree to

which bio-stabilisation has occurred can be measured using a respiration index (RI).

This can be either static (SRI) or dynamic (DRI). RI methods measure aerobic

degradation.

The Environment Agency has developed a method which measures anaerobic

degradation, the BM100, which measures biogas production over a 100 day period. This may more accurately reflect conditions in a landfill but takes much longer to

carry out than the aerobic test methods.

Country

Testing Protocol

Measurement Period

Limit Value

Germany AT4 (SRI) Activity after 96 hours 5 mg O2 / g dm1

Austria AT4 (SRI) Activity after 96 hours 7 mg O2 / g dm1

Italy DRI 12 data points in 24 hours 1000 mg O2 / kg VS / h

UK BM100 100 days N/A3

DR4

Cumulative activity over 96 hours (measurements taken using kg LOI as

opposed to VS)2

N/A3

US DRI (ASTM) Cumulative activity over 96

hours 35,000 – 55,000 mg/kg VS

/ 96 h (suggested limit)

Notes:

1. dm – dry matter 2. LOI – loss on ignition; VS – volatile solids 3. The impact of MBT treatment on waste to be landfilled is taken into account for the

purposes of the landfill allowance trading scheme (LATS). Under the LATS, it is assumed that 68% of untreated waste is ‘active’ or ‘biodegradable’. For treated waste, the biological activity of the material is measured before and after treatment at an MBT facility using both the BM100 (as mandatory) and the DR4 (as a correlation exercise) protocols. The percentage difference in ‘biodegradability is then

7 http://www.greenstar.ie/docs/Eunomia_MBT.pdf

28

calculated and used to measure the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill.

There may be some wastes for which landfill is the most appropriate disposal

options but which cannot meet the threshold e.g. soil, although this will depend on

the threshold chosen. Bespoke permit conditions could also be developed on a case by case basis with SEPA if required.

Views are sought from consultees about which measurement method would be most appropriate.

10.5 What does this mean in practice for landfill operators?

Permit conditions will be modified to require that landfill operators accept only wastes

which are below the defined threshold. At the landfill gate any unsorted waste (black bag type waste) would be rejected and directed for pre-treatment. Otherwise, all

waste accepted for landfilling would be expected to:

a) have come from a compliant MBT plant.

b) have come from a compliant incinerator or gasifier.

c) be inert in nature (and declaring itself to be so).

Landfill operators will be expected to inspect both the Waste Transfer Note and the

waste visually at the gate to ensure that the incoming waste complies with the new

requirements.

10.6 What does this mean for the Landfill Allowance Scheme?

The Landfill Allowance Scheme (LAS) was developed to meet Landfill Directive

targets on reducing the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill.

For the purposes of the LAS, municipal waste was defined as waste managed by, or on behalf of, local authorities.

Biodegradable Municipal Waste (BMW) diversion targets will be met through pre-treatment of mixed waste. Therefore, there is no need for the LAS to monitor BMW

29

diversion or to carry out mass balance calculations for Mechanical Biological

Treatment facilities with different process efficiencies. Scottish Government intends to revoke the Landfill Allowance Scheme once the new legislative

measures to regulate waste to landfill are implemented.

10.7 Consultation Questions Q12 Do consultees think that the timing of the landfill bans (in Section 2.3) is

reasonable?

Q13 What test method do consultees consider should be used to assess the level of biological activity?

Q14 Do consultees have any other comments?

DRAFT – 23 NOVEMBER 2010 APPENDIX 1

Draft Regulations laid before the Scottish Parliament under Schedule 2 paragraph 2(2) to the European Communities Act 1972, for approval by resolution of the Scottish Parliament.

D R A F T S C O T T I S H S T A T U T O R Y I N S T R U M E N T S

2011 No.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

The Zero Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2011

Made - - - -

Coming into force - -

The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by

section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972(8) and all other powers enabling them to do

so.

In accordance with Schedule 2 paragraph 2(2) to that Act, a draft of these Regulations has been

laid before and approved by resolution of the Scottish Parliament.

Citation, commencement and extent

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Zero Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2011 and

come into force on .

(2) These Regulations extend to Scotland only.

Amendment of the Environmental Protection Act 1990

2.—(1) The Environmental Protection Act 1990(9) is amended as follows.


ì(1A) In subsection (1), references to a written description of the waste include text that

is—



(c) capable of being used for subsequent reference.î.


ì(2A) Subject to subsection (2D), it shall be the duty of any person who produces

controlled waste (other than an occupier of domestic property in respect of waste produced

on that property) to present the following wastes for collection separately from all other

wastes:—

(a) glass;

(b) metals;

(8) (9)


31

(c) plastics;

(d) textiles;

(e) paper; and


(2B) Subject to subsection (2D), it shall be the duty of any person carrying on an

undertaking whose activities consist of or include food production, food retail, food

distribution or wholesaling or food preparation to present the food waste produced by that

person in the course of that activity for collection separately from all other wastes.

(2C) Subject to subsection (2D), it shall be the duty of any person who carries controlled

waste to collect and carry separately from other types of waste those types of waste which

have been presented for collection separately in accordance with either subsection (2A) or

(2B).

(2D) The duties contained in subsections (2A) to (2C) do not apply to the extent that

compliance with them would be unreasonable.î.


ì(5A) The Scottish Ministers may, by regulations, make provision imposing requirements

on any person who is subject to any of the duties imposed by subsections (2A) to (2C) as

respects the making and retention of documents and the furnishing of documents or copies

of documents.î.


ì(6A) Any person who fails to comply with any of the duties imposed by

subsections (2A) to (2C) or with any requirement imposed under subsection (5A) shall be

liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.î.

(6) In section 34(7), for “the duty imposed on them by subsection (1) above” substitute “the

duties imposed on them by subsection (1) and subsections (2A) to (2C)”.

(7) After section 45B insert—

ìSeparate collection of recyclable waste: Scotland

45C.—(1) This section applies to any waste collection authority whose area is in Scotland

(“a Scottish waste collection authority”).

(2) Subject to subsection (5), where a Scottish waste collection authority has a duty by

virtue of section 45(1)(a) to arrange for the collection of household waste from any

domestic property, the authority shall ensure that the arrangements it makes in relation to

that property include arrangements for the provision of receptacles to the occupier of that

property which will enable the occupier to present—

(a) the wastes referred to in subsection (3) for collection separately from all other

wastes; and

(b) food waste for collection separately from all other wastes.

(3) The wastes are:

(a) glass;

(b) metals;

(c) plastics;

(d) textiles;

(e) paper; and


(4) Subject to subsection (5), where a Scottish waste collection authority is subject to the

duty set out in subsection (2) it shall collect and carry separately from other types of

waste—


32

(a) wastes referred to in subsection (3) which are presented for collection separately

from other types of waste by the occupier of that property; and

(b) food waste which is presented separately for collection by that occupier.

(5) Subsections (2) and (4) do not apply to the extent that separate collection and carriage

would not be technically, environmentally or economically practicable.î.

Amendment of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994

3.—(1) The Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994(10

) are amended as follows.

(2) After regulation 12D insert—

ìConditions of [waste management] licences: separately collected wastes

12E.—(1) SEPA shall ensure that any [waste management] licence granted or varied on

or after…..contains such conditions as it considers necessary to ensure that waste which has

been collected and carried separately from other types of waste in accordance with

section 34(2C) or section 45C(4) is not mixed with any other type of waste or material, to

the extent that such mixing would hamper further recovery.

(2) Any [waste management] licence which is in force on….. is modified so as to include,

as a condition of the licence until it is next varied, the following condition:


types of waste in accordance with section 34(2C) or section 45C(4) of the

Environmental Protection Act 1990 with any other type of waste or material is

prohibited to the extent that such mixing would hamper further recovery.î.


any other condition of the licence, that other condition shall be superseded by the condition

set out in paragraph (2) to the extent of such inconsistency.î.

(3) After regulation 17(3) insert—

ì(3A) In the case of an exempt activity involving the storage, treatment, recovery or

disposal of waste by a person at a site other than the place at which that waste was

produced, paragraph (1) applies only if that person ensures that waste which has been

collected and carried separately from other types of waste in accordance with

section 34(2C) or section 45C(4) is not mixed with any other type of waste or material to

the extent that such mixing would hamper further recovery.î.

Amendment of the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000

4.—(1) The Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000(11

) are amended as

follows.

(2) After regulation 9 insert—

ìConditions of permits: separately collected wastes

9A.—(1) SEPA shall ensure that any permit granted or varied on or after…. in respect of

any activity falling within Schedule 1 Part 1 Chapter 5 or 6 contains such conditions as it

considers necessary to ensure that waste which has been collected and carried separately

from other types of waste in accordance with section 34(2C) or section 45C(4) of the

Environmental Protection Act 1990 is not mixed with any other type of waste or material,

to the extent that such mixing would hamper further recovery.

(2) Any permit which is in force on…. in respect of any such activity is modified so as to

include, as a condition of the permit until it is next varied, the following condition—

(10) (11)


33


types of waste in accordance with section 34(2C) or section 45C(4) of the

Environmental Protection Act 1990 with any other type of waste or material is

prohibited to the extent that such mixing would hamper further recovery.î.


any other permit condition, that other condition shall be superseded by the condition set out

in paragraph (2) to the extent of such inconsistency.

Conditions of permits: incineration and co-incineration

9B.—(1) SEPA shall ensure that any permit granted or varied on or after……for a waste

incineration installation contains such conditions as it considers necessary to ensure that

wastes accepted for incineration or co-incineration comprise only residual wastes or [other

suitable wastes- to be defined] or both.

(2) In this regulation and in Schedule 4, “residual wastes” means wastes which have been

subject to all reasonably practicable efforts to extract recyclable material prior to

incineration or co-incineration.î.

(3) In Schedule 4 Part 1 paragraph 1B(1)—

(a) in paragraph (d), omit “and”;

(b) in paragraph (e), at the end insert “; and”; and

(c) after paragraph (e) insert—

ì(f) only residual wastes or [other suitable wastes- to be defined] are accepted by the

operator.î.


5.—(1) The Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003(12

) are amended as follows.


ì(fb) as from…., any waste which has been collected and carried separately from other

waste types in accordance with section 34(2C) or section 45C(4) of the

Environmental Protection Act 1990;

(fc) as from…….., any waste with an organic content greater than three percent of the

total content;î.

A member of the Scottish Executive

St Andrew’s House,

Edinburgh

Date

(12)


S C O T T I S H S T A T U T O R Y I N S T R U M E N T S

2011 No.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

The Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) (Scotland)

Regulations 2011

Made - - - -

Laid before the Scottish Parliament

Coming into force - -

The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by

section 34(5) and (5A) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990(13

) and section 2(2) of, and

paragraph 1A of Schedule 2 to, the European Communities Act 1972(14

) and all other powers

enabling them to do so.

These Regulations make provision for a purpose mentioned in section 2(2) of the European

Communities Act 1972, and it appears to the Scottish Ministers that it is expedient for references

to Commission Decision 2000/532/EC(15

) to be references to that instrument as amended from

time to time.

Citation, commencement and extent

6.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care)

(Scotland) Regulations 2011 and come into force on .

(2) These Regulations extend to Scotland only.

Interpretation

7.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the Environmental Protection Act 1990;

“the European Waste Catalogue” means the list of wastes set out in Commission Decision

2000/532/EC establishing a list of wastes, as that instrument may be amended from time to

time;

“local authority” means a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc.

(Scotland) Act 1994(16

), and “area” in relation to such an authority is to be construed

accordingly;

“SEPA” means the Scottish Environment Protection Agency;

(13) (14) (15) (16)


35

“SIC code” means the relevant code included in the UK Standard Industrial Classification of

Industrial Activities 2007 (SIC 2007) published by the Office for National Statistics on

14th December 2007 and implemented on 1st January 2008(17

);

“transferor” and “transferee” mean respectively, in relation to a transfer of controlled waste by

a person who is subject to the duty in section 34(1) of the Act, the person who transfers the

waste and the person who receives it.

(2) References to any document being signed include references to [provision for electronic

signatures?].

Transfer Notes

8.—(1) Subject to paragraph (4), the transferor and the transferee must, at the same time as the

written description of the waste is transferred, ensure that such a document as is described in

paragraphs (2) and (3) (“a transfer note”) is completed and signed on their behalf, [and that a copy

is provided to any person carrying the waste when that person uplifts it].

