- Email: [email protected]
Waste management
3 Waste management R. S T E WA RT, c/o University of Warwick, UK
Abstract: EU Directive 75/442 EEC set out the early stages of the current waste management practices by introducing a waste hierarchy (reduce, reuse, recover) and a system of permits for those involved in waste treatment with the conditions for obtaining permits and the requirements placed on waste disposal facilities being strictly regulated (e.g. Directive 96/61/EC, SI 1056). Member states have a further requirement to produce a waste management plan and introduce waste prevention programmes and the 1975 directive also established the ‘polluter pays’ principle. In 1994 this was strengthened through legislation (Directive 94/62/EC) which placed a responsibility on the producer of the waste to bear the costs of collection, sorting or treatment and recycling or recovery. Economic instruments were employed in 1996 through a landfill tax (SI 1527) which was designed to divert waste going to landfill and promote the options set out in the waste hierarchy. Later recycling directives dealing with end-of-life vehicles (Directive 2000/53/EC) and waste electrical and electronic equipment (Directive 2002/96/EC), for example, set out more detail about how waste management facilities should operate and report on their activities. A revised Waste Framework Directive (COM (2005) 667) was proposed in 2005 to harmonise the legislation and in the UK it is being implemented through the Environmental Permitting Regulations (SI No. 3538) which also brings together the various conditions placed on waste operators. In addition to the legislative approaches to waste management already outlined, there are EU (EAP 6) and UK strategies on waste which detail plans on waste management and how the member state can reach targets set out in legislation such as levels of recycling or waste diverted from landfill. There are also public policy tools like the integrated product policy (IPP) which encourages producers to take a life-cycle approach to waste. Key words: waste, waste management, WEEE, ELV, labels, environmental permits, waste hierarchy.
3.1
Introduction
In 1972 the European Community determined that a community environmental policy was needed and waste management would be central to it. The framework which developed and shaped environmental legislation and policy came in the form of a series of Environment Action Programmes (EAP), of which there are six to date (EAP1 1973, EAP2 1977, EAP3 1983, EAP4 1987, EAP5 1993, EAP6 2002). Each programme is specific to a particular environmental issue and spans a 5–10 year time frame. The 39
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Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites
current programme in operation is EAP 6 which identifies waste as one of its priority areas. The programme is thematically based with one specific theme being devoted to waste prevention and recycling. The year on year increase in waste generation has resulted in the European Union (EU) consuming natural resources at an unsustainable rate and therefore managing the remaining resources is paramount. Managing waste is a key feature in the EU strategy for sustainable development (COM (2001) 264) and this chapter will look at the requirements and obligations placed on those involved in generating, collecting, treating and disposing of waste. The waste management procedures most relevant to composites will be explored in more detail.
3.2
The Waste Framework Directive
The Waste Directive has been amended a number of times since its introduction in 1975 (Directive 75/442 EEC) and most recently in 2008 (Directive 2008/98/EC) which gives member states until 2010 to transpose it into domestic law. The founding directive from 1975 established some of the key criteria on waste management and these have been built on progressively. Article 3 of the directive established the ‘waste hierarchy’ which is a list of options for dealing with waste in order of preference. This hierarchy has been pivotal in shaping waste management strategy, practice and environmental law for the last three decades. The waste hierarchy consists of: • • • •
prevent waste from being generated in the first place; reduce the quantities of waste; recycle and reuse waste; energy recovery.
The directive also required member states to set up ‘competent authorities’ to be responsible for the planning, organisation, authorisation and supervision of waste disposal operations. In the UK this function is now performed by the Environment Agency. Once established, the authorities were required to make waste management plans which set out the type and quantity of waste for disposal as well as associated costs and technical requirements for doing so. The competent authorities were given responsibility for granting permits to any undertaking or holder processing waste. To obtain a permit, the waste operator had to demonstrate how the waste would be disposed of without causing harm to human life or the environment. This obligation meant providing technical details and safety precautions taken to protect human health and the environment but also a requirement to provide the competent authority with information on the origin, destination, treatment, type and quantity of the waste. To ensure
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waste operators complied with the criteria detailed in the permit they would be subject to inspection by the authority. In turn, the competent authority would have to report back to the EU Commission on how it was implementing the directive. The burden of costs associated with disposing of waste were placed upon the waste producer and the ‘polluter pays’ principle was firmly established, the more waste a producer created, the more they would pay to have it disposed of. An example of this is the Landfill Tax Regulations (SI 1527) which will be discussed later in the chapter. In 2006 the founding directive was amended (Directive 2006/12/EC), putting in place the essential requirements for the management of waste and adding a definition of waste as well as adding an aspiration for the EU as a whole to become self sufficient in waste disposal, but creating a specific aim for member states to achieve this. The latest amendment to the Waste Framework Directive took place in 2008 (Directive 2008/98/EC) and the following areas were addressed: •
• • • • •
The introduction of an environmental objective, focusing specifically on reducing the environmental impact of waste and the life cycle of waste; Clarification on recovery and disposal; Clarification of the conditions for mixing of hazardous waste; Introduction of a procedure which clarifies when waste ceases to be waste for a particular waste stream; Introduction of minimum standards for a number of waste management operations; Introduction of a requirement to develop national waste prevention programmes.
The language used in the directive has been harmonised with other directives and it harnesses product life-cycle thinking by encouraging producers to prevent waste generation in the first instance for example. The 1975 directive set out a waste management hierarchy with the first priority being to prevent waste in the first instance, then to recycle and reuse. This hierarchy is the bedrock of sustainable waste management and has been embedded into legislation. The new proposals reinforce the waste hierarchy of prevention, reuse, recycling, recovery (including by energy recovery) and safe disposal. Not only is there a requirement for member states to produce waste management plans but a new requirement for waste prevention plans has been introduced. A report by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) sets out when each obligation has to be met by the UK (http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/thematicstrat/ revised-wfd-transposition-implementation-dates.pdf). Both the Disposal of Waste Oil Directive (Directive 75/439/EEC) and the Hazardous Waste
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Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites
Directive (Directive 91/689/EEC) have been subsumed into the Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC) in order to simplify the legislation. In terms of the requirement for a waste operator to have a permit issued by the competent authority, each revision of the Waste Framework Directive has added details to this requirement and this has been supplemented by other supporting legislation such as the Waste Management Licensing Regulations (SI 1056). The 2008 amendment to the directive goes further than previous revisions by introducing minimum standards for permits designed to ensure that waste is treated in an environmentally sound manner. The Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC) defines waste as ‘any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard’ and management as ‘the collection, transport, recovery and disposal of waste, including the supervision of such operations and after-care of disposal sites’. These definitions mean that environmental rules for dealing with waste apply not only to waste disposal facilities themselves but also to recovery and recycling operations as well as to waste brokers, dealers and carriers. A waste broker is a third party who makes arrangements for others to handle, transport, dispose of or recover waste rather than doing it themselves and a waste dealer is a type of broker who sells on the waste. The Environmental Protection Act (1990) also imposes a Duty of Care on the handling of waste, which affects anyone who: • • • • • • •
produces; imports; stores; transports; treats; recycles; or disposes of controlled waste.
Under the Duty of Care, businesses producing, carrying, storing or treating waste must meet guidelines to ensure that waste management facilities do not pollute the environment or cause harm to human health. The primary onus of responsibility for the handling of waste is on the waste producer, who must ensure that waste is stored securely and transferred to an ‘authorised’ person only.
3.2.1 Licensing of waste operations To comply with the permitting requirements of the Waste Framework Directive previously discussed, the UK implemented the Waste
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Management Licensing Regulations (WMLR) in 1994 (SI 1056 as amended). The Waste Management Licensing Regulations set out the procedure for obtaining a licence and also identified a number of activities that are excluded from requiring a licence or that are exempt from licensing. If an activity is exempt it probably needs to be registered by the competent authority, i.e. the Environment Agency in the UK. The types of waste treatment activities that required a licence include: • • • • •
landfilling; disposal of waste using plant equipment (incineration, shredding, sorting); treatment, keeping or disposal of controlled waste on land; treatment, keeping or disposal of controlled waste by mobile plant; treatment, keeping or disposal of controlled wastes in a manner likely to cause detriment to the environment or human health.
