Waste Operations, Activities and Capacities

Andre Akiyode

Waste Regulation Consultant

A.AKIYODE@ABBYOO.CO.UK

Waste Regulation & Permitting

Objective

To help readers understand what is meant by:

Waste Operation (Recovery vs Disposal)Waste Facility TypesWaste Activities (R & D codes)Limit of Activities

What we will cover

ObjectiveWaste operationsWaste Activities (R & D Codes) Waste Facility TypesWaste TypesRegulatory LimitsUsing R & D codesLimit of ActivitiesWorked Examples Summary/CloseQuestions

Waste Operations

Regulation 2 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010 (EPR) states: waste operation is the recovery or disposal of waste.

All waste activities, other than temporary storage of waste at the place of production, are classified as either disposal or recovery operations*.

Where waste is not being recovered it is deemed to be part of a disposal operation.

The landfill or incineration of waste is a disposal operation. The deposit of waste to land for recovery is a recovery operation.

Waste Activities (R & D Codes)

A waste operation is defined by the type(s) and quantity of waste it accepts, and the activities* carried out within the facility*.

A facility carrying out a waste recovery operation will have Recovery (R) codes in it’s permit and facility carrying out a waste disposal operation will have Disposal (D) codes.

Waste Recovery and Disposal

A waste activity simply involves the management of waste as defined by the Waste Directive 2008. A Waste activity will generally be a waste operation if not defined as an installation;

Paragraph 9 of Article 3 of the Waste Directive 2008 defines waste management’ as the collection, transport, recovery and disposal of waste, including the supervision of such operations and the after-care of disposal sites, and including actions taken as a dealer or broker.

For the purpose of regulating these facilities, the EA National Permitting Service determines permit application for waste recovery and disposal operations.

Waste Recovery and Disposal

Recovery as defined by the waste directive is: any operation the principal result of which is waste

serving a useful purpose by replacing other materials which would otherwise have been used to fulfil a particular function, or waste being prepared to fulfil that function, in the plant or in the wider economy.

Disposal is also defined as: any operation which is not recovery even where the

operation has as a secondary consequence the reclamation of substances or energy.

Annex I and II sets out a non-exhaustive list of disposal and recovery operations;

Waste Types

There are 3 main types of wastes depending on their sources:

Household or Municipal waste, Commercial Waste and Industrial Waste.

Following assessment, each of these must be characterised as: Inert, Hazardous or Non Hazardous Waste.

Waste Types

Inert waste: is defined by the landfill directive as waste that does not undergo any significant physical, chemical or biological transformations. Inert waste will not dissolve, burn or otherwise physically or chemically react, biodegrade or adversely affect other matter with which it comes into contact in a way likely to give rise to environmental pollution or harm human health. The total leachability and pollutant content of the waste and the ecotoxicity of the leachate must be insignificant, and in particular not endanger the quality of surface water and/or groundwater;

Hazardous waste: Some types of waste are harmful to human health, or to the environment, either immediately or over an extended period of time. These are called hazardous wastes. e.g, lead acid batteries or fluorescent tubes;

Non Hazardous waste: is waste which is not on the Hazardous Waste List, and includes municipal waste and inert waste;

Classes of Regulated Facility

There are different classes of regulated facilities:

Installations – generally these are facilities at which industrial, waste and intensive farming activities falling (mainly) under the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive are carried out. The activities are listed in Schedule 1 to the Regulations.

Any other waste activity (recovery or disposal) will generally be a waste operation if not defined as an installation;

Classes of facilities

mobile plant – Non Stationary Technical Units. The most common are mobile waste plant used in land reclamation;

mining waste operations - managing extractive waste;

water discharge activities - these can be stand alone or part of one of the above;

groundwater activities - these may be stand alone or part of any of the other facilities;

radioactive substances activities - these can never be part of another facility.

Types of Facilities - Waste Storage

Waste Transfer Station Building or processing site for

the temporary deposition of waste.

Storage prior to off-site removal for disposal or recovery, e.g. incineration, landfill, hazardous waste facility, recycling

Types of Facilities - Waste Treatment

Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT)

Integration of several processes, e.g. separation, screening, composting, heating treatment

Less harmful and / or more beneficial output waste streams.