(2) A transfer note must—

(a) give the name and address of the transferor and the transferee;

(b) state whether or not the transferor is the producer or importer of the waste, and if so

which;

(c) if the transfer is to a person for authorised transport purposes, specify which of these

purposes;

(d) identify the type of activity which produced the waste by reference to the SIC code;

(e) identify the geographical location of that activity by reference to the postcode at which

and local authority area within which it is carried on;

(f) identify the waste to which it relates by reference to the appropriate six-digit codes in the

European Waste Catalogue and state—

(i) its quantity and whether on transfer it is loose or in a container;

(ii) if in a container, the kind of container; and

(iii) the time [date?] and place of transfer;

(g) state whether or not the waste consists of or includes any waste which requires [specialist

treatment];

(h) state whether the waste consists of or includes waste of any of the types listed or referred

to in section 34(2A) or (2B) of the 1990 Act which was presented for separate collection

by the waste producer in accordance with those provisions;

(i) state whether the waste is intended to be incinerated or co-incinerated, and if so whether

it consists only of waste which has been subject to all reasonably practicable efforts to

extract recyclable material prior to incineration or co-incineration or of [other suitable

waste - to be defined];

(j) state whether the waste is intended to be landfilled, and if so whether it complies with

regulation 11(1)(fb) and (fc) of the Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003(18

); and

(k) give the initial destination and holder of the waste, including the address, any site name

and the issuing authority and number of any [relevant] licence or permit issued by SEPA,

the Environment Agency or, in Northern Ireland, the Department of the Environment.

(3) A transfer note must also state as respects the transferor and the transferee which, if any, of

the categories shown in column 1 of the following Table describes him or her and provide any

relevant additional information specified in column 2 of the Table.

TABLE

(17) ISBN 0116216417. (18)


36

Category of person Additional information

A local authority

The holder of a waste management licence

under section 35 of the Act or a disposal licence

under section 5 of the Control of Pollution Act

1974(19

)

The holder of a permit under the Pollution

Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations

2000(20

) which authorises the carrying out of a

specified waste management activity within the

meaning of those Regulations

A person to whom section 33(1)(a) and (b) of

the Act does not apply by virtue of regulations

under subsection (3) of that section

A person registered as a carrier of controlled

waste under either section 2 of the Control of

Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989(21

) or

Schedule 4 paragraph 12 to the Waste

Management Licensing Regulations 1994(22

)

The name of the waste regulation authority with

whom that person is registered and the

registration number

(4) Paragraph (1) does not apply where the waste transferred is special waste within the meaning

of the Special Waste Regulations 1996(23

) and the consignment note and, where appropriate,

schedule required by those Regulations are completed and dealt with in accordance with those

Regulations.

Duty to keep copies of written descriptions of waste and transfer notes

9. The transferor and the transferee must each keep the written description of the waste and the

transfer note or copies of them for a period of [two] years from the date of transfer of the waste.

[Duty to carry transfer notes

10. Any person who carries [controlled] waste and who has received a copy transfer note under

regulation 3(1) must carry that copy with the waste and must produce it to any officer of SEPA on

request.]

Duty to furnish documents

11.—(1) A person who has been requested by SEPA to produce any document which that person

is required to keep under regulation 4 must furnish SEPA with it, or with a copy of it, as soon as

reasonably practicable and in any case within 7 days or such longer period as may be permitted by

SEPA.

(2) Any document required to be produced under paragraph (1) must be given to an officer of

SEPA or sent to an address specified by SEPA in writing when making the request.

(3) In this regulation, “writing” includes text that is—



(19) (20) (21) (22) (23)


37

(c) capable of being used for subsequent reference.

Revocation

12. The Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991(24

) are revoked.

[Transitionals?]

A member of the Scottish Executive

St Andrew’s House,

Edinburgh

2011

(24)

38

Duty of Care – A Code of Practice

39

1.0 Introduction

This “Duty of Care: A Code of Practice” is made under section 34(7) (as amended) of

the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and replaces all previous versions applicable

in Scotland. This Code of Practice applies in Scotland only. You should have regard to this Code if you produce, store, transport or manage waste in Scotland.

The Code is made under statute and under section 34(10) of the Act is admissible as evidence in court and the court shall take it into account in determining any questions

to which it appears to be relevant. The intention is that the Code will assist the courts,

when hearing cases under Section 34 of the 1990 Act, in determining whether persons subject to the duty took reasonable measures to comply with it.

This is a consultation on the Duty of Care Code of Practice. This constitutes practical

guidance to all waste holders in the waste management chain. The guidance has been revised to take into account the additional duties proposed under the new

Regulations which also form part of this consultation.

Revised Waste Framework Directive

One of the aims of the Directive is to help move Europe closer to a “recycling society”

which recognises waste as a resource. The 6th Community Environment Action

Programme called for measures aimed at ensuring the source separation, collection

and recycling of priority waste streams.

This Duty of Care Code of Practice describes the duties of waste holders in ensuring

that Scotland maximises the quantity and quality of the following materials: paper and

card, plastic, metals and glass, available for closed loop recycling. The duties in relation to source segregation and separate collection requirements also apply to

food waste which can be optimally treated in biological treatment plants.

Keeping recyclable waste clean and separate from unsorted waste improves its recovery potential by making recycling easier and establishing the stable conditions

and security of supply required to support the reprocessing industry.

Key Zero Waste Principles

In the Zero Waste Plan the Scottish Government committed to take action to increase the quantity and quality of resources recycled, with the aim of achieving

high levels of “closed loop” resource management.

This Duty of Care includes information on new duties made under section 34 of the EPA 1990 which are intended to increase the quantities and improve the quality of

recyclate. The targeted materials are paper and card, metals, plastics, glass and food

waste.

Recycling is about much more than merely an alternative to disposal in landfill. It is a

key part of the Government’s Low Carbon Economic Strategy designed to bring

economic growth without the carbon cost of unsustainable resource use. Recycling reduces the amount of energy used to extract and process virgin materials such as

timber, minerals and oil.

In order to conserve the value of resources and to improve recyclability of materials

contained in waste the Duty of Care requirements in section 34 of the EPA 1990

40

have been extended to require source segregation and separate collection of key

materials.

These statutory Duty of Care requirements and this associated Code of Practice form

part of a package of measures which will ensure that resources with value for reuse,

recycling or recovery are not sent to landfill by 2020.

Duty of Care etc as respects waste: Section 34 of the EPA 1990

The draft Zero Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2011, which are also the subject of this

consultation, amend section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 as follows:

In section 34, after subsection (2) insert-

ì (2A) Subject to subsection (2D), it shall be the duty of any person who produces

controlled waste (other than an occupier of domestic property in respect of waste produced on that property) to present the following wastes for collection separately

from all other wastes:—

(a) glass;

(b) metals;

(c) plastics; (d) textiles;

(e) paper; and


(2B) Subject to subsection (2D), it shall be the duty of any person carrying on an

undertaking whose activities consist of or include food production, food retail, food

distribution or wholesaling or food preparation to present the food waste produced by that person in the course of that activity for collection separately from all other

wastes.

(2C) Subject to subsection (2D), it shall be the duty of any person who carries controlled waste to collect and carry separately from other types of waste those types

of waste which have been presented for collection separately in accordance with

either subsection (2A) or (2B).

(2D) The duties contained in subsections (2A) to (2C) do not apply to the extent that

compliance with them would be unreasonable.î .

These requirements are in addition to the existing Duty of Care requirements, which

require all producers, carriers, importers, exporters, brokers, dealers and processors

of controlled waste to manage that waste correctly by storing it properly, only transferring it to the appropriate people and ensuring that when it is transferred it is

sufficiently well described to enable its safe recovery or disposal without harming the

environment.

Householders also have some, albeit limited, obligations under the Duty of Care.

All parties have a role to play in policing the Duty of Care, ensuring all other parties

comply with the requirements. Failure to comply may lead to enforcement action

under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Zero Waste (Scotland)

Regulations 2011.

41

This code covers the Duty of Care relevant to all aspects of waste management. To

make the process of using it easier the sections have been determined by roles. Some readers may need to read more than one section of guidance, depending on

their role(s) within Duty of Care. For example, if you are a waste producer and

carrying your own waste, you will need to read the section on producer and carrier

responsibilities.

42

2.0 Glossary of Terms

Basic Characterisation

The Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC) and Council Decision (2003/33/EC) establish criteria and procedures for the acceptance of waste at landfills including a

requirement for their basic characterisation.

Broker

A person (or establishment or undertaking) arranging the recovery or disposal of waste on behalf of others including those brokers who do not take physical

possession of the waste.

Carrier

Any person (or establishment or undertaking) transporting waste within Scotland.

Construction Work

The carrying out of any building, civil engineering or engineering construction work

and includes: construction, alteration, conversion, fitting out, commissioning, renovation or other maintenance, decommissioning, demolition or dismantling of a

structure.

Construction and Demolition Waste

Waste arising from works of construction or demolition, including preparatory works thereto.

Controlled Waste

The term controlled waste comes from Section 75(4) of the Environmental Protection

Act 1990 and is defined as “household, industrial and commercial waste or any such

waste”.

Dealer

Person (or establishment or undertaking) which purchases and subsequently sells

waste as a principal including dealers who do not take physical possession of that

waste.

Enforcement Officer

An officer of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency or Local Authority who has powers in connection with the investigation of suspected offences, the detection and

apprehension of offenders and granted powers to act in respect of environmental

offences.

Environmental Permit

A permit or licence issued under the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000, the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Waste

Management Licensing Regulations 1994.

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Environmental Protection Act 1990

Section 34 of this Act establishes the requirements of the Duty of Care with respect

to waste.

Exemption from an Environmental Permit

Schedule 3 to the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 (as amended)

lists and describes the waste operations which do not require an environmental permit, providing that the establishment or undertaking carrying them out has

registered that exemption where required. These Regulations also specify the

requirements that an exempt waste operation must meet.

Establishment or Undertaking

Includes any organisation, whether a company, partnership, authority, society, trust, club, charity or other organisation, but not private individuals.

Green List Waste

Waste which is not, for the purposes of import or export for recovery, regarded as

hazardous. Green list controls apply to some (but not all) imports or exports.

Harm

Harm to the health of living organisms or other interference with the ecological systems of which they form part and in the case of man includes offence to any of his

senses or harm to his property; and “harmless” has a corresponding meaning.

Household waste

Means waste generated by households.

Householder

The occupier of any domestic property.

Holder of Waste

The producer of the waste or the person, establishment or undertaking that is in

possession of it or who, as a broker, has control of it.

Pre-treatment of Waste (for the purposes of Article 6 of the Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC))

The legal definition of treatment requires three things (the ‘three-point test’): 1. It must be a physical, thermal, chemical or biological process including sorting.

2. It must change the characteristics of the waste.

3. It must do so in order to:

(a) reduce its volume, or

(b) reduce its hazardous nature, or

(c) facilitate its handling, or (d) enhance its recovery.

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With certain exceptions, only wastes that have been subject to ‘treatment’ may be

landfilled, treatment is intended to encourage more recycling and reduce the impact of the wastes that are landfilled.

Pollution of the Environment

Pollution due to the release or escape (into any environmental medium) from:

(a) the land on which controlled waste is treated, (b) the land on which controlled waste is kept,

(c) the land in or on which controlled waste is deposited,

(d) fixed plant by means of which controlled waste is treated, kept or disposed of, of substances or articles constituting or resulting from the waste and capable (by

reason of the quantity or concentrations involved) of causing harm to man or any

other living organisms supported by the environment.

Public Registers

A register maintained by SEPA of all registered waste management activities including all waste carriers or those exempt from carrier registration, waste brokers

and dealers, those with an environmental permit or those sites registered as

operating under an exemption from environmental permitting.

Season Ticket

A controlled waste transfer note must be created for each load of waste that leaves your site. However, for repetitive transfers there is provision to use one transfer note

which will cover multiple transfers. One transfer note can be used for multiple

collections for a time period that is recommended not to be longer than 12 months; it should then be renewed if required. This is called a "season ticket".

A season ticket can only be used if none of the following details change:

• the waste carrier remains the same

• the producer or collection premises remains the same

• the description of waste remains the same

If any of this information changes, then an individual transfer note must be used. It is

advisable that a log be maintained of loads of waste leaving and arriving at sites under a season ticket.

SIC Codes

SIC is the UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities (2007).

The SIC code is used to classify business establishments and other statistical units

by the type of economic activities they are engaged in. You are required to record the appropriate SIC code of the transferor on all controlled waste transfer notes.

