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New controls for incineration of waste
27/08/2002
The start of a public consultation on new controls for
the incineration of waste in Scotland, was announced
today.
The proposed controls introduce stringent operating
conditions and set minimum technical requirements for over
200 incinerators in Scotland. These include municipal waste
incinerators and clinical waste incinerators, as well as
smaller-scale plant, such as waste oil burners in vehicle
servicing garages.
The new controls will apply to all new incinerators from
28 December 2002 and to existing incinerators from 28
December 2005. They are in line with a European Commission
Directive on the Incineration of Waste, designed to prevent
or limit negative effects on the environment and the
resulting risks to human health.
The Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural
Development said
"Improving waste management is one of the most
significant challenges facing Scotland in coming years. As
well as improving recycling and reuse rates, and reducing
reliance on landfill, we need to minimise the effect of
waste management options on human health and the
environment.
"Large waste incinerators are already tightly regulated.
These proposals extend controls to smaller incinerators and
ensure that all environmental impacts are minimised. The
proposals also set out how we plan to meet stringent
European standards for emissions. I would encourage
everyone with an interest in the incineration of waste in
Scotland to respond to the consultation paper"
The new controls will be enforced by the Scottish
Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). Operators of
incinerators must apply for a permit from SEPA; permits
will contain conditions to ensure that plants comply with
the new controls. The majority of existing incinerators
already fall within the permitting regime of the Pollution
Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000 (PPC)
and will be regulated under PPC from 2005. The PPC
permitting regime is being used as the main vehicle for
delivering the new controls set out in the consultation
paper. This streamlined approach should ensure that the
regulatory burden on businesses is reduced.
Public consultation period runs from August until 20
November 2002. The consultation and the proposed
Regulations and Directions cover Scotland only. The
consultation paper is available on the Scottish Executive
website at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk
The proposals set out in the consultation cover both
incinerators and co-incinerators. Co-incineration is where
waste is used as a fuel or is disposed of at a plant where
energy generation or other production is its main
purpose.
The EC Waste Incineration Directive (2000/76/EC) was
adopted in December 2000 and must be transposed into UK
legislation by 28 December 2002. The Directive sets
stringent requirements for the operation of incinerators:
it sets air emission limits which must not be exceeded and
sets requirements for water discharges from cleaning
exhaust gases, ash recycling, plant control and monitoring,
and public access to information.
The PPC Regulations implement the Integrated Pollution
Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive and are subsuming
the existing Industrial Pollution Control (IPC) regime for
incinerators and other potentially polluting activities.
PPC addresses waste minimisation, energy efficiency,
accident prevention, and heat and noise emissions.