Types of Facilities - Waste Treatment

Material Recycling Facility (MRF)

Separating & extracting mixed waste streams

Manual/mechanical separation techniques

Conveyor systems to carry, sort, screen, separate waste into components, e.g. plastics, metals, papers, etc.

Types of Facilities - Waste Recovery

Waste Composting Biological process for the

breakdown of organic material.

Typical waste include, green &

putrescible wastes

Usually requires pre-sorting and screening to remove non-compostables.

Types of facilities - Waste Disposal

LandfillDisposal of waste by

burial

Three main categories: Inert, Non Hazardous and Hazardous Landfills

Inert Landfill are waste facilities.

Examples

List the typical R and D codes you will use? Waste Transfer Station accepting mixed waste streams: D15, D14,

R13, R3, R4, R5 Mechanical Biological Treatment Facility mixed waste streams: R13,

R3, R4, R5 Physical Treatment Facility accepting inorgic waste only (excluding

metals): D15, D14, D9, R13, R05, Physical Treatment Facility accepting mixed waste streams

(excluding metals): D15, D14, D8, D9, R13, R3, R5) Waste Composting Facility: R13, R3 Material Recycling Facility: R13, R3, R4, R5

Regulation of waste activities (Disposal)

Section 5.3 of part 2 of schedule 1 of EPRa) The disposal of hazardous waste (other than by

incineration or landfill) in a facility with a capacity of more than 10 tonnes per day.

b) The disposal of waste oils (other than by incineration or landfill) in a facility with a capacity of more than 10 tonnes per day.

c) Disposal of non-hazardous waste in a facility with a capacity of more than 50 tonnes per day by –

Regulation of waste activities

i. Biological treatment, not being treatment specified in any paragraph other than paragraph D8 of Annex IIA to the Waste Framework Directive, which results in final compounds or mixtures which are discarded by means of any of the operations numbered D1 to D2 in that Annex (D8), or

ii. Physico-chemical treatment, not being treatment specified in any paragraph other than paragraph D9 in Annex IIA to the waste Framework Directive, which results in final compounds or mixtures which are discarded by means of any of the operations numbered D1 to D12 in that Annex (for example, evaporation, drying, calcination, etc (D9).

To better explain this section, it’s important to look at some of the terms used:

Regulation of waste facilities

Hazardous waste: These are waste that posses any of the hazardous properties (H1 to H15) in the Hazardous Waste Directive. They are harmful to human health or the environment, either immediately or over an extended period of time, e.g, lead acid batteries or fluorescent tubes.

Non Hazardous waste: is waste which is not on the Hazardous Waste List, and includes municipal waste and inert waste;

Inert waste: is defined by the landfill directive as waste that does not undergo any significant physical, chemical or biological transformations. Inert waste will not dissolve, burn or otherwise physically or chemically react, biodegrade or adversely affect other matter with which it comes into contact in a way likely to give rise to environmental pollution or harm human health. The total leachability and pollutant content of the waste and the ecotoxicity of the leachate must be insignificant, and in particular not endanger the quality of surface water and/or groundwater;

Waste Oil: Within the meaning of the EPR include mineral oil such as gear box oil, engine oil, lubricating oil, etc. They do not include fuel oil or edible oil.

Biological Treatment: Treatment process which involves the breakdown of organic or biodegradable waste;

Physico-chemical Treatment: Physical and/or chemical treatment processes. Physical treatment will not change the chemical propeerties of the waste, e.g. breaking and separation. Chemical treatment changes the chemical and sometimes physical nature of the waste, e.g. solidification.

‘treatment’ means recovery or disposal operations, including preparation prior to recovery or disposal. So treatment would include screening, shredding, crushing, compaction, etc prior to recovery/recycling or disposal;

Capacity: this refers to potential capacity and not historical or actual production levels or throughput. That is what the facility is able to accept or treat as prescribed by the regulation. This will be explained in more details.

Incineration & Landfill are both waste disposal activities through the burning/destruction and deposit on or into land of waste respectively. These are listed separately in sections 5.1 and 5.2 of EPR.

