Agricultural Waste

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Agricultural Waste
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YOU MUST HAVE STOPPED USING YOUR FARM TIP AND
OPEN BURNING
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The Aim

• To improve the environmental performance and
  waste management standards on farms progressively
  and in a fair and proportionate way so that the
  environment and human health are better protected.

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Background

• Agricultural wastes were exempt from control
• Other industries have been regulated since 1970
• UK was facing infraction proceedings in Europe -
  waste controls now extended to agriculture
• Impact all 162,000 farmers in England and Wales
• Costs estimated at 45m per annum
• Agricultural Waste Stakeholders Forum

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What is Agricultural waste?

• Cardboard paper
• Metal, wood, glass rubber
• Vehicle machinery waste - batteries
• Animal health products - medicines,
• syringes, swabs, sheep dip
• Construction demolition waste
• Plastics - packaging non-packaging
• Hazardous waste - agro-chemicals,
• oils, fuels, asbestos, pesticides

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Manure and Slurry

• Manure and slurry are not waste when used as a
  fertiliser
• on agricultural premises when applied at rates in
• accordance with farming best practice.
• Manures and slurries should not be spread
• within 10 metres of a ditch or watercourse
• within 50 meters of a spring, well or borehole

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What has happened?What must I do?

• Regulations came into effect on 15 May 2006
• Do not use your farm tip/dump
• If you now add further waste to a tip then all
  the waste will be subject to control.
• Even if you just want to close it, you will
  require a Landfill Permit.

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• Do not burn agricultural waste
• However, you can use a drum incinerator to burn
  cleaned polyethylene pesticide containers for a
  transitional period of 12 months only.
• There is an exemption for the
• burning of green waste and
• untreated wood e.g. hedge
• trimmings.

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Whats going to happen?

• Transitional periods
• Duty of Care applies from day one
• Carrier registration required after 6 months
• 12 months to register exemptions or apply for a
  licence/permit
• 12 month transition does not apply to farm
  tip/dumps or burning waste
• Hazardous waste regulations do not apply for 12
  months

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Duty of Care

• Store your waste securely so that it cant escape
• Prepare and keep all transfer notes for a minimum
  of 2 years
• Ensure you only pass your waste to an authorised
  person

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Carrier registration

• The registration system applied to the carriage
  of other wastes will not apply to agricultural
  waste
• A simpler system is being applied to those who
  carry agricultural waste professionally
• Its FREE, for life and can not be refused

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Exemption Registration

• Dont panic you still have 6 months to register
• Contact our Agricultural Waste Helpline on
• 0845 603 3113 for advice or to register
• Get an exemptions pack
• Register on-line through the Whole Farm Appraisal
  
• Visit our web-site and download a registration
  form

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Exemption Registration

• Its FREE for agricultural waste
• We are committed to helping farmers through this
  registration, but it is YOUR obligation to
  register
• Dont delay in sending us your registration...

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What are your options?

• You have several options for dealing with your
  waste
• 1. Store waste, pending collection, on the site
  where it is produced for up to 12 twelve months
• 2. Take the waste yourself for recovery or
  disposal off-farm at an appropriately licensed
  site (the Waste Recycling Directory will help you
  find these sites)

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• 3. Transfer your waste to someone else for
  recovery or disposal off-farm at an appropriately
  licensed site
• 4. Register a licence exemption with the
  Environment Agency to recover or dispose of your
  waste on-farm.
• 5. Apply to the Environment Agency for a waste
  management licence or a landfill permit to
  recover or dispose of your waste on-farm

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Sheep-dip

• Farmers who dispose of sheep dip on land under an
  existing groundwater authorisation will not need
  to obtain any new permissions
• Using an authorised area more than once a year is
  banned by virtue of the landfill regulations
• This position also applies to the disposal of
  pesticide washings under groundwater
  authorisations

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Lined Biobeds

• Used to treat pesticide waste waters
• Currently no exemption from waste management
  licensing for biobeds
• We expect a consultation from Defra in the near
  future on creating an exemption for biobeds

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Environmental Impacts

• If farmers do not manage their wastes then the
• uncontrolled disposal of waste can cause
  pollution and
• harm to human health.
• 10 of the UKs annual dioxin loading is
  attributed to agriculture
• The disposal of wastes such as asbestos, oils and
  lead acid batteries on farm tips has the
  potential for direct and diffuse pollution (about
  50 of our drinking water is from groundwater)

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Dont forget

• Look up Agricultural Waste on our web site
• www.environment-agency.gov.uk/farming
• Customer Contact Centre/Agricultural Waste
  Helpline
• 08708 506 506 / 0845 603 3113
• Waste Recycling Directory
• www.wasterecycling.org.uk
• Agricultural Waste Stakeholders Forum
• www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/agforum/index.h
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