Relevant codes can be determined from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) or

their website: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/methods_quality/sic/downloads/SIC2007explanatorynote

s.pdf

45

Transfer Note

A note which must be created for any transfer of controlled waste. The note must be

signed by both parties and must contain certain prescribed information (see Annex 1

for details) about the waste to be transferred. It should also contain a written

description of the waste and any further information required for the next and subsequent holders of the waste to manage it without causing pollution of the

environment or harm. A specimen note is provided in Annex 2 of this guidance.

Transferee

The person (or establishment or undertaking) receiving the waste.

Transferor

The person (or establishment or undertaking) holding the waste and who transfers it to another (different) person (or establishment or undertaking).

Waste

‘Waste’ means any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is

required to discard.

Waste Collection Authority

A local authority responsible for collecting waste as defined in the 1990 Act.

Written Description

Additional information submitted on the transfer note identifying the nature and

characteristics of the waste. This should help subsequent holders to manage the

waste correctly and to meet their requirements under the Landfill Directive.

WEEE

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment that is controlled by the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006 (as amended).

Waste Export

Any waste to be exported (or imported) is subject to a range of regulatory controls

(see also Green List Waste above). Anyone that is planning to export waste needs to

be familiar with these controls.

Waste Manager

Waste manager means anyone who re-uses, recycles, recovers or disposes of

waste, including the supervision of such operations and the after-care of disposal

sites, and includes any actions taken as a broker or dealer.

Waste Producer

Any person (or establishment or undertaking) whose activities produce waste (original waste producer) or anyone who carries out pre-processing, mixing or other

operations which result in a change in the nature or composition of this waste.

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3.0 Your Obligations as a Waste Producer

This section offers guidance to any person (with the exception of householders) who

produces waste in the course of their business activities. This includes both private

sector business such as shops, offices and factories and public sector services such as schools, hospitals and prisons.

What are my Responsibilities?

As a waste producer, you have a duty to:

• Present glass, metal, plastic, textile, paper and card for collection separately from all other wastes.

• Present food waste for collection separately from all other wastes if you carry on

a business consisting of food production, food retail or food preparation.

• Take care of the waste while you hold it, for example during storage, so it does not escape from your control.

• Ensure your waste is transferred to someone who is authorised to receive it, for

example, a registered waste carrier or waste manager with the relevant authorisation.

• Ensure that the transfer of waste is covered by a waste transfer note including a

full description of the waste and retain a copy of this note for two years. • Ensure that the waste description is accurate and contains all the information you

are reasonably in a position to give for safe handling, transport, treatment,

recovery or disposal by subsequent holders.

• Ensure if you are carrying your own waste that you are appropriately registered with SEPA.

Where you use a waste broker or dealer, then you both have responsibilities under

the Duty of Care. Using a waste broker does not lessen or remove any of these responsibilities from you in your role as waste producer.

You have a duty to take all reasonable measures to comply with the Duty of Care whilst the waste is in your possession and when you transfer your waste to

somebody else. This means that you must ensure that you take the following steps;

Step 1 – Separate Recyclable Materials at Source

As the producer of waste, the quality of your management at source ultimately

determines the value which can be derived from it. You therefore have the most important role under the Duty of Care. This section offers guidance to ensure that the

objectives of the Duty of Care are achieved.

Key to sustainable economic growth is the development of collections schemes that

are able to provide secure supplies of high quality recyclate feedstock. The best way

to achieve this is to separate recyclable materials at source. It supports market

demand for high quality and high value recyclate. Clean, uncontaminated waste streams will be of higher value to recyclers so segregation may also help in reducing

costs to you.

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It is the duty of any person who produces controlled waste (other than householders)

to present the following wastes for collection separately from all other wastes:-

(a) glass;

(b) metals;

(c) plastics; (d) textiles;

(e) paper; and


In addition, it is the duty of any person carrying on an activity consisting of or

including food production, food retail or food preparation to present the food waste for collection separately from all other wastes.

What must I do when segregating my waste?

In order to comply with this Duty, it will be necessary to have separate containers for

the listed recyclable wastes. Segregation of waste is the key to good waste

management as it keeps contamination to a minimum and makes closed loop recycling easier. With the exception of food waste, which must be collected in a

dedicated container, it is satisfactory for the listed recyclable wastes to be collected

in the same container as each other. This is called ‘co-mingling’. The co-mingled wastes will be separated either at the kerbside or further treated at a Materials

Recovery Facility (“MRF”). However, the value of recyclate increases if materials are

kept clean and separate from each other as far as possible. Your waste contractor

may offer you more favourable contractual conditions if you are able to separate materials further.

Waste managers are prohibited from mixing your separately collected recyclable waste with unsorted wastes (e.g. general black bag waste). This ensures that the

effort put into source separation will not be undermined later by poor management.

Further, those separately collected wastes are prohibited from landfill.

Step 2 - Prevent the Escape of Waste

You must not allow any waste materials to escape from your control and that of your employees, or the control of others during subsequent transport. Containers must be

suitable for holding the waste so that it does not escape during transport and

management e.g. do not place loose powder materials or waste paper in an open builders skip as they are likely to blow away. Such materials should be securely

contained or bagged.

What must I do when storing Waste?

When waste is being stored at your premises you need to make sure that waste is

stored in;

• containers which segregate wastes to facilitate recycling that are clearly

labelled with their contents so that people know what can and cannot be placed in them and the next holder of the waste can clearly see what the

containers hold.

• a secure location where access to it is limited to persons you have identified. If waste is kept in a less secure location, loose materials or specific objects

may be blown or washed away or even stolen. Less secure storage may also

48

attract others to mix their waste with your own. If this occurs then the waste

carrier or contractor may charge you more or refuse to accept the waste at their site.

Where can I get advice about packaging for transport?

You should expect your waste contractor (carrier) to advise you on the packaging

requirements for safe transport. If you are employing a waste broker then you might

also be able to obtain such advice from them.

Step 3 - Describe Your Waste

Ensure that any waste being transferred is covered by a waste transfer note including

an adequate written description that will enable anyone receiving it to manage it in

accordance with their own Duty of Care. If you have not described the waste properly

or not told the next holder the properties of the waste, then you may still be liable if something goes wrong after the waste is transferred.

What information must I provide?

The information you pass on to the next holder is contained in the waste transfer

note. The transfer note is your evidence that the waste was passed on and that it was adequately described. Guidance on the information that a transfer note MUST

contain is provided in Chapter 9.0

You must keep a copy of the transfer note signed by yourself and the person you transfer waste to for two years. This can be an electronic copy, including electronic

signatures, provided an enforcement officer can view it. You also need to keep any

additional information with this note such as any analysis results.

In order to reduce administrative burdens a ‘season ticket’ system can be used for a

period up to 12 months. This prevents the need for a transfer note to be produced for

every waste load transferred. However this ‘season ticket’ can only be used for waste of the same description transferred to the same transferee. Such a season ticket

might be used, for example, for the weekly collection of waste from shops or

repetitive transport of excavated materials from construction works.

You should also keep a log of individual loads collected from you under season ticket

arrangements. For example, you could request weighbridge tickets from your waste carrier.

If the waste is Special Waste you have the same obligations under the Duty of Care.

A consignment note, rather than a transfer note, is required to comply with the Special Waste (Scotland) Regulations 1996 together with any additional information

for Duty of Care.

Step 4 - Waste must only be transferred to an Authorised Person

Make sure that any person or business you are transferring waste to or who is organising waste transfers for you are registered with SEPA to do so. If they are not

registered with SEPA you should confirm that they do not need to be before they take

the waste.

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What should I do to check authorised persons details?

The detail of the checking required will depend on the quantity or nature of the waste

you produce. For example, if you produce large quantities of waste or waste which is

of an inconsistent or hazardous nature, you might satisfy yourself that the waste

manager can accept your waste. It is advisable to check the later stages of the management of your waste.

As a minimum you should ask for:

• a copy of the carrier’s registration certificate and check this against the

SEPA’s public registers to confirm that it is genuine and valid. http://www.sepa.org.uk/waste/waste_regulation/waste_carriers_and_brokers/

who_is_registered.aspx

• confirmation of the broker/dealers registration and check this against the SEPA’s public register. If you choose to engage a waste broker to identify

suitable carriers and/or waste management options for your waste then you

will share equal responsibility for how the waste is stored, transported and ultimately managed. You must ensure any broker you use has a valid

registration. It is advisable to record any checks you have made.

http://www.sepa.org.uk/waste/waste_regulation/waste_carriers_and_brokers/who_is_registered.aspx

• the reference number of the site’s Licence or Permit so that you can, if

necessary, check this against SEPA’s public registers to confirm that it is genuine and valid and evidence that it allows for deposit of your type of

waste. http://www.sepa.org.uk/about_us/contacting_sepa.aspx

It is advisable to re-check carrier registration from time to time as many carrier

registrations are annually renewable and in some circumstances the registration may

have been cancelled or revoked by the SEPA.

If your waste is destined for a transfer station or MRF it may be sufficient to know

what is going to happen to your waste there. If you produce large amounts of waste

or waste which can be difficult to manage then it might be appropriate to visit the site where your waste is recycled, recovered or disposed of. This might be part of your

environmental management system.

Where waste might be exported

It is advisable to know where and to what type of facility your waste is going. Notably,

if your waste is to be exported, then you should establish whether the waste is of sufficient quality to meet the criteria for recovery or recycling in the receiving country.

It is illegal to export waste for disposal. Non hazardous waste destined for recycling

in another country is referred to as Green List Waste. Both you and any broker or dealer involved should retain documents for two years.

Step 5 - Prevent Your Waste Causing Harm or Pollution

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Harm to human health or pollution of the environment may be caused by the unauthorised or inappropriate management of waste.

What do I need to do to prevent Harm or Pollution?

A producer remains responsible according to what he ‘knows or should have

foreseen’. So if you hand waste to a carrier, not only should it be properly packaged

when transferred, but you should take account of anything you see or learn about the way in which the carrier is subsequently handling it. For example, you:

• would not be expected to follow the carrier, but you may wish to determine that waste has subsequently arrived at its intended destination especially if

the waste has particular problematic or hazardous properties. You can do this

by requesting weighbridge or tip tickets or email.

• should be able to see whether the waste is loaded securely for transport

when it leaves your premises. If it later falls off the vehicle you could be liable.

• may notice a carrier's lorries returning empty for further loads in a shorter time

than they could possibly have taken to reach and return from the proposed

waste management site. You might wish to inform SEPA.

• may notice a carrier apparently engaged in the fly-tipping of someone else's

waste. These would be grounds for suspecting the illegal handling of your

waste by the carrier. Also, allowing waste to escape from your control, such as causing litter, allowing liquids to leak from containers and so on are other

examples of where harm can be caused whilst you hold the waste. An

example of this might be the burning of waste such as packaging. This may result in harm and, except in very restricted circumstances, is illegal.

A producer should act on any knowledge to stop the illegal handling of waste.

Whenever you become aware that your waste is being illegally dealt with you should tell SEPA.

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4.0 Your Obligations as a Waste Carrier

This section offers guidance to any person who collects, carriers or transports waste

in the course of their business. This includes waste management contractors, local

authorities collecting trade waste and others.

What are my responsibilities?

As a waste carrier, you have a duty to:

• Collect source segregated recyclable materials separately from other wastes.

• Provide a collection service for recyclable materials to your customers. • Make sure that recyclable materials are not mixed with other wastes or material

with different properties whilst you are the holder.

• Transport waste safely so that it does not escape and cause harm or pollution.

• Check that the transfer note is correctly completed and that it contains sufficient information to enable you to manage the waste properly and safely.

• Be registered with SEPA if you are required to be registered.

• Transfer the waste to a person authorised to receive it.

You and your business have a duty to take all reasonable measures to comply with

the Duty of Care whilst the waste is in your possession and to enable other holders in

the chain to comply with the Duty. Breach of the Duty of Care may result in enforcement action being taken against you. In addition to the penalties under the

Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Zero Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2011,

you could also lose your registration to carry waste under the Controlled Waste

Regulations 1992. This means that, in the course of your business as a waste carrier, you must take the following steps:

Step 1 – Collect the listed recyclable waste types separately

The development of collection systems that are able to provide a secure supply of

high quality recyclable materials performs two functions:

• supports the source segregation duty on waste producers, and

• provides a secure supply of high quality and high value recyclate for

reprocessing.

It is the duty of any person who carriers waste to collect separately certain recyclable

waste materials where these have been segregated by the producer.