In order to be granted a licence certain criteria have to be met such as demonstrating technical competence underpinned by a formal training certificate in waste management. Applicants also have to demonstrate evidence of financial provisions for the activities covered by the permit and adequate security, typically in the form of insurance in case of seepages into the water course, for example, but also a requirement for the waste site itself to be secure from the public. However, the Waste Management and Licensing Regulations have now been superseded by the Environmental Permitting Regulations (SI No. 3538). It is not only waste management operations that require a permit to operate but also the installations themselves and this is detailed in the Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC), (Directive 96/61/EC). The directive has been amended a number of times and as a result was codified in 2008 (Directive 2008/1/EC). Codification means bringing all amendments to a given law adopted at different times into one law. The IPPC Directive establishes an approach for pollution prevention from stationary ‘installations’ involved in industrial and agricultural processes. The purpose of the directive is to achieve a high level of environmental protection using measures to prevent or, where that is not practicable, to reduce emissions to air, water and land from industrial processes. An installation is classed as a stationary technical unit. The IPPC Directive is based on a number of core principles which are an integrated approach, use of best available techniques, flexibility and public participation. The directive requires industrial and agricultural activities to have a permit which can be granted only if certain environmental conditions are met, meaning that the industries themselves take responsibility for
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preventing and reducing any pollution they cause. The types of industry covered include the waste management industry. In order to receive a permit, an industrial or agricultural installation must comply with certain obligations such as: • • • • • •
use the best available techniques (BAT) as pollution-prevention measures; prevent all large-scale pollution; prevent, recycle or dispose of waste in the least polluting way possible; use energy efficiently; prevent accidents and limit the consequences if they do happen; restore sites to their original state when the activity is over.
Those applying for a permit have to give information on how they will implement the obligations outlined above such as the proposed waste management techniques and how emissions will be monitored. Like the Waste Management and Licensing Regulations, IPPC is implemented in the UK under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007.
3.3
Environmental Permitting Regulations
The Environmental Permitting (EP) Regulations 2007 came into force in April 2008. A series of guidance documents has also been issued to accompany the regulations along with a core guidance document (http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/epp/). This regime streamlines and combines waste management licensing (WML) and pollution prevention and control (PPC) to create a single environmental permit with a common approach to permit applications, maintenance, surrender and enforcement. The EP Regulations bring together a number of pollution control legislations into a single set of regulations and replaces around 40 pieces of individual environmental legislation. A number of environmental directives such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (Directive 2002/96/EC) and the End-of-Life Vehicle Directive (Directive 2000/53/ EC) are set out in separate guidance documents which outline measures that are specific to these waste streams. These will be considered in more detail later in the chapter. The EP Regulations set out the generic and specific terms that must be adhered to, along with the reporting, inspection and enforcement procedures. The effect of the regulations is to harmonise environmental permits and reduce bureaucracy especially where more than one waste facility operates from a single site.
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Waste activities are classed as low, medium and high risk and where the risks are low the EP Regulations commit the operator to complying with a standard package of rules. These standard rules define how a waste operator must carry out particular activities such as limiting the types of waste that can be brought on to a site. Low to medium risk activities would include waste transfer stations and civic amenity sites. Activities involving waste can be undertaken only by competent persons and under the previous Waste Management and Licensing Regulations (SI 1056) operators had to demonstrate this by obtaining a Certificate of Technical Competence. However, the EP Regulations have identified that different types of waste facility present different levels of environmental risk and therefore allow for different levels of competency demonstrations through an industry-approved scheme, i.e. proportional to the level of risk presented. There is the requirement that whatever the level of competency attained, it must be continual in nature and therefore there is an ongoing two yearly assessment. The Waste Management Licensing Regulations (SI 1056) set out a number of exemptions for the requirement to have a waste management licence. The EP Regulations have made changes to the list of exemptions and a number of operations that did not previously require a permit will now do so under the new scheme; these are detailed in schedule 3 of the regulations. An exemption allows certain waste management operations to be carried out without needing an environmental permit and exemptions are designed to provide a lower level of regulation for low risk activities. Under the new proposals businesses may need to renew and re-register exemptions more frequently to ensure waste registers are up to date. It is proposed that there will be a charge for the registration of all exempt waste operations and a requirement for exemptions to be re-registered every three years. This is to cover the cost to the Environment Agency of regulating the exemptions. The public consultation closed in October 2008 and any proposed changes will be brought on stream in 2009 as set out in a review document issued by the Environment Agency (http://www. environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/waste/32158.aspx). Part 4 of the EP Regulations deals with enforcement and this can consist of the issuing of an enforcement notice to those who contravene the conditions set out in their permit or a suspension notice if there is a risk of serious pollution. Suspension and enforcement notices set out the reasons behind issuing the notice, what steps must be taken to remedy the breach of the environmental permit and dealing with the pollution and a timeframe for complying. Breaches of the environmental permit can lead to criminal convictions and depending on the offence, a person can be fined up to £50 000 or imprisoned for up to 12 months.
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The second phase of the environmental permitting programme will extend the regulations to include: • • • • •
discharge consenting; groundwater authorisations; water abstraction and impoundment; radioactive substances regulation; licensing of some waste carriers and brokers.
Subject to public consultation, phase 2 will be rolled out between 2008 and 2011 (http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/epp/deliver.htm#2).
3.3.1 Activities requiring an environmental permit In line with the previous legislation the following activities require an environmental permit: •
•
•
Installations carrying out activities as set out in schedule 1 of the EP Regulations. These will include activities from the energy sector such as refining, production and processing of metals, surface treatment of metals and plastics, production of cement and lime, mineral fibre production, ceramics, and chemicals. Waste management is also covered by the regulations and EP permits are also required by these activities, and include incineration (and co-incineration), disposal of waste by landfill, recovery of waste, fuel from waste. An installation is any stationary technical unit which carries out one or more of the activities listed in schedule 1. Waste operations. Any disposal or recovery of waste which is not exempt in the EP Regulations. The list of exempt operations has changed under the EP Regulations compared to the WMLR. Mobile plant carrying out the activities or waste operations as above. By definition a mobile plant is not stationary and therefore can not be described as a facility.
3.3.2 Landfill Directive The EP Regulations provide separate guidance on specific waste streams which detail additional measures that must be complied with. The Landfill Directive (Directive 1999/31/EC) is an example of this; it was transposed into English law through the Landfill Regulations 2002 (SI 1559). Landfill is defined as ‘waste disposal site for the deposit of waste onto or into land’ and the overall objective of the regulations is to prevent or reduce the negative effects of landfilling on the environment as well as any risk to
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human health posed as a result. The directive also requires member states to implement a strategy on biodegradable waste that provides for the progressive diversion of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill in order for the UK to meet challenging targets: • • •
By 2010 to reduce biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 75% of that produced in 1995; By 2013 to reduce biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 50% of that produced in 1995; By 2020 to reduce biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 35% of that produced in 1995.
The regulations attempt to achieve this through specifying technical standards of landfill sites and operations and setting out requirements for the location, conditioning, management, control, closure and preventative and protective measures. A timetable has been set for existing sites to be brought up to the standards or they must be closed. UK landfill sites must be licensed by the Environment Agency and require a permit to be able to deal with waste of a particular type. The Landfill Directive supplements the requirements of the IPPC Directive which lists non-inert landfill as an activity that requires sites above a certain size to be permitted (Directive 96/61/EC). This is now achieved through the Environmental Permitting Regulations in the UK (SI 3538). There are three categories of landfill sites and they may only be licensed for a particular type of disposal: • • •
hazardous waste as set out in the Hazardous Waste Directive (Directive 91/689/EEC); non-hazardous waste; inert waste (waste that does not undergo significant change).
Landfill operators must demonstrate that measures are in place to prevent cross-contamination between differently classified sites where they are near to each other. A ban on the practice of co-disposal of hazardous waste and nonhazardous waste has been in place since 2004. From October 2007 there has been a requirement to treat all non-hazardous waste before it is landfill except if treatment is not technically feasible or where treatment would not reduce the quantity of the waste or its environmental impact. The regulations define treatment as ‘ “treatment” means physical, thermal, chemical or biological processes (including sorting) that change the characteristics of waste in order to reduce its volume or hazardous nature, facilitate its handling or enhance recovery.’ The proposed treatment must conform to three set criteria:
48 • • •
Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites it must be a physical, thermal or chemical treatment of a biological process which includes sorting; it changes the waste’s characteristics; and it does so to reduce its volume or hazardous nature, facilitates handling or enhances recovery.
