MoreThanWaste.com - New rules control farm hazwastes (26/04/2007)

The Environment Agency has said farmers and growers that produce hazardous waste such as fuel oil and pesticides, should be prepared for the new rules that come into force from 15 May 2007.

"Hazardous wastes have the potential to harm human health and our environment. From 15 May these new rules place stricter controls on the disposal, recovery and movement of this type of waste in the agriculture sector in England and Wales."

Mark Okunienski, Waste Policy Manager at the Environment Agency

Waste is classed as hazardous if it contains dangerous substances that need to be handled and disposed of carefully in order to protect our health and environment. The Environment Agency has produced guidance on the new rules and how to comply with them, available to download from its website. It includes examples on what these wastes are, e.g. asbestos and waste oil.

Hazardous waste controls have applied to other industries since July 2005. The Environment Agency anticipates that most farmers will produce hazardous waste at some point and so will need to use a consignment note when sending it off farm

The Agency says that under the new rules farmers will need to:

know what hazardous waste they are producing
only give it to someone that is authorised to handle it and make sure it is disposed of at a properly authorised site, and
use a consignment note every time they or someone else removes hazardous waste from their farm.

The new controls also mean if farmers produce more than 500kg of hazardous waste a year (excluding scrap vehicles) they must register with the Environment Agency. This registration requires annual renewal.

The Agency emphasises that all farmers and producers will still have to use a consignment note when removing any hazardous waste from their farm, regardless of whether they need to be registered or not. In cases where the farmer uses a contractor, they should be able to provide advice.

It has been estimated that only 6% or so of farmers will produce over 500kg in a year, and so only these farmers will need to register as producers.

Registration fee

There is a charge and each registration will cost farmers between £18-£28 for each of their sites that produce hazardous waste, depending on the method chosen to register.

The Environment Agency has a variable range of charges starting at registering on-line as the simplest and cheapest method at £18 per site as opposed to £23 by telephone or £28 by post.

Further information

To find out more about agriculture waste visit the the Environment Agency's website or call on 0845 603 3113.

Further guidance will be published in May.

Farmers can find out if the person picking up their hazardous waste is authorised to do so online at http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/publicregister.


	New rules control farm hazwastes (26/04/2007) The Environment Agency has said farmers and growers that produce hazardous waste such as fuel oil and pesticides, should be prepared for the new rules that come into force from 15 May 2007. "Hazardous wastes have the potential to harm human health and our environment. From 15 May these new rules place stricter controls on the disposal, recovery and movement of this type of waste in the agriculture sector in England and Wales." Mark Okunienski, Waste Policy Manager at the Environment Agency Waste is classed as hazardous if it contains dangerous substances that need to be handled and disposed of carefully in order to protect our health and environment. The Environment Agency has produced guidance on the new rules and how to comply with them, available to download from its website. It includes examples on what these wastes are, e.g. asbestos and waste oil. Hazardous waste controls have applied to other industries since July 2005. The Environment Agency anticipates that most farmers will produce hazardous waste at some point and so will need to use a consignment note when sending it off farm The Agency says that under the new rules farmers will need to: know what hazardous waste they are producing only give it to someone that is authorised to handle it and make sure it is disposed of at a properly authorised site, and use a consignment note every time they or someone else removes hazardous waste from their farm. The new controls also mean if farmers produce more than 500kg of hazardous waste a year (excluding scrap vehicles) they must register with the Environment Agency. This registration requires annual renewal. The Agency emphasises that all farmers and producers will still have to use a consignment note when removing any hazardous waste from their farm, regardless of whether they need to be registered or not. In cases where the farmer uses a contractor, they should be able to provide advice. It has been estimated that only 6% or so of farmers will produce over 500kg in a year, and so only these farmers will need to register as producers. Registration fee There is a charge and each registration will cost farmers between £18-£28 for each of their sites that produce hazardous waste, depending on the method chosen to register. The Environment Agency has a variable range of charges starting at registering on-line as the simplest and cheapest method at £18 per site as opposed to £23 by telephone or £28 by post. Further information To find out more about agriculture waste visit the the Environment Agency's website or call on 0845 603 3113. Further guidance will be published in May. Farmers can find out if the person picking up their hazardous waste is authorised to do so online at http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/publicregister.