Therefore, carriers must provide a suitable service which supports those customers

who have a duty to segregate at source. In order to maintain the quality, the listed recyclable materials must not be mixed with other wastes or materials with different

properties during collection and carriage.

Waste managers are prohibited from mixing separately collected recyclable waste with unsorted wastes (e.g. general black bag waste). This ensures that the effort put

into source separation and separate collection will not be undermined later by poor

management. In addition, the recyclable materials which are segregated at source and collected separately are prohibited from landfill.

52

What must I do when collecting waste?

You must offer a collection service which supports the duty on producers to source

segregate the following recyclable materials – paper and card, plastic, glass and

metal. In addition, you must collect food waste from any person carrying on a

business activity involving food production, food retail or food preparation separately from all other wastes.

When you are collecting waste from producers you need to make sure that:

• you collect and carry separately from other types of waste those materials

which the producer of the waste has presented separately for collection. This includes advising producers of their duty to present recyclable materials for

collection separately and helping them to fulfill this duty.

• you provide a separate collection service for your customers. With the exception of food waste, which must be collected in a dedicated container, it

is satisfactory for the listed recyclable wastes to be collected in the same

container as each other. This is called ‘co-mingling’. The co-mingled wastes will be separated either at the kerbside or further treated at a Materials

Recovery Facility (“MRF”).

• where you are collecting recyclable materials, that these are not mixed with

other wastes or materials with different properties whilst you are the holder.

This means that you must make sure that there are a sufficient number of

suitable containers or compartments on your vehicle to avoid mixing recyclable materials with other materials or wastes with different properties.

Research suggests that sorting co-mingled waste at the kerbside is the most efficient means of collecting wastes. It allows contamination to be filtered out at the point of

collection and gives the most reliable stream of quality materials. Co-mingled wastes

sorted at a MRF face quality problems from three sources: producers putting the

‘wrong’ materials into the collection, compaction of the waste which breaks glass into small pieces and tends to bind materials together, and the technical and physical

capacity of the MRF to separate materials in the volumes delivered to them. For

further information on the different collocation systems, please see WRAP - http://www.wrap.org.uk/local_authorities/research_guidance/collections_recycling/index.html


You must not allow any waste materials to escape from your control during transport.

Vehicles and containers must be suitable for holding the waste so that it does not

escape during transport and management e.g. containers should not be overloaded

and open containers should be securely netted or covered to prevent waste from falling out.

What should I look out for when collecting waste?

When you collect waste from any premises you need to make sure that:

• waste is being stored in a secure location and in suitable containers for both transport and subsequent management. If the waste is kept in a less secure

location, other parties may have mixed their waste with that for which you

53

have the contract. This means that the waste may not correspond to the

description you have been given and may undermine efforts to support high quality recycling if, for example, unsorted waste has been placed in a

recycling bin.

• waste is being stored so that recyclable waste materials are kept separate from unsorted waste and from each other insofar as the recovery potential of

the material is not undermined.

• where waste is stored in containers, these should be clearly labelled with their

contents so that you know what the wastes are and can confirm that you are

collecting the correct waste. Containers must be stored safely and leakage prevented and/or controlled.

• container labels should clearly describe the properties of the waste so that

you and the next holder know what measures are required to store and transport the waste safely. If you consider that the containers are unsafe you

have a duty not to transport them in that state. You are required to re-pack

the waste, or arrange for its re-packaging, until you are satisfied that the waste can be transported safely.

• open containers which are stored outside may contain rainwater. This might escape during transit and may be contaminated after being in contact with

waste. It could also make the load unstable for transport. This would be an

indication that on-site storage was not adequately safe and secure.

Step 3 – Describing the Waste

You must ensure that any waste you collect is covered by a waste transfer note including an adequate written description that will enable you and the next holder to

transport, store or manage it in accordance with the Duty of Care. The transfer note

is your evidence that you collected the waste and passed it on to a person authorised

to accept and manage that type of waste. Guidance on the information that a transfer note MUST contain is provided in Chapter XX

You should know what and how much waste you are contracted to collect. When you arrive to collect the waste you should inspect the waste to ensure that it

corresponds to the description given to you. You should be able to check that there

are no items which do not correspond to the description. The person you are collecting the waste from should provide you with the information you need and you

should be content that it is correct and sufficient for you to meet your own obligations.

If the waste is not described properly or not told the next holder the properties of the

waste, then you may still be liable if something goes wrong after the waste is transferred.

It is particularly important to make sure that you know whether you are collecting recyclable waste or waste which is destined for incineration and/or landfill. This will

ensure that you hand the waste over to a person authorised to receive it.

If you collect and carry the same type of waste from the same producer or collection

premises regularly then you may use a “season ticket” type of arrangement to cover

these transfers to you.


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The person you are collecting waste from is expected to check that you are

appropriately registered with SEPA to carry their waste. You must ensure that your carrier registration is valid and the details correct.

Who needs to register as a waste carrier?

All people who normally and regularly transport waste, whether that waste is

produced by them in the course of their business, or by others should be registered

as a waste carrier. There are some exemptions from the requirement to register. Guidance on who should register is available from

http://www.sepa.org.uk/waste/waste_regulation/application_forms/waste_carriers_an

d_brokers.aspx

If you are still uncertain whether you should be registered your local SEPA office can

advise you.

The person you are collecting waste from should also ask to know where you are

taking that waste. You must ensure that the person or business you pass the waste

on to is appropriately authorised to receive it.


When you carry waste you should determine the nature of the next holder. You must

make sure that any person or business you supply with waste is authorised to accept

it. All sites managing waste for treatment and/or disposal are required to hold an

appropriate licence or exemption.

The Zero Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2011 ban certain materials and waste with

certain properties from landfill. For example, from 2013, you must not take source separated recyclable materials – paper, card, plastics, metal, glass and food waste

directly to a landfill site. Also, after 2017, unsorted “black bag” type waste, including

litter collections and skips, cannot be sent straight to landfill.

The Regulations also restrict the types of waste which can be incinerated. If you

carry waste to an incinerator you must make sure that the person you collect from

states on the transfer note that the waste has been pre-treated to make it suitable for incineration.

As a carrier you must take all reasonable measures to ensure that you do not take waste to a site which is not authorised to accept it. Information on the transfer note

will help you to comply with your Duty of Care.


• the reference number of the site’s Licence or Permit so that you can check

this against SEPA’s public registers to confirm that it is genuine and valid and evidence that it allows for deposit of the waste you are carrying.

http://www.sepa.org.uk/about_us/contacting_sepa.aspx.

• confirmation from SEPA if you are at all unsure whether the site can accept

the waste.

• a description of the waste on the transfer note which is adequate for you to be reasonably certain that the waste can be accepted at the next site.

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The terms ‘harm’ and “pollution“ are defined in the glossary. Harm or pollution can be

result from the unauthorised or inappropriate deposit, treatment, recovery or disposal

etc of waste.

What do I need to do to prevent Harm or pollution?

A carrier is responsible according to what he ‘knows or should have foreseen’. You

will share responsibility with the waste producer to ensure that the waste is delivered

satisfactorily to the next holder (see Step 4). This includes taking account of anything you see or learn about the way the next holder (another carrier or a waste

manager) deals with the waste. For example:

• you may notice that a waste manager or subsequent carrier mixing source separated recyclables with other waste types with different properties. This

undermines the effort put into source segregation and separate collection,

lowering the quality and reducing the value of recyclate.

• It may be clear that waste is being dealt with in a way that is not best or usual

practice. There may be activities going on at a site which you think may be illegal, such as burning.

• you may notice that a waste manager is accepting too much waste and that

the extra waste you are delivering could add to problems at the site.

• you may notice that subsequent holders are allowing waste to escape from

their control e.g. causing litter, allowing liquids to leak out of containers. You may notice activities suggesting that they are engaged in fly-tipping.

These would be grounds for suspecting that harm is being caused or is likely to be

caused if you continue to deposit waste there. A carrier should act on any knowledge to stop the illegal handling of waste.

Whenever you become aware that your waste is being illegally dealt with you should tell SEPA.

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5.0 Your Obligations as a Waste Manager

This section offers guidance to any person involved in the reuse, recycling, recovery,

treatment and disposal of waste. Waste managers include operators of transfer

stations, recycling sites (Material Recovery Facilities), waste treatment sites (e.g. those carrying out mechanical or biological treatment such as MBT, MHT, AD),

energy from waste / incineration facilities and landfills.


As a waste manager how you manage the waste when it is in your possession can have an impact on the way it will be subsequently managed by others. You need to

satisfy yourself that you can accept the waste and manage it in an appropriate way.

The way you manage the waste must not cause previous and subsequent holders to

breach their Duty of Care.

As a waste manager, you have a duty to:

• manage waste safely without causing pollution of the environment or harm to human health, in accordance with the conditions of your environmental permit or

exemption

• ensure that you hold the appropriate environmental permit or exemption which

allows you to accept and manage the waste at your site

• check that the transfer note is correctly completed and that you have sufficient information regarding the nature of the waste for safe handling, treatment,

recovery or disposal

• prevent waste escaping from your control

• transfer the waste to a person authorised to receive it

You have a duty to take all reasonable measures to comply with the Duty of Care

whilst the waste is in your possession and to enable other holders in the chain to

comply with the Duty. This means that, in the course of your business as a waste carrier, you must take the following steps:

Step 1 – Check the incoming waste

Ensure that any waste you receive is accompanied by a completed transfer note

including a full written description. This description plus any visual and other checks of the load will enable you to manage the waste in accordance with the conditions of

your environmental permit or exemption.

The transfer note is your evidence of a transfer of waste including the information that was passed on. You will have to produce it when asked by an enforcement

officer. You must keep a copy of the transfer note signed by yourself and the person

you accepted the waste from, or transferred the waste to, for two years. Guidance on the information that a transfer note MUST contain is provided in Chapter XX

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If you receive the same type of waste from the same producer or collector regularly

then you may use a “season ticket” type of arrangement to cover these transfers to you.

Check that authorisation details of the person transferring the waste to you, including

any carriers or brokers registration requirements are valid and up to date.

What if my site is a landfill site?

There are certain waste acceptance criteria (WAC) which have to be met before

landfilling is allowed. You should seek confirmation from your customers that basic

characterisation is being carried out including any testing that may be required before you can accept some wastes.

Wastes such as liquids, infectious clinical wastes and tyres are banned from landfill

and you will need to ensure that these are not part of the waste. Further to this, the Zero Waste Scotland Regulations 2011 ban the landfilling of the following source

segregated and separately collected recyclable materials – paper, card, metals,

plastics, glass and food waste.

The Regulations also put in place a ban on the landfilling of biodegradable waste. In

practice this means that any unsorted waste would be rejected and directed for pre-treatment. Otherwise all waste accepted for landfilling would be expected to:

a) have come from a compliant MBT plant

b) have come from a thermal treatment facility c) be inert in nature and declaring itself to be so.

You will need to satisfy yourself whether the waste has been pre-treated and basic characterisation tests have been carried out. You should ensure that the person

delivering waste to your landfill site provides written evidence about the nature of the

pre-treatment and the results of these tests.

What is my site is a thermal treatment facility?

The Zero Waste Scotland Regulations 2011 restrict the inputs to thermal treatment facilities to residual waste and other suitable single stream wastes. Residual waste is

waste which has been mechanically treated to remove marketable metals and

plastics. In practice, this means that unsorted waste would be rejected and directed for pre-treatment.

You will need to satisfy yourself whether the waste has been pre-treated and is

residual. You should ensure that the person delivering waste to your thermal treatment facility provides written evidence about the nature of the pre-treatment.


You must not allow any waste materials to escape from your control and that of your

employees, or the control of others during subsequent transport.

When waste is being managed at your premises you need to make sure that waste

is;

• stored in a secure location where access to it is limited to persons you have

identified. If waste is kept in a less secure location, loose materials or specific

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objects may be blown or washed away or even stolen. It should also prevent

vandalism of the containers e.g. setting the waste on fire.

• containers are clearly labelled with their contents so that people can identify

what the containers should hold

• containers are stored safely and leakages prevented and controlled

• is managed in accordance with the conditions of your environmental permit or exemption, including the requirement to keep source segregated recyclable

materials separated from other wastes or materials with different properties.


The terms ‘harm’ and ‘pollution’ are defined in the glossary. Harm or pollution can be a result of the unauthorised or inappropriate deposit, treatment, recovery or disposal

etc of waste.