In order to be granted and maintain a permit, a landfill operator must comply with strict reporting and inspection procedures. The permit will set down conditions that have to be met by the landfill operator such as steps that must be taken by that operator to ensure they only accept waste that has been treated or does not need to be treated. The operator is restricted in what types of waste it may accept into the landfill, for example, liquid, tyres, explosive materials and hospital waste are banned but it is the responsibility of the waste holder to ensure it is correctly identified using the List of Wastes Regulations (SI 895) codes. Any waste going to a landfill site must comply with the waste acceptance criteria set out in the directive and the Council Decision of 2003 (CD 2003/33/EC). These are procedures that operators must follow and cover basic characterisation of the waste (source, origin, appearance, list of waste code), compliance testing and on-site verification of the original characterisation. The waste acceptance criteria are set out for each class of landfill. The operator must also show evidence of how it intends to comply with all the sections of the directive including the waste acceptance criteria but also the obligations on record keeping and monitoring and a detailed environmental risk assessment. The cost that the landfill operator charges must reflect the costs of operating the site but also need to include an element of the costs likely to be incurred by closure of the site after 30 years in service.
Landfill Allowances and Trading Scheme So that the UK could meet the targets for diverting municipal waste away from landfills set out in the Landfill Directive, the Waste Emissions and Trading Act was passed by Parliament in 2003. The act puts an obligation on Waste Disposal Authorities (WDA) to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) it landfills. Each WDA is given a tradable allowance and they are allowed to landfill up to the number of allowances they have. One allowance is equal to one tonne. The criteria for trading are set out in the Landfill Allowances and Trading Scheme Regulations 2004 (SI 3212). This was the world’s first trading scheme for municipal waste allowances and the scheme will operate between 2005/6 and 2019/20. Each WDA is given an annual figure for the amount of BMW it is allowed to landfill for that year. Under the Landfill Allowances and Trading
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Scheme (LATS) the WDA is able to use the allowance flexibly and may: • • •
save or bank allowances to use in future years; buy and sell them; borrow up to 5% from the next year’s allocation.
A searchable register of LATS activity has been set up to facilitate trade and there are clear reporting and monitoring requirements. Landfill tax Part of the toolkit of waste management and environmental legislation is the use of economic instruments and the landfill tax is an example of this which is implemented by the Landfill Tax Regulations (SI 1527) and the Landfill Tax (Qualifying Material) Order (SI 1528). The tax is regulated by HM Revenue and Customs. The Landfill Tax Regulations were amended in 2008 (SI 770). Landfill tax is a tax on the disposal of waste and it aims to encourage waste producers to produce less waste, recover more value from waste, for example through recycling or composting, and to use more environmentally friendly methods of waste disposal. Landfill tax applies to all waste: • • • •
disposed of by way of landfill; at a licensed landfill site; on or after 1 October 1996; unless the waste is specifically exempt.
The site falls within the scope of the tax if there is a licence or permit authorising disposals. Liability for tax on disposal rests with the licence holder of a landfill site and any waste deposited in it, including waste that the site itself produced, will be liable to tax. The tax is chargeable by weight and there are two rates, a standard rate for active waste and a lower rate for inactive waste (rocks and soil for example). Rates for 2008/09 are: • •
Active waste – £32/tonne (+ VAT) Inactive waste – £2.50/tonne (+ VAT).
The rate for active waste increased by £8/tonne per annum from 1 April 2008 and will remain at this level until April 2010 when it will increase to £48 + VAT per tonne. The rate for inactive waste increased to £2.50 + VAT per tonne on 1 April 2008. The Government has announced that the rate will be frozen at £2.50 per tonne in 2009–10. The rates were set out in the UK’s 2008 Finance Bill. Landfill operators can apply to have tax-free status for any part of a site that is not used for landfill, but is instead used for;
50 • • • • •
Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites recycling waste; incinerating waste; sorting waste pending its disposal or transfer; storing inactive waste for use in landfill restoration; sorting material to obtain the above.
Tax credits are available for waste that landfill operators send: • •
for recycling, incineration or reuse; to another landfill site.
The rules for doing so have been changed with the implementation of the Landfill Tax (Amendment) Regulations (SI 770) which limits the maximum credit a landfill site operator can claim, in respect of qualifying contributions made against their annual landfill tax liability to 6.0% from the previously higher level of 6.6%.
3.4
End-of-Life Vehicle Directive
The End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Directive (Directive 2000/53/EC) was transposed into UK law in 2003 by the End-of-Life Vehicle Regulations (SI 2635) and is now regulated through the EP Regulations 2007 (SI 3538). The EP Regulations widen out the scope of the ELV Directive by applying to all end-of-life vehicles rather than just to those listed in Annex IIA of the directive. Hence, in the UK the regulations apply to commercial vehicles such as buses and coaches. The first focus of the ELV legislation is to prevent waste in the first place and then to consider reuse and recycling as well as other forms of energy recovery. The scope of the legislation is not just contained to the vehicle itself but extends to its components and materials, irrespective of whether or not they were factory fitted to the vehicle. If the regulations can discourage waste being created, it is anticipated that they will soon force manufacturers to design not just for disassembly but with the whole life cycle in mind. In terms of preventing waste, one of the first obligations placed on manufacturers was to stop the use of hazardous waste such as lead and mercury in vehicles made after July 2003. Under the reporting requirements of the regulations manufacturers must publish reports to consumers on: • • • •
the design of vehicles and their components with a view to their recoverability and recyclability; the environmentally sound treatment of end-of-life vehicles in particular the removal of all fluids and dismantling; the development and optimisation of ways to reuse, recycle and recover end-of-life vehicles and their components; the progress achieved with regard to recovery and recycling to reduce the waste to be disposed of and to increase the recovery and recycling rates.
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For the first time, the regulations place a requirement on vehicle manufacturers to take back vehicles at the end of their life via authorised treatment facilities (ATF) who would be charged with its environmentally sound recovery. Typically it is the ATF that would issue the last keeper with a certificate of destruction allowing it to be deregistered but there is also scope within the regulations for dealers or producers to be authorised, providing they could prove the vehicle was indeed transferred to the ATF. The cost of treatment by the ATFs is to be borne for the large part by the producers rather than by the last keeper or owner and since the regulations were amended in 2005 there is a requirement that ATFs are required to provide the service free of charge, effective from 1 January 2007 (where vehicles are largely complete and have not had extra waste added). The original Regulations (End-of-Life Vehicle Regulations 2003 SI 2635) set out national targets for reuse and recycling as follows: •
•
No later than 1 January 2006 the reuse and recovery rate for all ELVs will be at least 85% (average weight per vehicle and year). However, the rate for vehicles produced before 1 January 1980 was set at 75%. By no later than 1 January 2015, all ELVs will need to have a reuse and recovery rate of no less than 95%.
In order to assist ATFs and to meet national targets for reusing and recovering components, producers are charged under the regulations to label each component according to a set material and component coding standard so that it can be readily identified. Further, manufacturers must provide sufficient instructions or guidance so that assemblies and subassemblies can be efficiently dismantled.
3.5
Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment Regulations
The European Directive on Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) (Directive 2002/96/EC) was implemented in the UK through the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006 (SI 3289) although it should have been implemented earlier in 2005. The regulation finally became effective in August 2007. The regulations are now implemented in the UK through the Environmental Permitting Regulations (SI 3538). The aim of the directive is to prevent and minimise WEEE and it puts a responsibility on producers and distributors to pay for the costs associated with the collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of waste electric and electronic equipment. To ensure this takes place, the regulations require approved compliance schemes to be established which will finance the collection and treatment of WEEE.
