This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Ban on spreading of untreated organic waste
16/12/2002
Plans to ban the practise of spreading untreated organic
waste on land were unveiled today.
Speaking duringat a visit to Argaty, near Doune, Deputy
Minister for Environment and Rural Development Allan Wilson
announced details of a consultation on proposed amendments
to the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994.
The amendments in line with recommendations made by SEPA
and the Transport and Environment Committee, will require
blood and gut contents to be treated before spreading. The
operator will also have to prove agricultural benefit or
environmental improvement to the waste regulator,SEPA,
before spreading can start.
Further proposals to tighten up regulations on other
land spreading activities, including the use of wastes for
land reclamation and construction, are included in the
draft regulations.
Mr Wilson Mr Wilson said:
"These proposals will address the concerns raised about
the spreading of untreated organic waste on land. They will
also allow SEPA to ensure that no harm comes to the
environment as a result of this spreading.
"Foul smells, associated with spreading untreated blood
and gut contents to land, should soon become a thing of the
past under the new legislation."
The public consultation ends on 27 January 2003.
The Consultation paper can be viewed at:
www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/environment/wmlr
Responses to the Consultation should be sent to:
peter.brown@scotland.gsi.gov.uk by 27 January 2003.
The European Waste Framework allows Member States
discretion to provide exemptions from full waste management
permitting (licensing) for disposal of waste at the place
of production (except hazardous wastes) and for genuine
waste recovery.
The UK-wide Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994
include a number of such exemptions. However there have
been recent allegations that of some of the exemptions are
being subject to abuse for waste disposal rather than
recovery, as intended.
There have also been a number of complaints, mainly in
relation to foul smells produced when operators spread
untreated blood and gut contents to land under such
exemption.
A number of enquiries have been undertaken recently to
investigate these allegations and complaints.
SEPA addressed the organic waste to land issue
(including untreated blood and gut contents) in their
report Strategic Review of Organic Waste Spread on Land,
1998. The Scottish Parliament Transport and Environment
Committee 4th Report 2002 on Petition from the Blairingone
and Saline Action Group also addressed the matter.
The House of Commons Select Committee Report, 1998 on
Sustainable Waste Management investigated whether controls
for spreading wastes on land were adequate to protect the
environment and health. In the light of the Select
Committee Report, UK research was subsequently commissioned
to develop more precisely the criteria that determine
whether the landspreading of particular wastes was likely
to benefit agriculture or result in ecological improvement,
and provide criteria to ensure the exemptions were not
abused.
Following on from the results of these investigations
and research, the proposed amending Regulations were
developed, and incorporate the various recommendations
established from the research and investigations, for
consultation.