What do I need to do to prevent Harm or Pollution?

A waste manager is responsible according to what he ‘knows or should have foreseen’ to ensure that waste does not cause harm or pollution. A waste manager

should act on any knowledge to stop the illegal handling of waste and contact SEPA.

For example,

• you may notice a subsequent holder mixing source separated recyclables

with other waste types with different properties. This undermines the effort

put into source segregation and separate collection, lowering the quality and reducing the value of recyclate.

• You must ensure that you are authorised to accept that waste and do not

exceed the amounts of waste you can manage at the site at that time. if too much waste being accepted or stored at your site there may be problems with

litter, spillages, odour. etc

• uncontrolled burning of waste is, under most circumstances, an illegal activity.

• if you refuse a load of waste from a carrier arriving at your site you should have in place arrangements to prevent this waste being fly-tipped in another

location.


Waste managers should refer to Step 4 of the Producer Obligations section.

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6.0 Your Obligations in the Event of Waste Export

This section offers guidance to any person who holds waste that is going to be

exported. This could include producers, carriers, managers, brokers and dealers

who must also comply with the other relevant parts of this guidance. The Duty of Care applies to the storage, transfer and carriage of that waste before it is exported.


• To comply with the Duty of Care applicable to you in your role as a producer,

carrier, manager or broker.

• To ensure that the person to whom you are transferring waste will not export it in breach of the rules set out in the EC Waste Shipments Regulations (1013/2006)

and the UK Transfrontier Shipments of Waste (TFS) Regulations 2007

Where you use a broker or dealer, you both have responsibilities under the Duty of

Care. Using a waste broker or dealer does not lessen or remove any of these responsibilities from you if you have been a holder of waste which is being exported.

Step 1 - Is waste going to be exported?

It is illegal to export waste for disposal.

Green list (non-hazardous) waste can be shipped for recovery within the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries under

a lower level of control and accompanied by certain information.

Hazardous waste and waste destined for recovery in a non-OECD (i.e. developing countries) is generally subject to notification procedures. The level of control depends

on which classification of waste the importing country accepts and which procedures

it wants to apply. This requires the prior written consent of all relevant authorities of dispatch, transit and destination.

What must I do?

You should ask the person to whom you transfer the waste whether the waste is

likely to be reprocessed in another country. You should be alert for any suspicion

that waste might be exported. Indications that waste might be exported include:

• Is waste being transported directly to a port?

• Was the transport arranged by a freight forwarder? • Were the arrangements made by a carrier, broker or dealer operating

outside UK jurisdiction?

• Have registration details of the broker or dealer been difficult to

establish? • Has HM Revenue & Customs clearance been applied for and obtained?

• Are transport routes to the final country of destination identified?

• Have you been asked to provide or sign a note for the international carriage of good by road (CMR note)?

• Is the destination of the waste unclear?

Step 2 – The export must comply with the TFS Regulations

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If waste is going to be exported, or you suspect that it is going to be exported, you need to ensure that the person to whom you are transferring the waste will not export

it in breach of the legislation.

What should I do?

You must establish whether the waste is of sufficient quality to meet the criteria for

recycling and recovery in the receiving country.

If the waste is going to be exported, or you suspect that it may be exported, you need

to ensure that:

• the country of destination is identified.

• the country of destination has given approval to accept it.

• the necessary documentation and authorisations are in place.

You should consider whether any further export controls or notification requirements

apply and establish from the exporter. The facility identified for processing the waste in the country of receipt must be deemed suitable.

Waste dealers and traders are often involved where waste is exported. Waste brokers, dealers or traders must be registered in that capacity with SEPA. Both you

(the current holder) and any broker or dealer involved should retain documents,

including any waste description, with any additional information for a minimum of 2

years.

Additional sources of information

Export of Waste can be a complex process as countries of destination can

change their approvals or specific requirements quite regularly. You should be

familiar with all of the requirements and understand that certain countries do

not accept any imports of waste.

For guidance refer to the TFS pages on SEPA’s website:

http://www.sepa.org.uk/waste/waste_regulation/transfrontier_shipment.aspx

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7.0 Your Obligations as a Broker or a Dealer


Where you make arrangements for the management of waste on behalf of another party you are deemed to be acting as a broker. You are therefore also classified as

having control of that waste, even though you may not physically hold the waste you

are in control of.

Where you buy or sell waste you are deemed to be acting as a dealer. You are also

classified as controlling that waste and must be registered with SEPA. Dealers act in a similar way to brokers and therefore have similar obligations.

Waste brokers and dealers may also import or export waste. In any of these

capacities, by arranging for the transfer of waste, you jointly hold responsibility for its proper transfer and management with the holders directly involved (producer, carrier,

exporter or waste manager). You should therefore also be familiar with the

responsibilities of the other holders described in this guidance.

Local authorities often act in the capacity of a waste broker. Where departments such

as the waste disposal authority are acting in the capacity of broker they have the

same responsibilities under the Duty of Care as any other party.

In summary, as a waste broker or dealer you jointly hold responsibilities with the

waste producer.

You have a duty to:

• Ensure that any waste in your control is handled and stored safely, without causing harm to the environment and in accordance with the law.

• Know the nature of the waste you are in control of, for example, if it is process

waste to know its constituents and properties.

• Ensure care of the waste while it is stored, so it does not escape. • Ensure that the waste description is accurate and contains all the information

necessary for safe handling, transport, treatment, recovery or disposal (especially

by landfill) by subsequent holders. • Ensure that you have a valid registration with the Environment Agency.

• Ensure the waste is transferred to someone who is authorised to receive it, for

example, a registered waste carrier, or waste manager. • Ensure that the transfer of waste is covered by a waste transfer note including a

full description of the waste and to retain the transfer note and waste details for

two years.

• Ensure that the site of destination holds the appropriate environmental permit or exemption to accept the waste. This responsibility extends to destinations in other

countries.

As a broker you should retain, for two years, a copy of the transfer notes used in any transfers of waste that you have arranged as evidence of your compliance with the

Duty of Care.

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Although as a broker you may not physically hold the waste you are regarded by the

law as having control of that waste. However you should still ensure that the physical

holder of the waste under your direction manages it in order to prevent any waste

materials escaping from their control or the control of others, for example during storage or transport.

What must I do during waste storage?

In your capacity as broker you must ensure that, when waste is being stored at

premises that waste is:

• Stored in containers which segregate wastes to facilitate recycling that are

clearly labelled with their contents so that people know what can and cannot

be placed in them and the next holder of the waste can clearly see what the containers hold.

• Stored in a secure location where access to it is limited only to authorised

persons. If waste is kept in a less secure location, loose materials or specific objects may be blown or washed away or even stolen. Less secure storage

may also attract others to mix their waste with that of your client. If this occurs

then the waste carrier or contractor may charge more or refuse to accept the waste at their site.

• Stored in locations which will prevent vandalism of the containers, for

example setting the waste on fire.

Step 2 - Describe Your Waste

You must ensure that the waste being transferred is covered by a completed transfer note which should include an adequate written description that will enable anyone

receiving it to manage it in accordance with his or her own Duty of Care. If something

goes wrong and the waste is not described properly or you have not told the next

Holder the properties of the waste, then you may be held responsible together with the waste producer.

What information must I provide?

You should ensure that a transfer note and waste description is produced covering

yourself and the party(ies) you are brokering between. The transfer note is your evidence that the waste was passed on and that it was adequately described.

Guidance on the information that a transfer note MUST contain is provided in

Chapter 9

You must keep a copy of the transfer note signed by yourself and the person you

transfer waste to for two years. This can be an electronic copy, including electronic

signatures, provided an enforcement officer can view it. You also need to keep any additional information with this note such as any analysis results.

In order to reduce administrative burdens a ‘season ticket’ system can be used for a period up to 12 months. This prevents the need for a transfer note to be produced for

every waste load transferred. However this ‘season ticket’ can only be used for waste

of the same description transferred to the same transferee. Such a season ticket

might be used, for example, for the weekly collection of waste from shops or repetitive transport of excavated materials from construction works.

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You should also keep a log of individual loads collected from you under season ticket

arrangements. For example, you could request weighbridge tickets from your waste carrier.

If the waste is Special Waste you have the same obligations under the Duty of Care.

A consignment note, rather than a transfer note, is required to comply with the Special Waste (Scotland) Regulations 1996 together with any additional information

for Duty of Care.


Make sure that any person or business you are transferring waste to or who is organising waste transfers for you are registered with SEPA to do so. If they are not

registered with SEPA you should confirm that they do not need to be before they take

the waste.


The detail of the checking required will depend on the quantity or nature of the waste you produce. For example, if you produce large quantities of waste or waste which is

of an inconsistent or hazardous nature, you might satisfy yourself that the waste

manager can accept your waste. It is advisable to check the later stages of the management of your waste.


• a copy of the carrier’s registration certificate and check this against the

SEPA’s public registers to confirm that it is genuine and valid.

http://www.sepa.org.uk/waste/waste_regulation/waste_carriers_and_brokers/who_is_registered.aspx

• confirmation of the broker/dealers registration and check this against the

SEPA’s public register. If you choose to engage a waste broker to identify suitable carriers and/or waste management options for your waste then you

will share equal responsibility for how the waste is stored, transported and

ultimately managed. You must ensure any broker you use has a valid registration. It is advisable to record any checks you have made.

http://www.sepa.org.uk/waste/waste_regulation/waste_carriers_and_brokers/

who_is_registered.aspx

• the reference number of the site’s Licence or Permit so that you can, if

necessary, check this against SEPA’s public registers to confirm that it is

genuine and valid and evidence that it allows for deposit of your type of waste. http://www.sepa.org.uk/about_us/contacting_sepa.aspx

It is advisable to re-check carrier registration from time to time as many carrier registrations are annually renewable and in some circumstances the registration may

have been cancelled or revoked by the SEPA.

If the waste is destined for a transfer station or MRF it may be sufficient to know what

is going to happen to your waste there. If you produce large amounts of waste or

waste which can be difficult to manage then it might be appropriate to visit the site

where your waste is recycled, recovered or disposed of. This might be part of your environmental management system.

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Step 4 - Prevent Your Waste Causing Harm

What is meant by harm?

The term ‘harm’ is defined in the glossary. It is caused by the unauthorised or

inappropriate deposit, treatment or disposal etc. of waste. However, the burning of waste such as packaging will result in harm. It is illegal to burn waste (except in very

restricted circumstances) and therefore must not take place. In many cases such

waste can be recycled or recovered. Also, allowing waste to escape from your control, such as causing litter, allowing liquids to leak from containers and so on are

other examples of where harm can be caused whilst you hold the waste.

What can I do to check that my waste is correctly managed?

If you are acting on behalf of an original producer, it is not possible to draw a line at

the gate of that person’s premises and say that your and their responsibility for the waste ends there. You will have directed waste toward other holders and share with

the producer all responsibilities required by the Duty of Care.

A broker remains responsible according to what he ‘knows or should have foreseen’.

You should take account of anything you see or learn about the way in which any party is subsequently handling it. For example:

• You need to ensure that waste is packaged correctly and that the vehicle is

suitable for transport, as if it subsequently falls off the vehicle you could be deemed liable.

• You may wish to determine that waste has subsequently arrived at its

intended destination especially if the waste has particular problematic properties. You could do this by requesting weighbridge or tip ticket.

• You may notice a carrier apparently engaged in the unlawful dumping of

someone else's waste. These would be grounds for suspecting illegal

handling of your waste by the carrier. Whenever you become aware that your waste is being illegally dealt with you should tell SEPA.

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8.0 Your Obligations as a Householder

This section offers guidance to any person who is a householder.


As a householder, you have a duty to:

• ensure that any waste that you produce is handled and stored safely, without causing harm to the environment and in accordance with the law.

• ensure that any household waste produced on your property is only transferred to

a carrier that is appropriately registered with SEPA.

You have a duty to take all reasonable measures to comply with the Duty of Care

whilst the waste is in your possession and to enable other holders in the chain to

comply with the Duty. Breach of the Duty of Care may result in enforcement action being taken against you.

What does this mean?

It is your responsibility to ensure that any waste produced on your property is only

taken by someone who is authorised to carry that waste. In order to do this you

should ask that person/company if they are a registered waste carrier. You may wish to confirm the registration is valid and this can be done by checking the SEPA public

register on its’ website -

http://www.sepa.org.uk/waste/waste_regulation/waste_carriers_and_brokers/who_is_

registered.aspx. Only after you have confirmed such proof should you give your waste to them. It is advisable to ask where your waste is going.

