Agriculture Waste

The Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 (known as the Agricultural Waste Regulations) will come into force on 15th May 2006. Waste generated by the farming industry has been excluded from the waste management controls that have applied to other industries since the 1990's. This will affect the 162,000 active farms in England and Wales with common practices such as uncontrolled burning of plastics and burial of waste on farm tips, no longer being allowed. Farmers will have up to 12 months (the transitional year) to register exemptions or apply for a waste management licence from the Environment Agency.

Farmers will have 5 basic options for dealing with their waste, which can be used on their own or in combination:

• Store their waste on-farm for up to 12 months.
• Take their waste for recycling or disposal off-farm at a licensed site.
• Get an authorised waste contractor to take their waste away.
• Register license exemptions with the Environment Agency to recycle or dispose of their waste on-farm. Farmers can register at any stage during the first 12 months of the Regulations.
• Apply to the Environment Agency for a waste management license or a landfill permit to recycle or dispose of their waste on-farm.

For most farmers obtaining a landfill permit for their farm dump will not be a viable option because of the engineering requirements and costs involved.

Further information can be found at: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/agforum and www.environment-agency.gov.uk