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The WEEE regulations require all WEEE arising from the business sector to be collected for recycling, reuse and safe disposal. For domestic household WEEE, the regulations set a collection target of 4 kg per head of the population per year. There are 10 categories of WEEE covered by the regulations along with set national targets for each category; • • • • • • • • • •
large household appliances; small household appliances; IT and telecommunications equipment; consumer equipment; lighting equipment; electrical and electronic tools; toys, leisure and sports equipment; medical devices; monitoring and control instruments; automatic dispensers.
Schedule 2 of the directive gives many specific examples of the types of products included and these range from toasters to dialysis machines. Since August 2005 producers of these goods have had an obligation imposed on them by Regulation 15 to mark their products with a crossed out wheelie bin symbol and a registration number from which the producer can be identified. Further obligations are placed on distributors to provide information to consumers on the environmental impact of the products they purchase.
3.5.1 Approved schemes Regulation 10 requires producers to join an approved producer compliance scheme (PCS) which is overseen by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). No business is exempt from this, irrespective of its size. The scheme is financed by the producers who are members of the scheme and the levy is dependent on how much of a market share they have, i.e. the more electrical and electronic equipment they produce, the more they pay into the scheme. The operators of the scheme are responsible for implementing systems that enable reuse of parts as well as the best methods of treatment, recycling and recovery. The recording and reporting of these activities are stringent but are intended as a means of monitoring standards and ensuring the UK achieves the targets set out in the regulations. Reports need to be made on an ongoing basis for each compliance period, of which there are currently three between 1 July 2007 and 31 December 2009. As with producers, distributors must also belong to and fund either a distributor take-back scheme or must offer in-store take-back facilities for
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domestic consumers. An in-store scheme must allow consumers who are replacing equipment to bring back, free of charge, an old equivalent item even if it was not originally purchased from that distributor. If the distributor has joined a distributor take-back scheme then the consumer can take the WEEE to a designated collection facility (DCF) free of charge. Typically, DCFs will be located at local run council waste sites. Even those who import electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) into the UK are affected by the regulations as they are covered by the definition of a producer. It is for importers and manufacturers to determine which will hold responsibility as the registered producer for the purposes of the regulations, but according to Flynn (2007), it is likely that the Environment Agency will deem the importer responsible where the manufacturer is not UK based. WEEE can only be processed by an approved authorised treatment facility (AATF) that has the correct type of waste management licence. The processes and procedures used by the ATF to sort, dismantle and treat WEEE are also closely regulated and are administered by the Environment Agency. The regulations set out best practice that must be followed in processing techniques. Post-processing materials such as plastic and metal can then be transferred to a reprocessor and, in turn, be put back into the recycling chain as new products.
3.5.2 Integrated product policy Integrated product policy (IPP) is a public policy initiative which has been on the EU agenda since roughly the late 1990s and is concerned with the reduction of environmental impact associated with products and services. The purpose of the EC initiative was to harmonise varying environmental product policy strategies that were developing within the Community to minimise the environmental impact of their products at varying stages of the product life cycle: for example, take-back schemes, product labelling, taxes or other economic initiatives. These differing approaches among member states led to a call for harmonisation of such measures across the EU in order to avoid problems that might arise from different policy approaches. Consequently, an IPP green paper was published promoting a common framework within the EU (COM (2001) 68). IPP requires all, from government and other major stakeholders through to the supply chain and the consumer, to be mindful of every stage of the products life cycle in order to promote sustainability. All products cause some form of environmental degradation, be that during manufacturing, in use or during their disposal. When considering the life cycle of a product, account needs to be taken of potential environmental harm through all the areas of the cycle right from the extraction of
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natural resources, through the design process, manufacturing and assembly stages and on to marketing, distribution, sale and use and finally to their eventual disposal as waste. Clearly, depending on the product there may be a highly complex mix of contributors through the supply and demand chain during the life-cycle process and IPP seeks to place an onus on each to think about and improve their individual environmental performance. The IPP applies a number of techniques to encourage compliance and monitor the objectives set out in the policy, for example economic instruments such as taxes and subsidies, substance bans, voluntary agreements, environmental labelling and product design guidelines. The European Commission published a green paper on IPP in 2001 (COM (2001) 68) which set out the rationale behind developing the IPP approach to environmental policies and set out possible mechanisms that might be used to achieve ‘greener’ products. Two pilot projects were concluded in 2006 which focused on a mobile telephone and a tropical garden chair as example products (IP/06/1233). The work of the Commission has gone on to identify further products that can benefit from environmental improvement which includes passenger cars (Nemry et al. 2008). There is currently no specific legislation governing IPP but it is undoubtedly going to feature much more prominently in the future which was echoed in the mid-term report of the sixth EAP. IPP is, however, already being incorporated into other legislation and it is certain to do so further as regulations are amended and further regulation should not be ruled out. For example, the End-of-Life Vehicle Directive (Directive 2000/53/EC) and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (Directive 2002/96/EC) can be considered to be examples of IPP. Both directives place a requirement on producers to prevent waste in the first instance through the design of their products and with a view to their recyclability.
3.5.3 Sustainable development One of the objectives of the sixth EAP which implements the EU waste strategy was to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation and to bring about a situation where resources were used more efficiently and waste management was improved so that more sustainable patterns in production and consumption were established. This philosophy is aligned with the EU strategy on sustainable development which was published in 2001 (COM (2001) 264) and updated in 2005 (COM (2005) 658). The strategy is based on seven key challenges, and most relevant to this discussion are: • •
to limit climate change; to limit the adverse effects of transport;
Waste management •
•
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to promote more sustainable modes of production and consumption and breaking the link between economic growth and environmental degradation; more responsible management of natural resources.
A progress report on the sustainable development strategy in 2007 (COM (2007) 642) indicated that positive progress had been made towards reducing greenhouse gas emission, for example, through the reduction in vehicle emissions but that the UK was still not on a path towards sustainable transport, with demand for transport growing at 1.3% per year. The rate of sustainable products and services is on the rise but the Commission intends to take further action including adopting an IPP approach and supporting research. Member states are reported to be updating national strategies to align with the EU sustainable development strategy and hence the priorities set here are likely to flow down into legislation in the future.
3.6
Classification and labelling of waste
The Environmental Protection Act (1990) sets out the duty of care obligations (DoC) for those who handle waste and it requires that any waste be properly described. Accurate descriptions of waste are at the core of waste management and any movement of waste needs to be accompanied by a waste transfer note that provides details about the waste according to a standardised code. Other types of labelling are used to assist in recycling and disassembly operations or to provide the consumer with information about the environmental impact of the products they purchase or use.
3.6.1 European Waste Catalogue The descriptions of waste are standardised by the European Waste Catalogue (COM 94/3/EC and COM 2000/532/EC) which enables waste to be recorded, monitored and controlled across Europe. The Catalogue is a standard set of descriptions and 6 digit codes for waste streams from each industry sector encompassing hazardous and non-hazardous waste. The European Waste Catalogue (EWC) has been transposed into domestic law by the List of Wastes Regulations (SI 895) and the Hazardous Waste Regulations (SI 894). The regulations are set out in chapters 1 to 20 depending on the industry or process that generated the waste. For example, chapter 19 deals with wastes from waste management facilities, off-site waste water treatment plants and the preparation of water intended for human consumption and water for industrial use and chapter 20 deals with municipal wastes. Each chapter has a sub-chapter code and within each
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sub-chapter is a code for a specific waste stream. If the waste is hazardous it is marked with an asterisk. To assign the correct code to the waste it will be necessary to know: • • • • • •
the type of industry that produced the waste; what activity resulted in the waste being produced; a description of the waste; the constituents of the waste; the concentration of any dangerous substances; if there are any hazards associated with the waste.
The chapters of the list are set out according to business types but certain industries such as car manufacturing use a number of different processes and will need to code their waste based on multiple chapter headings. As an example, waste carbon fibres would have a waste code of 04 02 21 which is derived from chapter 04 wastes from the leather, fur and textile industries, sub-chapter 02 wastes from the textile industry, followed by 21 which is the code for the specific waste stream, i.e. wastes from unprocessed textile fibres.