When your waste is collected by your local authority or their contractor they will already be registered as a waste carrier, you do not therefore need to check their

details. You are also not required to exchange paperwork with them.

You still have responsibility to store your waste safely, without causing harm or

pollution to the environment and in accordance with the law while it is awaiting

collection.

If you give your waste to a friend or neighbour to dispose of then you need to ensure

that they will be taking the waste to a site with an environmental permit, for example

the local civic amenity site. A civic amenity site is provided by the local authority only for householders to deposit their own household waste. Each local authority operates

such sites differently.

However;

• If you take a large van full of waste, the operator of the site would have the right

to ask you to prove that the waste is from your own household so take some evidence with you.

• If you visit the site regularly the site operator may suspect that you are producing waste as part of a business and as a result may request payment, or

refuse entry until they see some proof of carrier registration.

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If you contract a builder or tradesperson such as a landscape gardener, plumber,

kitchen contractor, glazier, carpet fitter etc to undertake work that results in the production of waste then they will normally be considered to be producing that waste.

However, as it has been produced on your property you have a responsibility to

make reasonable checks to ensure that the waste will be carried by appropriately

registered people.

If they carry this waste away from your home themselves, then it is likely that they will

need to be registered with SEPA as a carrier of waste. You should ask them for evidence of their registration.

If they say that they are not registered to carry that waste you should check with the SEPA whether they are required to be.

If you have not made reasonable checks to ensure that waste produced on

your property is carried by appropriately registered people and that waste is subsequently found to have been fly-tipped you may share liability with the fly-

tipper and be subject to enforcement action.

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9.0 Transfer Notes

What information must be present on the transfer note?

The transfer note is your evidence of proper transfer of waste including the information that was passed on. You will have to produce it when asked by an

enforcement officer. An example note is provided below. The transfer note must:

• Contain the name and address of transferor and transferee.

• State whether or not the transferor is the producer or importer of the waste.

• Contain the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code for the transferor. • Identify the waste by reference to its six digit code in the European Waste

Catalogue.

• State whether the waste consists of wastes listed for source segregation and

presented separately by the waste producer. • State whether the waste in intended to be incinerated or co-incinerated, and if

so whether it has been sufficiently pre-treated.

• State whether the waste is intended for landfill, and if so whether it complies with the landfill bans.

• Identify the quantity of the waste in tonnes.

• Record the place, date and time of transfer. If you are using a season ticket

the period for which it is valid. • State whether the carrier is required to be registered with SEPA and, if so, the

registration number.

• State the initial destination of the waste including address, site name and number of any relevant licence or permit issued by SEPA or Environment

Agency.

• Be completed and signed by both parties (electronically is acceptable).

What is an adequate waste description?

An adequate description will depend upon the nature of the waste. It should,

however, include mention of any special problems associated with the waste. In

looking for ’special problems’ associated with the waste it may help to ask yourself and record answers to such questions as:-

• Does the waste require particular treatment, e.g. clinical waste which requires sterilisation, batteries or WEEE?

• Does the waste need a special container to prevent its escape or to protect it

from the elements, e.g. loose waste?

• Do you need to advise the producer on what type of container suits the waste and what material the container can be made of?

• Do you need to advise on labelling and other requirements for transport?

• Can it safely be mixed with any other waste or are there wastes with which it should not be mixed, for example at a waste transfer station?

• Can it safely be crushed and/ or transferred from one vehicle to another?

• Can it be disposed of safely in a landfill site with other waste?

• Is it likely to change its physical state during storage or transport e.g. might it give off gas or become liquid?

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Section A – Description of Waste

A1 – Describe the waste being transferred A2 – How is the waste contained Source Segregated Recyclables Unsorted Waste Loose Sacks Skip Drum

Pre-Treated for Landfill Residual for Incineration Other Other

Description A3 – How much waste? For example,

European Waste Catalogue Code A4 – Standard Industrial Classification

Section B – Current holder of the waste - Transferor

B1 – Full name B2 – Are you the;

Producer of the waste? Importer of the waste? Local Authority?

Address

The holder of a waste management authorisation?

A registered waste carrier

Section C – Person receiving the waste - Transferee

C1 – Full name C2 – Are you the;


Address



Section D – The transfer

D1 – Address of transfer D2 – Broker who arranged this transfer

Transferor’s signature Transferee’s signature

Licence No.

Postcode Registration No.

Licence No.


Postcode Postcode

Name Representing Name Representing

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Zero Waste Plan – Implementation Guidance

Guidance on inputs to Energy from Waste Facilities

70

1.0 Glossary

Energy from Waste (EfW) - A process where waste is thermally treated to produce

energy in the form of electricity and/or heat. It includes incineration and co-

incineration, pyrolysis and gasification technologies.

Unsorted waste - The fraction of waste remaining after recyclable materials have

been separated at source.

Materials Recycling / Recovery Facility (MRF) - A facility which sorts co-mingled

collections of dry recyclates into their separate components (sometimes called a

“clean MRF”)

Mixed Waste Processing Facility (MWPF) - A facility which treats unsorted waste

prior to further recovery and disposal (sometimes called a “dirty MRF”)

Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) - A type of MWPF incorporating a

combination of mechanical and biological treatment steps to stabilise and separate

the waste into various fractions.

Mechanical Heat Treatment (MHT) - A process where unsorted waste is shredded

and steam treated to extract recyclates and reduce the volume of the waste for

further recovery or disposal (sometimes called autoclaving).

Residual Waste - Wastes which have been subject to all reasonably practicable

efforts to extract recyclable material prior to incineration or co-incineration

Source Segregated Waste - Materials, such as paper, plastic, metal, glass and

biowaste (food and garden waste), which have been segregated at source for

recycling.

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2.0 Strategic and policy objectives

Scotland has already embarked on the journey towards a more sustainable approach

to waste and resources. Recycling rates continue to rise, volumes of waste being


environmental impact of our activities.

However, despite this progress, materials which could be recycled or recovered

continue to be landfilled. The Zero Waste Plan is underpinned by a determination to

achieve the best overall outcomes for Scotland’s economy and environment by

making the best practical use of the approach in the waste hierarchy: prevention,

reuse, recycling and recovery.


measures to drive source segregation of recyclables, implement a phased

programme of landfill bans and ensure that only waste which could not have been

recycled is incinerated.

Zero Waste Plan Action 14: The Scottish Government will introduce

regulatory measures to support the delivery of landfill bans, by ensuring

energy from waste treatment is only used to recover value from resources that

cannot offer greater environmental and economic benefits through reuse or

recycling. These measures will supersede the current 25% cap which

currently applies only to municipal waste, and are likely to result in similar

amounts of resources being available for energy from waste treatment.

The priority action is the requirement to source segregate and separately collect

certain recyclable materials and food. Source segregation is a crucial component of

a successful recycling strategy because the quality of the resource is maintained.

Making this a statutory duty aims to maximise the quantities of high quality materials

available for reprocessing. This, in turn, provides support to the recycling industry by

helping to secure high and stable levels of supply.

As energy is mainly generated from fossil fuel sources, recycling reduces the climate

change emissions associated with production and manufacture from primary raw

materials. Therefore, increasing recycling helps Scotland achieve the emission

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reduction targets under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2010 and plays a part in

the transition to a low carbon economy.

Even at high levels of recycling, an unsorted fraction of waste will remain. Scottish

Government considers that solutions for unsorted waste should aim to recover the

remaining value from recyclable materials contained in the unsorted waste and

reduce the volumes of residual waste requiring further recovery and final disposal.

EfW has an important contribution to make in managing unsorted waste and

providing electricity and heat. However, this must not be at the expense of efforts to

prevent and recycle waste which have higher overall climate change and resource

efficiency benefits. As waste prevention measures are introduced and recycling

increases, the amount of residual waste available for energy generation will, over

time, be reduced.

Therefore, the reasons for introducing regulatory measures to restrict inputs to

energy from waste treatment are to:

• support the long term upstream efforts to increase recycling and to ensure

that investment in waste management infrastructure in Scotland does not

simply move one step up the hierarchy from landfill to incineration; and

• conserve resource value by ensuring that waste materials which could have

been reused or recycled are not incinerated;

• replace the 25% energy from waste cap for local authority collected municipal

waste with an approach that requires equivalent treatment standards for all

waste streams and sectors (household, commercial and industrial waste),

irrespective of which party collects the waste.

2.2 What is restricted from EfW under the Zero Waste Plan?

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For Energy from Waste technologies to be truly sustainable they should only be used

for resource streams which cannot practicably offer greater environmental or

economic benefits through reuse or recycling. The Zero Waste Plan vision for

Scotland is that most waste is sorted into separate streams for reprocessing and

recycling, leaving only limited amounts for treatment in EfW facilities and final

disposal.

Rather than placing a cap (or target) on the amount of waste which can be treated in

EfW plants, the Government is proposing a regulatory approach which restricts waste

inputs at the gate.

EfW plants are regulated under the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations

2000 (PPC Regulations) by SEPA. Scottish Government proposes to amend the

PPC Regulations to place a clear duty on SEPA to set and enforce appropriate PPC

permit conditions limiting EfW inputs to:

• residual wastes. – wastes which have been subject to all reasonably

practicable efforts to extract recyclable materials prior to incineration or co-

incineration, and

• other suitable waste types. For example, treated wood, sewage sludge and

waste oil.

That EfW facilities inputs should be restricted to residual waste only is not a new

policy. What is proposed here is that implementation will move from the land use

planning system to active regulation of day to day operations. There will be no

requirement to make a demonstration that the facility will treat only residual waste in

order to obtain planning permission. SEPA will address this issue when they provide

comments to the planning authority in relation to consentability under the PPC

permitting regime.

It is important to note that the purpose of this restriction is to conserve resources

rather than add to current stringent environmental protection measures. The existing

Waste Incineration Directive standards provide robust controls designed to protect

the environment and human health.

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For the purposes of the restrictions, Energy from Waste plant includes incineration,

gasification, pyrolysis and other Advanced Thermal Treatment technologies. It does

not include Anaerobic Digestion plants which treat either source segregated biowaste

or the biological fraction of unsorted waste to produce a biogas which is

subsequently used to generate energy.

To support the regulatory requirements this document provides guidance on the

practical implementation of these measures. This will assist operators of EfW

installations to establish whether the waste arriving at their gate has undergone

sufficient pre-treatment to be considered residual.

A flow diagram illustrating how the residual waste material will flow through the waste

management system to EfW facilities is shown at figure 1.

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3.0 Proposed Regulations and Definitions

3.1 Proposed Regulatory Amendment

Scottish Government proposes to amend Regulation 9 of the PPC Regulations. It

places a clear duty on SEPA to include in Permits such conditions as necessary to

ensure that only residual waste and other suitable wastes are incinerated or co-

incinerated.

9B.—(1) SEPA shall ensure that any permit granted or varied on or after……for a

waste incineration installation contains such conditions as it considers necessary to

ensure that wastes accepted for incineration or co-incineration comprise only residual

wastes or [other suitable wastes- to be defined] or both.

3.2 Definition of Residual

The proposed definition of “residual wastes” to be included in regulation is;

“residual wastes” means wastes which have been subject to all reasonably

practicable efforts to extract recyclable material prior to incineration or co-

incineration.

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4.0 Implementation

.

4.1 Timeline for Introduction

From the date that the Regulations come into force, SEPA will have statutory powers

to include conditions in PPC permits to require that only residual waste and other

suitable waste streams can be accepted for thermal treatment. Therefore, from that

date, permit applications for EfW installations will have to demonstrate to SEPA that

the waste they will treat complies with the regulatory requirements.

There are a number of existing EfW facilities in Scotland. Transitional arrangements

will be put in place to give operators reasonable time to establish the necessary pre-

treatment infrastructure.

4.2 What is Residual Waste?

“Residual waste” is to be defined in regulation as “wastes which have been subject to

all reasonably practicable efforts to extract recyclable material prior to incineration or

co-incineration”. The following section sets out what is meant by this in practice

4.3 Source Segregated Recyclables and “Clean MRF” Rejects

Source segregated recyclable waste is not ‘residual waste’ for the purpose of

the definition. Therefore, such waste cannot go to EfW. EfW facilities will be

prohibited from accepting such waste for incineration and co-incineration

through the PPC Permit.

However, the rejects from Material Recovery Facilities handling source

segregated recyclables can be considered as ‘residual waste’ purpose of the

definition.