Hazardous Waste

Hazardous Waste Capacity

Section 5.3 of part 2 of schedule 1 of EPRa) The disposal of hazardous waste (other than by incineration or landfill) in a

facility with a capacity of more than 10 tonnes per day.

This means any facility where more than 10 tonnes of haz waste is disposed of per day (other than by incineration [D10] or landfill [D01/D05]) will be an Installation.

So disposal of less than 10 tonnes of hazardous waste per day (other than by incineration or landfill) would be a waste activity.

Note the Disposal codes in Annex I of the WFD. Look at D15. What comes to mind?

The main disposal codes that you will come across when dealing with a permit for hazardous waste disposal will include D8, D9, D13, D14 & D15. The other Disposal codes apply to other regimes, e.g. D01 for landfills.

Waste Oil Capacity

Section 5.3 of part 2 of schedule 1 of EPRb) The disposal of waste oils (other than by incineration or landfill) in a facility with a

capacity of more than 10 tonnes per day. “Disposal” means the processing or destruction of waste oil as well as it’s

storage and tipping above ground.

For “storage” (for disposal) this means any facility where more than 10 tonnes of waste oil is disposed of per day (other than by incineration or landfill) will be an Installation.

So disposal of less than 10 tonnes of waste oils per day (other than by incineration [D10] or landfill [D01/D05]) would be a waste activity.

Disposal codes that you will come across when dealing with a permit for waste oil disposal will be D15. The other Disposal codes apply to other regimes, e.g. D01 for landfills.

Waste Oil Capacity

The word “processing”, means treatment to enable it’s re-use (waste recovery). We will look at this later on.

“Destruction”, means incineration. Waste oils are considered to be hazardous waste. Incineration of hazardous waste is listed in section 5.1(A1)(a) of schedule 1 of EPR. So this will be an installation and does not fall under waste regulation.

As for “tipping” the Landfill Directive prohibits the tipping of liquid waste in a landfill. So tipping or landfilling of waste oil is illegal and not permitted.

Any tipping whether accidental or intentional must be remedied. Sites where this occur may be classed as Contaminated lands also known as Part 2A sites which are regulated by Local Authorities.

Non Hazardous Waste Capacity

Section 5.3 of part 2 of schedule 1 of EPRc) Disposal of non-hazardous waste in a facility with a capacity of

more than 50 tonnes per day by – i. Biological treatment, not being treatment specified in any

paragraph other than paragraph D8 of Annex IIA to the Waste Framework Directive, which results in final compounds or mixtures which are discarded by means of any of the operations numbered D1 to D2 in that Annex (D8), or

ii. Physico-chemical treatment, not being treatment specified in any paragraph other than paragraph D9 in Annex IIA to the waste Framework Directive, which results in final compounds or mixtures which are discarded by means of any of the operations numbered D1 to D12 in that Annex (for example, evaporation, drying, calcination, etc (D9).

Non Hazardous Waste Capacity

For section 5.3(c)(i) above - This means any facility where:

more than 50 tonnes of non hazardous waste is disposed of per day (by biological treatment [D8]) will be an Installation.

So disposal of less than 50 tonnes of non hazardous waste per day (by biological treatment [D8] would be a waste activity.

Disposal codes that you may need to use when dealing with a permit for disposal (storage or treatment) of non hazardous waste consisting of organic wastes will be D15 and D08. The other Disposal codes apply to other regimes, e.g. D01 for landfills.

Non Hazardous Waste Capacity

For section 5.3(c)(ii) above - This means any facility where:

more than 50 tonnes of non hazardous waste is disposed of per day (by physico-chemical treatment [D9] will be an Installation.

So disposal of less than 50 tonnes of non hazardous waste per day (by physico-chemical treatment [D9] would be a waste activity.

The main disposal codes that you may need to use when dealing with a permit for disposal (storage or treatment) of non hazardous waste consisting of in-organic wastes will be D15 and D09. The other Disposal codes apply to other regimes, e.g. D01 for landfills.