3.6.2 Recycling labels Both legislation and increasing environmental awareness have forced through the requirement for increased waste prevention and minimisation as well as life-cycle thinking. In order to improve the processes of recycling and reuse it is crucial to clearly identify waste and waste streams. In many instances producers are responsible for taking back products at the end of their lives through legislative tools such as the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 (SI 648), so it is in industry’s interests to implement easier methods of identification and sorting to meet ever more ambitious targets. For example, the 2008 amending regulations (SI 413) require 81% of glass packaging to be recycled by 2010. As a result, the use of recycling symbols is common but there is not a systematic regulated approach bar a few exceptions such as the wheelie bin sign required by the WEEE directive (SI 3289). The symbols typically fall into three categories that will signify if the material can be recycled, show what the material is and show whether or not it is compliant with a recognised compliance scheme. Environmental claims about products are addressed through ISO 14021 which attempts to harmonise information on self-declared environmental or ‘green’ claims. The standard outlines conditions for using certain selfdeclared claims such as whether or not an item is recyclable and the use of symbols and logos such as the Mobius loop.
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Recyclability symbols Probably the most familiar symbol that denotes if an item can be recycled is the Mobius loop shown in Fig. 3.1. The symbol is intended for use only on goods that are capable of being recycled, if a facility exists, but it has no precise meaning and is often misused. The Mobius loop with a percentage sign indicates that the product contains the given percentage of recycled content which is more meaningful than the empty loop. Material-specific symbols There are a number of labels in common use to identify what a product is made of and some also denote if it is recyclable. Examples of this are given in Fig. 3.2 for glass, steel and aluminium. The composition of plastic materials are described by a series of numbered Mobius loop symbols developed by the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) and are known as resin identification codes. Usually below the symbol is a shorthand version of the name of the resin the item was made from as shown in Fig. 3.3. Eco-label scheme The eco-label was introduced to the European Union in 1992 (Regulation EEC 889/92) and seeks to encourage businesses to provide goods and services that have a reduced environmental impact. It is a market-based initiative and its function is to stimulate the supply and demand of green and
X%
3.1 The Mobius loop.
alu RECYCLABLE STEEL
3.2 Recycling and material identification symbols for glass, steel and aluminium.
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Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites
1 PETE
Polyethylene terephthalate
2 HDPE
High density polyethylene
3 V
Polyvinyl chloride
4 LDPE
Low density polyethylene
5 PP
Polypropylene
6 PS
Polystyrene
7 OTHER Any other plastic 3.3 Resin identification codes. Note: PETE, V and OTHER can also be known as PET, PVC and O, respectively.
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3.4 European eco-label symbol.
environmentally friendly products that are licensed by the scheme. The scheme also allows the consumer to take into consideration the environmental impact a product has before they choose to buy it. The eco-label scheme is therefore putting into practice the IPP approach and using lifecycle thinking to reduce the environmental impact of goods. Licensed products are permitted to use the flower symbol shown in Fig. 3.4. The product types and specific criteria are set out in the regulation and the amending regulation (Regulation EC 1980/2000). The scheme is open to any product and service, except food, drink, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Furthermore, the flower cannot be awarded to substances that are toxic, carcinogenic or dangerous to the environment or to goods that could be harmful to the consumer in their normal use.
3.7
Conclusions
Waste management in the UK is framed by European Union and domestic environmental strategies, direct regulation, environmental taxes, trading schemes as well as self regulation and voluntary agreements all of which are necessary to bring about sustainability. The waste hierarchy set out in the Waste Framework Directive and EU environmental strategy ultimately determines the economics and practices in waste management through a number of routes including: • • • • •
preventing waste being produced; decoupling economic growth from waste generation; recovering resources from waste; only landfilling waste for which there is no market; setting of progressively stricter emissions levels;
60 • • •
Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites setting up networks of appropriate waste management facilities; generating markets for reused, recycled and recovered products; waste resource trading and treatment internationally.
Current and future environmental policy is likely to put ever-increasing targets and challenges on waste management and in response better and more efficient regulation has come on stream to assist the waste management industry. There is also an onus on those dealing with waste at whatever point in its life cycle to use the best available techniques.
3.8
References
1st environment action programme 1973–1976. Official Journal of the European Communities, C 112, 20.12.1973 2nd environment action programme 1977–1981. Official Journal of the European Communities, C 139, 13.6.1977 3rd environment action programme 1982–1986. Official Journal of the European Union, C 46, 17.2.1983 4th environment action programme 1987–1992. Official Journal of the European Union, C 328, 7.12.87 5th environment action programme 1993–2000. Official Journal of the European Union, C 138, 17.5.1993 6th environment action programme 2001–2010. Official Journal of the European Union, L 242, 10.9.2002 com (2001) 68 – Green paper on Integrated Product Policy com (2001) 264 – A Sustainable Europe for a Better World – A European Union Strategy for Sustainable Development com (2005) 658 – On the review of the Sustainable Development Strategy. A platform for action com (2007) 642 – Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament Progress report on the sustainable development strategy 2007 com 2000/532/EC Commission Decision of 3 May 2000 replacing Decision 94/3/EC establishing a list of waste com 94/3/EC Commission Decision establishing a list of wastes. Official Journal, L 5, 7.1.1994 council decision 2003/33/EC establishing criteria and procedures for the acceptance of waste into landfills. Official Journal of the European Communities, L 11/27, 16.1.2003 directive 1999/31/EC on the Landfill of Waste. Official Journal of the European Union, L 182/1, 16.7.1999 directive 2000/53/EC on End-of-Life Vehicles. Official Journal of the European Union, L 269/34, 21.10.2000 directive 2002/96/EC on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment 27 January 2003. Official Journal of the European Union, L 37/24, 13.2.2003 directive 2006/12/EC on waste. Official Journal of the European Union, L 114/9, 27.4.2006
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directive 2008/1/EC concerning integrated pollution prevention and control (Codified version) 2008. Official Journal, L 24, 29.1.2008 directive 2008/98/EC on waste. Official Journal of the European Union, L 312, 22.11.2008 directive 75/439/EEC, Disposal of Waste Oil, Official Journal, L 194/23, 1975 directive 75/442 EEC on waste. Official Journal, L 194, 25.7.1975 directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste. Official Journal, L 377, 31.12.1991 directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, Official Journal, L 365, 31.12.1994 directive 96/61/EC. Integrated Pollution and Prevention Control. Official Journal, L 257, 10.10.1996 environmental protection act 1990. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1990/Ukpga_ 19900043_en_1.htm flynn b, ‘WEEE, the way to go’, The New Law Journal, 157, issue 7258, 2007 ip/06/1233 – Environment: Commission pilots projects resulting in industry commitments to make greener products. http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do? reference=IP/06/1233&format=HTML&aged=1&language=EN&guiLanguage =en nemry f, leduc g, mongelli i and uihlein a. Environmental Improvement of Passenger Cars (IMPRO – Car). EU Joint Research Centre, Scientific and Technical Report, JRC 40598, EUR 23038 EN 2008 regulation (eec) No 1980/2000 on a Revised Community eco-label award scheme. Official Journal, L 237, 21.09.2000 regulation (eec) No 880/92 on a Community eco-label award scheme. Official Journal, L 099, 11.04.1992 statutory instrument No. 1528, The Landfill Tax (Qualifying Material) Order 1996 statutory instrument 2002 No. 1559. The Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2002/20021559.htm statutory instrument 2003 No. 2635. End-of-Life Vehicle Regulations 2003. http:// www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2003/20032635.htm statutory instrument 2006, No. 3289. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006. http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file35992.pdf statutory instrument 895. List of Wastes Regulations. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/ si2005/20050895.htm statutory instrument No. 1056. The Waste Management Licensing Regulations, 1994. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1994/Uksi_19941056_en_2.htm#fnf010 statutory instrument No. 1527. The Landfill Tax Regulations, 1996. http://www. opsi.gov.uk/si/si1996/Uksi_19961527_en_1.htm statutory instrument No. 3212. The Landfill Allowances and Trading Scheme Regulations 2004. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2004/20043212.htm statutory instrument No. 413. The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 statutory instrument No. 648. The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 statutory instrument No. 770. The Landfill Tax (Amendment) Regulations 2008 statutory instrument No. 894. The Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005. http:// www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2005/20050894.htm statutory instrument No. 3538. The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/uksi_20073538_en_1
Abstract: EU Directive 75/442 EEC set out the early stages of the current waste management practices by introducing a waste hierarchy (reduce, reuse, recover) and a system of permits for those involved in waste treatment with the conditions for obtaining permits and the requirements placed on waste disposal facilities being strictly regulated (e.g. Directive 96/61/EC, SI 1056). Member states have a further requirement to produce a waste management plan and introduce waste prevention programmes and the 1975 directive also established the ‘polluter pays’ principle. In 1994 this was strengthened through legislation (Directive 94/62/EC) which placed a responsibility on the producer of the waste to bear the costs of collection, sorting or treatment and recycling or recovery. Economic instruments were employed in 1996 through a landfill tax (SI 1527) which was designed to divert waste going to landfill and promote the options set out in the waste hierarchy. Later recycling directives dealing with end-of-life vehicles (Directive 2000/53/EC) and waste electrical and electronic equipment (Directive 2002/96/EC), for example, set out more detail about how waste management facilities should operate and report on their activities. A revised Waste Framework Directive (COM (2005) 667) was proposed in 2005 to harmonise the legislation and in the UK it is being implemented through the Environmental Permitting Regulations (SI No. 3538) which also brings together the various conditions placed on waste operators. In addition to the legislative approaches to waste management already outlined, there are EU (EAP 6) and UK strategies on waste which detail plans on waste management and how the member state can reach targets set out in legislation such as levels of recycling or waste diverted from landfill. There are also public policy tools like the integrated product policy (IPP) which encourages producers to take a life-cycle approach to waste. Key words: waste, waste management, WEEE, ELV, labels, environmental permits, waste hierarchy.