Under the Zero Waste Plan it is proposed to place a duty on any person who

produces controlled waste (other than an occupier of domestic property in respect of

waste produced on that property) to present the following wastes for collection

separately from all other wastes:-

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• food

• glass;

• metals;

• plastics;

• textiles;

• paper; and

• card (including cardboard).

There will also be a statutory requirement on local authorities to provide separate

collection services to households for these key materials where this is technically,

economically and environmentally feasible. These separately collected wastes are

not ‘residual wastes’ either individually or co-mingled. It will be an offence under the

PPC Permit to incinerate or co-incinerate them.

Although the evidence shows that sorting recyclables at the producer site or kerbside

results in fewer rejects, it is likely that some sorting will be carried out at a Materials

Recovery Facility (“MRF”). The MRFs sorting these recyclables will produce rejected

material for which recycling is not feasible. These rejects will be considered as

residual waste and will be suitable for incineration and co-incineration.

.

4.4 Unsorted Waste

Unsorted (i.e. black bag) waste is not ‘residual waste’ for the purpose of the

definition. Therefore, unsorted waste can not go directly from the producer to

EfW. EfW facilities will be prohibited from accepting such unsorted waste

directly for incineration and co-incineration through the PPC Permit. Efforts

must be made to extract as much remaining recyclable material as is

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reasonably practicable prior to incineration for unsorted waste to be

considered ‘residual’.

Although the priority action is to require source segregation of recyclables it is likely

that unsorted waste from all sources will also contain recyclable material.

A specific example of this is highlighted in Zero Waste Scotland’s report “The

Composition of Municipal Solid Waste in Scotland” from April 2010. The survey

results show that whilst there has been a significant increase in recycling municipal

waste - from 5% to almost 36% nationally in 10 years - many common recyclable

materials such as newspapers and magazines, cans and glass bottles are still put in

household rubbish bins. Although specific to household waste only, it shows that

source segregation measures will not extract all recyclable waste.

Scottish Government recognises that, with existing waste management technologies,

it is unlikely that textiles, paper and card and organic biowastes can be separated

from mixed waste in such a way that the quality of the material will be acceptable to

end users. Upstream source separation remains the optimal management method

for these materials.

However, modern separation technologies can extract some recyclable materials

from the unsorted waste stream, the most obvious examples being ferrous and non-

ferrous metals and dense plastics. As stated above, there are resource recovery and

climate change benefits from taking steps to remove recyclable materials from the

unsorted waste stream. Life cycle studies indicate that the climate change benefit is

especially pronounced for plastics.

Under these proposals no unsorted waste will be transported directly to incineration

facilities. Unsorted waste must be pre-treated to extract any materials which can be

cost effectively recycled. Further information about this is provided in section 4.5.

In the future, if source segregation becomes a normal part of life in society and the

composition of unsorted waste changes, this position may change. However, it is the

intention of the Scottish Government that all unsorted waste must undergo pre-

treatment to remove recyclable material when the residual fraction is destined for

incineration.

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4.5 Limitations

Due to the inherent variability in unsorted waste, Scottish Government will not set a

minimum recovery rate for waste treatment facilities. Each technology is capable of

recovery at different rates and will be treating different inputs.

Further, the characterisation of Refuse Derived Fuel is in its infancy as regards

industrial quality standards. Scottish Government will therefore not prescribe an RDF

standard to be used as a proxy for ‘residual’.

4.6 What will constitute sufficient pre-treatment - First Steps

Scottish Government will accept that ‘residual waste’ includes unsorted

wastes which have undergone mechanical processing. Mechanical processing

means an automated technique or sequence of techniques designed to remove

designated materials from the unsorted waste stream.

The objective of pre-treatment is to extract recyclable and valuable resources.

As a first step, it is proposed that pre-treatment should extract ferrous and non

ferrous metals, plastic and items containing valuable materials such as Waste

Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE).

The unsorted waste fraction can be treated to split the waste into the following

components:

• marketable recyclables

• a high calorific value (CV) stream

• a biological fraction

• non-combustibles / inerts

Many separation processes are increasing in terms of their efficiency and this

measure supports development of these treatment technologies. The Scottish

Government expects unsorted waste treatment to extract at least metals and plastics

from the unsorted waste stream where that material is of adequate quality for

recycling. This will be where the mechanical process has separated materials which

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can be cost effectively recycled and the extracted materials have been supplied to a

licensed recycling facility.

There may also be other materials which, although not present in large volumes, are

valuable and should be recycled. Such an example is Waste Electrical and

Electronic Equipment (WEEE). Electronic gadgets may contain small quantities of

valuable raw materials such as gold and other metals and the elements referred to as

the “rare earth metals”. These are essential in a range of high technology

applications such as super-conductors, lasers, medical equipment and, in particular,

are a key component in many renewable energy technology developments. Europe’s

clean technology sector is currently dependent on imports to supply its requirements.

In addition, the mining and processing of these metals can have serious

environmental consequences. Therefore, taking action to recover these essential raw

materials is considered to be an important component of pre-treatment.

It remains unlikely that textiles, paper, card and organics separated from unsorted

waste will be of an acceptable quality to end users. Scottish Government considers

this approach to be complementary to quality source separation schemes.

Glass can also being separated off from unsorted waste but the quality is low and

recycling back into container glass is not usually possible. Glass separated in this

way usually comprises part of a non-combustible inert waste stream which may find

some limited use as aggregate replacement

A typical pre-treatment process is illustrated here:

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If unsorted waste has undergone mechanical processing to remove the priority

recyclables listed above, it will be possible to describe the waste as ‘residual’ on the

Waste Transfer Note. It will be an offence under the Duty of Care to describe as

‘residual’ waste which has not been subject to the required mechanical treatment.

SEPA, when regulating the inputs to incineration and co-incineration plants will

periodically audit waste processors to ensure that the required mechanical treatment

is carried out.

It will be an offence under the PPC Regulations to incinerate or co-incinerate waste

which is not residual waste. It is expected that operators of EfW facilities will ensure

that their suppliers either carry out this treatment or they will do it in-house.

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4.7 Future Work

As unsorted waste treatment and incineration of residual waste becomes established

in Scotland, Scottish Government will investigate measures to increase the efficiency

of unsorted waste treatment are required. Currently there are very few Mixed Waste

Processing Facilities in Scotland which treat unsorted waste in this way. As the

number increases, a survey of all waste facilities supplying residual waste for

incineration would be carried out to baseline recovery rates across Scotland.

If the survey shows that marketable recyclable material continues to be incinerated or

co-incinerated, steps will be taken to drive up processing efficiency. This could be

through direct regulation or through an accreditation scheme for waste treatment.

Scottish Government proposes to carry out the initial survey in 2014. In the

meantime, it is advisable for those carrying out waste treatment to ensure that the

above noted recyclables and valuable resources are extracted.

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5.0 What are other suitable waste types?

5.1 Other Suitable Wastes

SEPA will consider the suitability of single stream wastes for incineration on a case

by case basis. EfW facilities will demonstrate either at the Permit application stage or

through Regulation 13 Variation to existing Permits that the waste is suitable for

incineration.

Examples of single stream wastes which would be considered suitable for

incineration are;

• Contaminated/treated wood

• Waste oil

• Poultry litter

• Tyres / rubber

• Solvents

• Industrial filters, protective clothing and absorbents

• Other unrecyclable textiles

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6.0 What does this mean for operators of EfW

6.1 Acceptance at the gate

At the gate of the EfW facility any unsorted waste (black bag type waste) would be

rejected and directed to pre-treatment. Otherwise, all waste accepted for processing

in an EfW plant would be expected to:

a) have come from a compliant mechanical treatment process

b) have come from a compliant materials recycling facility (as rejected material)

c) be one of the suitable waste types in nature (and declaring itself to be so)

Operators of EfW facilities will be expected to inspect both the Waste Transfer Note

(WTN) and the waste visually at the gate to ensure that incoming waste complies

with the new requirements.

6.2 Duty of Care Audit Trail

Operators of EfW facilities must be able to refuse incoming loads on the basis of the

information provided on the Waste Transfer Note (WTN). The notes must clearly

show that the waste has been pre-treated to comply with the restrictions on

incinerating recyclable materials or that the waste comprises one of the specified

suitable waste types.

In order to strengthen the enforceability of these new policies, changes to the Duty of

Care Regulations are proposed to include appropriate information on waste transfer

notes.

The information required to be provided on the WTN is laid out in the draft

Environment Protection (Duty of Care) (Scotland) Regulations 2010 and the draft

Duty of Care statutory Code of Practice, both of which form part of this consultation.

A suggested format for a revised WTN is contained in the draft Duty of Care Code of

Practice and is also reproduced here in Appendix A. It includes an additional tick box

to provide a quick and easy way for operators to be reassured that the waste can be

accepted at their EfW facility. This will require waste treatment operators to declare

86

that the waste has been “pre-treated for incineration” and make this statement on the

WTN

It is for the operator, as part of their waste acceptance procedures, to keep evidence

as to what pre-treatment has been undertaken. SEPA will inspect for compliance

using the audit trail provided by WTNs.

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Address






Address






Licence No.


Licence No.


Postcode Postcode


88

Zero Waste Plan – Implementation Guidance

Guidance on Landfill Bans

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1.0 Glossary

Energy from Waste (EfW) - A process where waste is incinerated to produce

energy in the form of electricity and/or heat. It includes incineration and co-

incineration, pyrolysis and gasification technologies.

Unsorted waste - The fraction of waste remaining after recyclable materials have

been separated at source.

Materials Recycling / Recovery Facility (MRF) - A facility which sorts co-mingled

collections of dry recyclates into their separate components (sometimes called a

“clean MRF”)

Materials based ban – Relates to all, or part, of a certain type of material or product

Measurable property based ban – Refers to a test or other form of measurement

that determines whether or not the waste is of a particular type or has a value for that

property which is within a certain threshold limit of whatever characteristic the test

relates to e.g. biodegradability or density. The ban would apply to waste with a

characteristic that falls outside whatever threshold is set.

Mixed Waste Processing Facility (MWPF) - A facility which treats unsorted waste

prior to further recovery and disposal (sometimes called a “dirty MRF”)

Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) - A type of MWPF incorporating a

combination of mechanical and biological treatment steps to stabilise and separate

the waste into recyclate, a biological fraction and a Refuse Derived Fuel.

Mechanical Heat Treatment (MHT) - A process where unsorted waste is shredded

and steam treated to extract some recyclates and reduce the volume of the waste for

further recovery or disposal (sometimes called autoclaving).

Source Segregated Waste - Materials, such as paper, plastic, metal, glass and

biowaste (food and garden waste), which have been sorted into their separate

fractions for recycling.

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2.0 Strategic and policy objectives

Scotland has already embarked on the journey towards a more sustainable approach

to waste and resources. Recycling rates continue to rise, volumes of waste being


environmental impact of our activities.

However, despite this progress, recyclable materials continue to be landfilled. The

Zero Waste Plan is underpinned by a determination to achieve the best overall

outcomes for Scotland’s economy and environment by making best practical use of

the approach in the waste hierarchy: prevention, reuse, recycling and recovery.


measures to drive source segregation of recyclables, implement a phased

programme of landfill bans and ensure that only waste which could not have been

recycled is incinerated.

Zero Waste Plan Action 4: The Scottish Government will introduce

progressive bans on types of materials that may be disposed of in landfill, and

associated support measures, to ensure that no resources with a value for

reuse or recycling are sent to landfill by 2020.

The reasons for introducing landfill bans on recyclable and biodegradable waste are

twofold:

• to increase the efficient use of resources by supporting recycling efforts

• to reduce the environmental impact of disposal by reducing greenhouse gas

emissions from landfilled waste

The regulatory amendments suggested have been informed by research work carried

out by Eunomia Consulting on landfill bans25. The work focuses on defining waste by

material type (to conserve resources) or property (to protect the environment from

the impacts of disposal).

25 http://www.wrap.org.uk/downloads/FINAL_Landfill_Bans_Feasibility_Research.f66a6ebf.8796.pdf

91

The research indicated landfill bans, when coupled with a “requirement to sort”,

would deliver net environmental and financial benefits. Therefore, the priority action

is the requirement to source segregate and separately collect certain recyclable

materials and food. Source segregation is a crucial component of a successful

recycling strategy because the quality of the resource is maintained. The material

based landfill bans therefore support the upstream requirements to sort the key

recyclable materials.