Where there is a mixture of both, i.e. organic and inorganic waste, all codes (D15, D8 & D9) may be used.

Waste Recovery

Regulation of waste activities (Recovery)

As the main purpose of recovery is to enable the use of waste thereby conserving natural resources, the EA takes a lighter regulatory touch on waste recovery operations

Waste recovery include: Energy Recovery - treatment of waste to generate energy, e.g. A.D Composting – treatment of waste for agricultural purposes, i.e. to

produce manure Deposit for recovery – use of waste for construction, e.g. land

levelling

Hazardous Waste (Recovery)

Section 5.4 of part 2 of schedule 1 of EPRc) Unless carried on as part of any other Part A activity,

recovering hazardous waste in a plant with a capacity of more than 10 tonnes per day by means of the following operations-i. The use principally as fuel or other means to generate energy

(R1)ii. Solvent reclamation/regeneration (R2)iii. Recycling/reclamation of inorganic materials other than metals

and metal compounds (R5)iv. Regeneration of acids or bases (R6)v. Recovering components used for pollution abatement (R7)vi. Recovery of components from catalysts (R8)vii. Oil re-refining or other reuses of oil (R9)

Hazardous Capacity

The above means any plant where more than 10 tonnes of hazardous waste is recovered per day (by R1, R2, R5, R6, R7, R8 & R9) will be an Installation.

So the recovery of less than 10 tonnes of hazardous waste per day by R1, R2, R5, R6, R7, R8 & R9 activities would be a waste/recovery operation.

For all other Recovery codes not listed above, there are no limits on the quantity that can be accepted/recovered

The main recovery codes that you will come across when dealing with a permit for hazardous waste recovery will include R13, R3, R5, R9 and in some rare cases, R10.

Non Hazardous Capacity

There is nothing in the Regs. that limits the recovery of Non Hazardous waste.

It therefore follows that any quantity of Non hazardous waste can be recovered provided it’s in line with the aim of article 13 of the Waste Framework Directive which states:

Waste management is carried out without endangering human health, without harming the environment and, in particular without risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals; without causing a nuisance through noise or odours; and without adversely affecting the countryside or places of special interest.

Limiting Activities

We use the limit of activities table S1.1 to:

specify & restrict the activities (as required by the Regs) carried out onsite;

Show whether the permitted site is a Waste Facility or an Installation.

Depending on the type of operation (Disposal or Recovery) a permit for a facility storing and/or treating Hazardous waste will specify the:

Recovery & Disposal codes (R & D);

Authorised treatment activities, if allowed, e.g. dismantling, screening, etc

Limiting Activities (contd)

Quantity of waste that can be accepted and stored for disposal (<10 tonnes/day);

Capacity of the plant/site used for recovery &

Other relevant limits such as time limits* for the storage of waste for recovery and disposal if facility is permitted to store for recovery (R13) as well as for disposal (D15).

Limiting Activities

Permits for a facilities accepting, storing and/or treating Non Hazardous waste will specify:

Recovery and/or Disposal codes;

Authorised treatment activities if allowed, e.g. dismantling, screening, etc

Quantity of waste that can be treated for disposal (<50 tonnes/day);

Other relevant limits such as time limits* on the storage of waste for recovery and disposal if facility is permitted to store for recovery (R13) as well as for disposal (D15).

Question time

Question 1

An application for a deposit for recovery permit. The proposal is to accept both inert and non hazardous waste onsite. Non hazardous waste will be treated by screening, crushing and soil washing. Once treated, suitable waste along with imported inert waste will be spread/used for site levelling/development. Waste which are not suitable will be taken off-site for disposal.

What type of waste operation will this be? Recovery or Disposal? Have they applied for the correct permit? If not, what should they be applying for? List the appropriate R and/or D codes for the waste operation.

Worked Example

Question 2

An application for a waste transfer station has been submitted. Waste

will be stored on site prior to recovery and disposal. The waste types to

be accepted include waste oil, contaminated soil and some inert

wastes.

What are the restrictions you will use in table S1.1?

The applicant called and asked if they could increase the quantity of

waste oil to 11 tonnes per day.

What will you advise?