3.1
Introduction
In 1972 the European Community determined that a community environmental policy was needed and waste management would be central to it. The framework which developed and shaped environmental legislation and policy came in the form of a series of Environment Action Programmes (EAP), of which there are six to date (EAP1 1973, EAP2 1977, EAP3 1983, EAP4 1987, EAP5 1993, EAP6 2002). Each programme is specific to a particular environmental issue and spans a 5–10 year time frame. The 39
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Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites
current programme in operation is EAP 6 which identifies waste as one of its priority areas. The programme is thematically based with one specific theme being devoted to waste prevention and recycling. The year on year increase in waste generation has resulted in the European Union (EU) consuming natural resources at an unsustainable rate and therefore managing the remaining resources is paramount. Managing waste is a key feature in the EU strategy for sustainable development (COM (2001) 264) and this chapter will look at the requirements and obligations placed on those involved in generating, collecting, treating and disposing of waste. The waste management procedures most relevant to composites will be explored in more detail.
3.2
The Waste Framework Directive
The Waste Directive has been amended a number of times since its introduction in 1975 (Directive 75/442 EEC) and most recently in 2008 (Directive 2008/98/EC) which gives member states until 2010 to transpose it into domestic law. The founding directive from 1975 established some of the key criteria on waste management and these have been built on progressively. Article 3 of the directive established the ‘waste hierarchy’ which is a list of options for dealing with waste in order of preference. This hierarchy has been pivotal in shaping waste management strategy, practice and environmental law for the last three decades. The waste hierarchy consists of: • • • •
prevent waste from being generated in the first place; reduce the quantities of waste; recycle and reuse waste; energy recovery.
The directive also required member states to set up ‘competent authorities’ to be responsible for the planning, organisation, authorisation and supervision of waste disposal operations. In the UK this function is now performed by the Environment Agency. Once established, the authorities were required to make waste management plans which set out the type and quantity of waste for disposal as well as associated costs and technical requirements for doing so. The competent authorities were given responsibility for granting permits to any undertaking or holder processing waste. To obtain a permit, the waste operator had to demonstrate how the waste would be disposed of without causing harm to human life or the environment. This obligation meant providing technical details and safety precautions taken to protect human health and the environment but also a requirement to provide the competent authority with information on the origin, destination, treatment, type and quantity of the waste. To ensure
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waste operators complied with the criteria detailed in the permit they would be subject to inspection by the authority. In turn, the competent authority would have to report back to the EU Commission on how it was implementing the directive. The burden of costs associated with disposing of waste were placed upon the waste producer and the ‘polluter pays’ principle was firmly established, the more waste a producer created, the more they would pay to have it disposed of. An example of this is the Landfill Tax Regulations (SI 1527) which will be discussed later in the chapter. In 2006 the founding directive was amended (Directive 2006/12/EC), putting in place the essential requirements for the management of waste and adding a definition of waste as well as adding an aspiration for the EU as a whole to become self sufficient in waste disposal, but creating a specific aim for member states to achieve this. The latest amendment to the Waste Framework Directive took place in 2008 (Directive 2008/98/EC) and the following areas were addressed: •
• • • • •
The introduction of an environmental objective, focusing specifically on reducing the environmental impact of waste and the life cycle of waste; Clarification on recovery and disposal; Clarification of the conditions for mixing of hazardous waste; Introduction of a procedure which clarifies when waste ceases to be waste for a particular waste stream; Introduction of minimum standards for a number of waste management operations; Introduction of a requirement to develop national waste prevention programmes.
The language used in the directive has been harmonised with other directives and it harnesses product life-cycle thinking by encouraging producers to prevent waste generation in the first instance for example. The 1975 directive set out a waste management hierarchy with the first priority being to prevent waste in the first instance, then to recycle and reuse. This hierarchy is the bedrock of sustainable waste management and has been embedded into legislation. The new proposals reinforce the waste hierarchy of prevention, reuse, recycling, recovery (including by energy recovery) and safe disposal. Not only is there a requirement for member states to produce waste management plans but a new requirement for waste prevention plans has been introduced. A report by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) sets out when each obligation has to be met by the UK (http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/thematicstrat/ revised-wfd-transposition-implementation-dates.pdf). Both the Disposal of Waste Oil Directive (Directive 75/439/EEC) and the Hazardous Waste
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Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites
Directive (Directive 91/689/EEC) have been subsumed into the Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC) in order to simplify the legislation. In terms of the requirement for a waste operator to have a permit issued by the competent authority, each revision of the Waste Framework Directive has added details to this requirement and this has been supplemented by other supporting legislation such as the Waste Management Licensing Regulations (SI 1056). The 2008 amendment to the directive goes further than previous revisions by introducing minimum standards for permits designed to ensure that waste is treated in an environmentally sound manner. The Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC) defines waste as ‘any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard’ and management as ‘the collection, transport, recovery and disposal of waste, including the supervision of such operations and after-care of disposal sites’. These definitions mean that environmental rules for dealing with waste apply not only to waste disposal facilities themselves but also to recovery and recycling operations as well as to waste brokers, dealers and carriers. A waste broker is a third party who makes arrangements for others to handle, transport, dispose of or recover waste rather than doing it themselves and a waste dealer is a type of broker who sells on the waste. The Environmental Protection Act (1990) also imposes a Duty of Care on the handling of waste, which affects anyone who: • • • • • • •
produces; imports; stores; transports; treats; recycles; or disposes of controlled waste.
Under the Duty of Care, businesses producing, carrying, storing or treating waste must meet guidelines to ensure that waste management facilities do not pollute the environment or cause harm to human health. The primary onus of responsibility for the handling of waste is on the waste producer, who must ensure that waste is stored securely and transferred to an ‘authorised’ person only.
3.2.1 Licensing of waste operations To comply with the permitting requirements of the Waste Framework Directive previously discussed, the UK implemented the Waste
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Management Licensing Regulations (WMLR) in 1994 (SI 1056 as amended). The Waste Management Licensing Regulations set out the procedure for obtaining a licence and also identified a number of activities that are excluded from requiring a licence or that are exempt from licensing. If an activity is exempt it probably needs to be registered by the competent authority, i.e. the Environment Agency in the UK. The types of waste treatment activities that required a licence include: • • • • •
landfilling; disposal of waste using plant equipment (incineration, shredding, sorting); treatment, keeping or disposal of controlled waste on land; treatment, keeping or disposal of controlled waste by mobile plant; treatment, keeping or disposal of controlled wastes in a manner likely to cause detriment to the environment or human health.