Landfilling biodegradable waste also results in emissions of greenhouse gases, such

as carbon dioxide and methane, into the atmosphere. The Landfill Directive requires

Member States to draw up strategies to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste

going to landfill. Therefore, making sure that biodegradable waste does not end up

in landfill prevents the release of GHGs and fulfils the requirements of the Directive.

Under these proposals, much less waste will be transported directly from producer to

landfill. Source segregated recyclable materials will be kept completely separate from

other wastes and/or materials to support high quality recycling. The remaining

unsorted wastes must be pre-treated prior to landfill. This pre-treatment will extract

recyclable material, and produce a combustible fraction called Refuse Derived Fuel

(RDF) destined for Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities. The other two main fractions

arising from treatment are an inert fraction (primarily aggregates and glass) and a

biodegradable fraction which will require further treatment to reduce levels of

biological activity prior to landfill.

2.2 What is banned from landfill under the Zero Waste Plan?

The Zero Waste Plan proposes regulatory change to deliver the two types of landfill

ban described above:

• a material based ban based around source segregated key recyclable

materials

• a measurable property based ban based on biodegradable content

92

This implementation guidance has been produced to assist landfill operators

establish whether the waste arriving at their gate can be accepted in compliance with

their environmental permit. A flow diagram illustrating how waste will flow through the

waste management system to landfills after all of the bans are in force is shown at

figure 1.

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3.0 Proposed Regulations

3.1 Proposed Regulatory Amendment

Scottish Government proposes to amend Regulation 6 of the Landfill (Scotland)

Regulations 2003. It establishes a clear ban on both particular materials – the

materials based ban - and waste with a high biodegradable content – the measurable

property based ban.



ì(fb) as from…., any waste which has been collected and carried separately

from other waste types in accordance with section 34(2C) or

section 45C(4) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990;

(fc) as from…….., any waste with an organic content greater than three

percent of the total content;î.

(26)

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4.0 Implementation

The following section provides advice on how the proposed regulations could be

implemented in practice.

4.1 Timeline for introduction

Additional waste management infrastructure and different types of collection systems

will be needed to manage recyclate and the remaining unsorted waste. This will

include recycling plants for sorting and baling source segregated recyclables and

mechanical, biological and incineration treatment plants for the remaining waste. An

appropriate lead in time must be allowed for the required infrastructure to be built

before the ban comes into effect, including collection systems to enable separate

collection of recyclable materials (paper and card, metals, plastics, glass, textiles and

food waste). This is illustrated in the timeline diagram below:

For the material based bans, the extended Duty of Care to sort (segregate at source

and separately collect) the recyclable materials will come into effect before the ban,

meaning that the ban itself is not the primary driver to increase recycling. Making

sure that progress is being made towards high recycling rates through mandatory

source segregation means that the necessary treatment infrastructure is already in

place before the ban comes into effect. Therefore the material based landfill bans

will be implemented in 2015, a full two years after the source segregation

requirements.

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The infrastructure required to meet the measurable property based ban requires

more significant investment and can take longer to build, including the length of time

taken to obtain planning permission. Therefore, this ban will be introduced in 2017, a

full two years after the material based bans.

4.2 Material Based Ban – What does this mean in practice?

Source segregated glass, metal, plastic, textile, paper, card and food will be

banned from disposal at landfill from the appropriate dates. Therefore, it will be

an offence for landfill operators to accept these source segregated wastes for

disposal.

The key recyclable materials targeted by the Zero Waste Plan are paper and card,

plastics, metals, textiles, glass and food waste. These are the materials identified as

having the greatest climate change benefits and resource efficiency gains where the

landfill ban is accompanied by a “requirement to sort”.

In this regulatory model, the “requirement to sort” is achieved by placing a statutory

duty under an extended Duty of Care on any person who produces controlled waste

(other than householders) to present the following wastes for collection separately

from all other wastes:-

• food

• glass;

• metals;

• plastics;

• textiles;

• paper; and

• card (including cardboard).

There will also be a statutory requirement for local authorities to provide separate

collection services to households for these key materials where this is technically,

economically and environmentally feasible. These two regulatory measures

supported by education and enforcement will, over time, drive increased levels of

source segregation and remove the listed wastes from the unsorted waste stream.

97

To complement these requirements, these separately collected wastes cannot be

landfilled either individually or when co-mingled with each other. SEPA will include

conditions in landfill permits which will ban the listed recyclable materials from being

accepted for disposal the landfill.

The material based landfill ban applies only to materials which have already been

segregated for recycling as part of the new duty or by householders, supporting their

efforts. The ban does not, by itself, increase recycling rates for recyclable materials.

It is important to understand that the ban does not apply to unsorted wastes

containing the banned materials. The intention is not to ensure that unsorted waste

arriving at landfills is completely free from the listed items.

Although the evidence shows that sorting recyclables at the producer site or kerbside

results in fewer rejects, it is likely that some sorting of co-mingled waste will be

carried out at a Materials Recycling / Recovery Facility (“MRF”). Sorting co-mingled

recyclables at MRFs results in rejected material which cannot be recycled. It will be

acceptable to landfill these rejects directly despite the materials based ban. Rejects

from MRFs will also be considered to be “residual” waste and this classification

together with the landfill tax escalator might direct them towards incineration. Once

the biodegradability ban comes into force, a proportion of these rejects will require

additional treatment, such as thermal or biological treatment, in order to meet the

threshold.

4.3 Biodegradable Waste – What does this mean in practice?

Unsorted waste (i.e. black bags, litter bins, skips etc) is not specifically banned

from landfill, even where it contains the materials listed for mandatory source

segregation. However, after 2017, all waste sent for landfill must have

measurable biodegradable content below the set threshold. That threshold and

the measurement method will be determined through the consultation.

Therefore, in practice, unsorted waste will not be able to go directly from the

producer to landfill. Efforts to reduce biodegradability to below the threshold

must be taken.

98

This ban is the one which will make the biggest difference to how Scotland treats its

waste. Historically, Scotland has relied heavily on landfill to dispose of waste which

was not collected for recycling. Under the new proposals, very little of this waste will

be transported directly from the producer to the landfill site.

Limiting the biodegradable content of waste is intended to protect the environment

from greenhouse gas emissions and is not linked to the benefits of getting specific

materials away from landfill. The emphasis of this ban is to address the

environmental problems associated with landfill; emissions of greenhouse gases and

leaching of substances into the water environment. This ban will shift unsorted

wastes away from landfill and into other treatment routes such as Mechanical

Biological Treatment (MBT) or Energy from Waste (EfW).

Although the priority action is to require source segregation of recyclables it is likely

that unsorted waste from all sources will also contain recyclable material. A

biodegradability ban will perform the role of a ban on “unsorted waste”. A ban on

biodegradability, when matched with source segregation, performs two key functions;

• acts as a requirement to pre-treat all unsorted wastes, and

• protects the environment from the harmful effects of greenhouse gas

emissions.

The expected outcome would be to shift unsorted waste away from landfill and into

alternative treatments. Under this framework, it is possible for unsorted waste

treatment operators to produce a ‘residual’ waste stream for incineration (RDF) by

removing recyclable materials and a stabilised fraction for landfill. If these efforts

have not been made and the biodegradability is not below the measurable threshold

processors will not be able to describe the landfill fraction as “pre-treated prior to

landfill” on the Waste Transfer Note.

It is likely that Energy from Waste and Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) will

provide the bulk of this treatment. These processes are regulated by SEPA. Plants

which seek to meet this threshold through biological treatment will be required to

have a testing plan in place which demonstrates that the stabilised waste meets the

standard under standard operating conditions.

99

As a result of this ban, the Landfill Allowance Scheme may be revoked as the ban

would ensure that the targets to divert biodegradable waste from landfill required

under the Landfill Directive will be met through pre-treatment to achieve low levels of

biological activity. Mass balance type calculations would no longer be necessary as

operators would just have to demonstrate that the output met the threshold, rather

then reporting “loss”.

There may be a few specific waste types which cannot be treated to meet the

biodegradability threshold but which require to be disposed of in landfill. Such an

example might be contaminated soils, although this will depend on what level of

biological activity is set as the threshold. There might also be circumstances where

recyclable materials are temporarily stored at landfill sites if, for example, there was a

severe downturn in the market for recyclable material. SEPA will take these types of

issues into consideration when drafting landfill permit conditions.

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5.0 What does this mean for landfill operators?

5.1 Acceptance at the Gate

At the landfill gate any unsorted waste (black bag type waste) would be rejected and

directed for pre-treatment. Otherwise, after all the bans have been implemented, all

waste accepted for landfilling would be expected to;

d) Have come from a compliant MBT plant.

e) Have come from a compliant incinerator or gasifier.

f) Be non-biodegradable in nature (and declaring itself to be so).

Landfill operators will be expected to inspect both the Waste Transfer Note and the

waste visually at the gate to ensure that the incoming waste complies with the new

requirements.

5.2 Duty of Care Audit Trail

Landfill operators must be able to refuse incoming loads on the basis of the

information provided on the Waste Transfer Note (WTN). From 2017, the notes must

clearly show that the waste has been pre-treated to comply with the biodegradability

ban.

In order to strengthen the enforceability of these new policies, changes to the Duty of

Care Regulations are proposed to include appropriate information on waste transfer

notes.

The information required to be provided on the WTN is laid out in the draft

Environment Protection (Duty of Care) (Scotland) Regulations 2010 and the draft

Duty of Care statutory Code of Practice, both of which form part of this consultation.

A suggested format for a revised WTN is contained in the draft Duty of Care Code of

Practice and is also reproduced here in Appendix A. It includes an additional tick box

to provide a quick and easy way for landfill operators to be reassured that the waste

can be accepted at their landfill site. This will require waste treatment operators to

101

declare that the waste has been “pre-treated for landfill” and make this statement on

the WTN

It is for the landfill operators, as part of their waste acceptance procedures, to keep

evidence as to what pre-treatment has been undertaken. SEPA will inspect for

compliance using the audit trail provided by WTNs.

5.3 Non-biodegradable wastes

There are a number of wastes which can meet the biodegradability ban without pre-

treatment and may be sent directly to landfill. Examples of single stream wastes

which may not need to go through a pre-treatment stage:

• Asbestos

• Bricks, tiles and concrete

This list is not exhaustive and waste streams declaring themselves to meet the

threshold should be scrutinised by landfill operators as part of their waste acceptance

procedures. These wastes streams must be declared as non-biodegradable on the

transfer note. Once the measurement method and threshold level has been decided

upon, SEPA will develop guidance for landfill operators on those wastes likely to

meet the requirements of the ban without pre-treatment.

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Producer of the waste? Importer of the waste?

Local Authority? Address





Producer of the waste? Importer of the waste?

Local Authority? Address






Licence No.


Licence No.


Postcode Postcode


RESPONDENT INFORMATION FORM

Regulations to Deliver Zero Waste – A Consultation on the Proposed Zero Waste

(Scotland) Regulations 2011

Please complete the details below and return it with your response. This will help ensure we

handle your response appropriately. Thank you for your help.

Name/organisation:

.......................................................................................................................................

Postal Address:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

1. Are you responding: (please tick one box)

(a) as an individual ( go to Q2a/b and then Q4 )

(b) on behalf of a group/organisation ( go to Q3 and then Q4 )

Individuals

2a. Do you agree to your response being made available to the public (in Scottish Government library and/or on the Scottish Government website)?

Yes ( go to 2b below )

No ( We will treat your response as confidential )

2b. Where confidentiality is not requested, we will make your response available to the public on the following basis: (please tick one of the following boxes)

Yes, make my response, name and address all available Yes, make my response available, but not my name or address

Yes, make my response and name available, but not my address

On behalf of Groups or Organisations

3. The name and address of your organisation will be made available to the public (in the Scottish Government library and/or on the Scottish Government website).

Are you also content for your response to be made available?

Yes

No ( We will treat your response as confidential )

Sharing Responses

4. We will share your response internally with other Scottish Government policy teams who may be addressing the issues you discuss. They may wish to contact you again in the future, but we require your permission to do so. Are you content for the Scottish Government to contact you again in the future in relation to this consultation response?

Yes

No

Please return this information form with your comments by 28 February 2011. Your comments with this form may be sent by post, e-mail or fax to:- Postal address: Zero Waste Delivery Team Scottish Government Area 1-H Victoria Quay Edinburgh EH6 6QQ E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 0131-244 0245

Consultation on Zero Waste Regulations

Education

Transcript of Consultation on Zero Waste Regulations