In order to be granted a licence certain criteria have to be met such as demonstrating technical competence underpinned by a formal training certificate in waste management. Applicants also have to demonstrate evidence of financial provisions for the activities covered by the permit and adequate security, typically in the form of insurance in case of seepages into the water course, for example, but also a requirement for the waste site itself to be secure from the public. However, the Waste Management and Licensing Regulations have now been superseded by the Environmental Permitting Regulations (SI No. 3538). It is not only waste management operations that require a permit to operate but also the installations themselves and this is detailed in the Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC), (Directive 96/61/EC). The directive has been amended a number of times and as a result was codified in 2008 (Directive 2008/1/EC). Codification means bringing all amendments to a given law adopted at different times into one law. The IPPC Directive establishes an approach for pollution prevention from stationary ‘installations’ involved in industrial and agricultural processes. The purpose of the directive is to achieve a high level of environmental protection using measures to prevent or, where that is not practicable, to reduce emissions to air, water and land from industrial processes. An installation is classed as a stationary technical unit. The IPPC Directive is based on a number of core principles which are an integrated approach, use of best available techniques, flexibility and public participation. The directive requires industrial and agricultural activities to have a permit which can be granted only if certain environmental conditions are met, meaning that the industries themselves take responsibility for
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Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites
preventing and reducing any pollution they cause. The types of industry covered include the waste management industry. In order to receive a permit, an industrial or agricultural installation must comply with certain obligations such as: • • • • • •
use the best available techniques (BAT) as pollution-prevention measures; prevent all large-scale pollution; prevent, recycle or dispose of waste in the least polluting way possible; use energy efficiently; prevent accidents and limit the consequences if they do happen; restore sites to their original state when the activity is over.
Those applying for a permit have to give information on how they will implement the obligations outlined above such as the proposed waste management techniques and how emissions will be monitored. Like the Waste Management and Licensing Regulations, IPPC is implemented in the UK under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007.
3.3
Environmental Permitting Regulations
The Environmental Permitting (EP) Regulations 2007 came into force in April 2008. A series of guidance documents has also been issued to accompany the regulations along with a core guidance document (http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/epp/). This regime streamlines and combines waste management licensing (WML) and pollution prevention and control (PPC) to create a single environmental permit with a common approach to permit applications, maintenance, surrender and enforcement. The EP Regulations bring together a number of pollution control legislations into a single set of regulations and replaces around 40 pieces of individual environmental legislation. A number of environmental directives such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (Directive 2002/96/EC) and the End-of-Life Vehicle Directive (Directive 2000/53/ EC) are set out in separate guidance documents which outline measures that are specific to these waste streams. These will be considered in more detail later in the chapter. The EP Regulations set out the generic and specific terms that must be adhered to, along with the reporting, inspection and enforcement procedures. The effect of the regulations is to harmonise environmental permits and reduce bureaucracy especially where more than one waste facility operates from a single site.
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Waste activities are classed as low, medium and high risk and where the risks are low the EP Regulations commit the operator to complying with a standard package of rules. These standard rules define how a waste operator must carry out particular activities such as limiting the types of waste that can be brought on to a site. Low to medium risk activities would include waste transfer stations and civic amenity sites. Activities involving waste can be undertaken only by competent persons and under the previous Waste Management and Licensing Regulations (SI 1056) operators had to demonstrate this by obtaining a Certificate of Technical Competence. However, the EP Regulations have identified that different types of waste facility present different levels of environmental risk and therefore allow for different levels of competency demonstrations through an industry-approved scheme, i.e. proportional to the level of risk presented. There is the requirement that whatever the level of competency attained, it must be continual in nature and therefore there is an ongoing two yearly assessment. The Waste Management Licensing Regulations (SI 1056) set out a number of exemptions for the requirement to have a waste management licence. The EP Regulations have made changes to the list of exemptions and a number of operations that did not previously require a permit will now do so under the new scheme; these are detailed in schedule 3 of the regulations. An exemption allows certain waste management operations to be carried out without needing an environmental permit and exemptions are designed to provide a lower level of regulation for low risk activities. Under the new proposals businesses may need to renew and re-register exemptions more frequently to ensure waste registers are up to date. It is proposed that there will be a charge for the registration of all exempt waste operations and a requirement for exemptions to be re-registered every three years. This is to cover the cost to the Environment Agency of regulating the exemptions. The public consultation closed in October 2008 and any proposed changes will be brought on stream in 2009 as set out in a review document issued by the Environment Agency (http://www. environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/waste/32158.aspx). Part 4 of the EP Regulations deals with enforcement and this can consist of the issuing of an enforcement notice to those who contravene the conditions set out in their permit or a suspension notice if there is a risk of serious pollution. Suspension and enforcement notices set out the reasons behind issuing the notice, what steps must be taken to remedy the breach of the environmental permit and dealing with the pollution and a timeframe for complying. Breaches of the environmental permit can lead to criminal convictions and depending on the offence, a person can be fined up to £50 000 or imprisoned for up to 12 months.
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Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites
The second phase of the environmental permitting programme will extend the regulations to include: • • • • •
discharge consenting; groundwater authorisations; water abstraction and impoundment; radioactive substances regulation; licensing of some waste carriers and brokers.
Subject to public consultation, phase 2 will be rolled out between 2008 and 2011 (http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/epp/deliver.htm#2).
3.3.1 Activities requiring an environmental permit In line with the previous legislation the following activities require an environmental permit: •
•
•
Installations carrying out activities as set out in schedule 1 of the EP Regulations. These will include activities from the energy sector such as refining, production and processing of metals, surface treatment of metals and plastics, production of cement and lime, mineral fibre production, ceramics, and chemicals. Waste management is also covered by the regulations and EP permits are also required by these activities, and include incineration (and co-incineration), disposal of waste by landfill, recovery of waste, fuel from waste. An installation is any stationary technical unit which carries out one or more of the activities listed in schedule 1. Waste operations. Any disposal or recovery of waste which is not exempt in the EP Regulations. The list of exempt operations has changed under the EP Regulations compared to the WMLR. Mobile plant carrying out the activities or waste operations as above. By definition a mobile plant is not stationary and therefore can not be described as a facility.
3.3.2 Landfill Directive The EP Regulations provide separate guidance on specific waste streams which detail additional measures that must be complied with. The Landfill Directive (Directive 1999/31/EC) is an example of this; it was transposed into English law through the Landfill Regulations 2002 (SI 1559). Landfill is defined as ‘waste disposal site for the deposit of waste onto or into land’ and the overall objective of the regulations is to prevent or reduce the negative effects of landfilling on the environment as well as any risk to
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human health posed as a result. The directive also requires member states to implement a strategy on biodegradable waste that provides for the progressive diversion of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill in order for the UK to meet challenging targets: • • •
By 2010 to reduce biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 75% of that produced in 1995; By 2013 to reduce biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 50% of that produced in 1995; By 2020 to reduce biodegradable municipal waste landfilled to 35% of that produced in 1995.
The regulations attempt to achieve this through specifying technical standards of landfill sites and operations and setting out requirements for the location, conditioning, management, control, closure and preventative and protective measures. A timetable has been set for existing sites to be brought up to the standards or they must be closed. UK landfill sites must be licensed by the Environment Agency and require a permit to be able to deal with waste of a particular type. The Landfill Directive supplements the requirements of the IPPC Directive which lists non-inert landfill as an activity that requires sites above a certain size to be permitted (Directive 96/61/EC). This is now achieved through the Environmental Permitting Regulations in the UK (SI 3538). There are three categories of landfill sites and they may only be licensed for a particular type of disposal: • • •
hazardous waste as set out in the Hazardous Waste Directive (Directive 91/689/EEC); non-hazardous waste; inert waste (waste that does not undergo significant change).
Landfill operators must demonstrate that measures are in place to prevent cross-contamination between differently classified sites where they are near to each other. A ban on the practice of co-disposal of hazardous waste and nonhazardous waste has been in place since 2004. From October 2007 there has been a requirement to treat all non-hazardous waste before it is landfill except if treatment is not technically feasible or where treatment would not reduce the quantity of the waste or its environmental impact. The regulations define treatment as ‘ “treatment” means physical, thermal, chemical or biological processes (including sorting) that change the characteristics of waste in order to reduce its volume or hazardous nature, facilitate its handling or enhance recovery.’ The proposed treatment must conform to three set criteria:
48 • • •
Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites it must be a physical, thermal or chemical treatment of a biological process which includes sorting; it changes the waste’s characteristics; and it does so to reduce its volume or hazardous nature, facilitates handling or enhances recovery.
In order to be granted and maintain a permit, a landfill operator must comply with strict reporting and inspection procedures. The permit will set down conditions that have to be met by the landfill operator such as steps that must be taken by that operator to ensure they only accept waste that has been treated or does not need to be treated. The operator is restricted in what types of waste it may accept into the landfill, for example, liquid, tyres, explosive materials and hospital waste are banned but it is the responsibility of the waste holder to ensure it is correctly identified using the List of Wastes Regulations (SI 895) codes. Any waste going to a landfill site must comply with the waste acceptance criteria set out in the directive and the Council Decision of 2003 (CD 2003/33/EC). These are procedures that operators must follow and cover basic characterisation of the waste (source, origin, appearance, list of waste code), compliance testing and on-site verification of the original characterisation. The waste acceptance criteria are set out for each class of landfill. The operator must also show evidence of how it intends to comply with all the sections of the directive including the waste acceptance criteria but also the obligations on record keeping and monitoring and a detailed environmental risk assessment. The cost that the landfill operator charges must reflect the costs of operating the site but also need to include an element of the costs likely to be incurred by closure of the site after 30 years in service.
Landfill Allowances and Trading Scheme So that the UK could meet the targets for diverting municipal waste away from landfills set out in the Landfill Directive, the Waste Emissions and Trading Act was passed by Parliament in 2003. The act puts an obligation on Waste Disposal Authorities (WDA) to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) it landfills. Each WDA is given a tradable allowance and they are allowed to landfill up to the number of allowances they have. One allowance is equal to one tonne. The criteria for trading are set out in the Landfill Allowances and Trading Scheme Regulations 2004 (SI 3212). This was the world’s first trading scheme for municipal waste allowances and the scheme will operate between 2005/6 and 2019/20. Each WDA is given an annual figure for the amount of BMW it is allowed to landfill for that year. Under the Landfill Allowances and Trading
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Scheme (LATS) the WDA is able to use the allowance flexibly and may: • • •
save or bank allowances to use in future years; buy and sell them; borrow up to 5% from the next year’s allocation.
A searchable register of LATS activity has been set up to facilitate trade and there are clear reporting and monitoring requirements. Landfill tax Part of the toolkit of waste management and environmental legislation is the use of economic instruments and the landfill tax is an example of this which is implemented by the Landfill Tax Regulations (SI 1527) and the Landfill Tax (Qualifying Material) Order (SI 1528). The tax is regulated by HM Revenue and Customs. The Landfill Tax Regulations were amended in 2008 (SI 770). Landfill tax is a tax on the disposal of waste and it aims to encourage waste producers to produce less waste, recover more value from waste, for example through recycling or composting, and to use more environmentally friendly methods of waste disposal. Landfill tax applies to all waste: • • • •
disposed of by way of landfill; at a licensed landfill site; on or after 1 October 1996; unless the waste is specifically exempt.
The site falls within the scope of the tax if there is a licence or permit authorising disposals. Liability for tax on disposal rests with the licence holder of a landfill site and any waste deposited in it, including waste that the site itself produced, will be liable to tax. The tax is chargeable by weight and there are two rates, a standard rate for active waste and a lower rate for inactive waste (rocks and soil for example). Rates for 2008/09 are: • •
Active waste – £32/tonne (+ VAT) Inactive waste – £2.50/tonne (+ VAT).
The rate for active waste increased by £8/tonne per annum from 1 April 2008 and will remain at this level until April 2010 when it will increase to £48 + VAT per tonne. The rate for inactive waste increased to £2.50 + VAT per tonne on 1 April 2008. The Government has announced that the rate will be frozen at £2.50 per tonne in 2009–10. The rates were set out in the UK’s 2008 Finance Bill. Landfill operators can apply to have tax-free status for any part of a site that is not used for landfill, but is instead used for;
50 • • • • •
Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites recycling waste; incinerating waste; sorting waste pending its disposal or transfer; storing inactive waste for use in landfill restoration; sorting material to obtain the above.
Tax credits are available for waste that landfill operators send: • •
for recycling, incineration or reuse; to another landfill site.
The rules for doing so have been changed with the implementation of the Landfill Tax (Amendment) Regulations (SI 770) which limits the maximum credit a landfill site operator can claim, in respect of qualifying contributions made against their annual landfill tax liability to 6.0% from the previously higher level of 6.6%.
3.4
End-of-Life Vehicle Directive
The End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Directive (Directive 2000/53/EC) was transposed into UK law in 2003 by the End-of-Life Vehicle Regulations (SI 2635) and is now regulated through the EP Regulations 2007 (SI 3538). The EP Regulations widen out the scope of the ELV Directive by applying to all end-of-life vehicles rather than just to those listed in Annex IIA of the directive. Hence, in the UK the regulations apply to commercial vehicles such as buses and coaches. The first focus of the ELV legislation is to prevent waste in the first place and then to consider reuse and recycling as well as other forms of energy recovery. The scope of the legislation is not just contained to the vehicle itself but extends to its components and materials, irrespective of whether or not they were factory fitted to the vehicle. If the regulations can discourage waste being created, it is anticipated that they will soon force manufacturers to design not just for disassembly but with the whole life cycle in mind. In terms of preventing waste, one of the first obligations placed on manufacturers was to stop the use of hazardous waste such as lead and mercury in vehicles made after July 2003. Under the reporting requirements of the regulations manufacturers must publish reports to consumers on: • • • •
the design of vehicles and their components with a view to their recoverability and recyclability; the environmentally sound treatment of end-of-life vehicles in particular the removal of all fluids and dismantling; the development and optimisation of ways to reuse, recycle and recover end-of-life vehicles and their components; the progress achieved with regard to recovery and recycling to reduce the waste to be disposed of and to increase the recovery and recycling rates.
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For the first time, the regulations place a requirement on vehicle manufacturers to take back vehicles at the end of their life via authorised treatment facilities (ATF) who would be charged with its environmentally sound recovery. Typically it is the ATF that would issue the last keeper with a certificate of destruction allowing it to be deregistered but there is also scope within the regulations for dealers or producers to be authorised, providing they could prove the vehicle was indeed transferred to the ATF. The cost of treatment by the ATFs is to be borne for the large part by the producers rather than by the last keeper or owner and since the regulations were amended in 2005 there is a requirement that ATFs are required to provide the service free of charge, effective from 1 January 2007 (where vehicles are largely complete and have not had extra waste added). The original Regulations (End-of-Life Vehicle Regulations 2003 SI 2635) set out national targets for reuse and recycling as follows: •
•
No later than 1 January 2006 the reuse and recovery rate for all ELVs will be at least 85% (average weight per vehicle and year). However, the rate for vehicles produced before 1 January 1980 was set at 75%. By no later than 1 January 2015, all ELVs will need to have a reuse and recovery rate of no less than 95%.
In order to assist ATFs and to meet national targets for reusing and recovering components, producers are charged under the regulations to label each component according to a set material and component coding standard so that it can be readily identified. Further, manufacturers must provide sufficient instructions or guidance so that assemblies and subassemblies can be efficiently dismantled.
3.5
Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment Regulations
The European Directive on Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) (Directive 2002/96/EC) was implemented in the UK through the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006 (SI 3289) although it should have been implemented earlier in 2005. The regulation finally became effective in August 2007. The regulations are now implemented in the UK through the Environmental Permitting Regulations (SI 3538). The aim of the directive is to prevent and minimise WEEE and it puts a responsibility on producers and distributors to pay for the costs associated with the collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of waste electric and electronic equipment. To ensure this takes place, the regulations require approved compliance schemes to be established which will finance the collection and treatment of WEEE.
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Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites
The WEEE regulations require all WEEE arising from the business sector to be collected for recycling, reuse and safe disposal. For domestic household WEEE, the regulations set a collection target of 4 kg per head of the population per year. There are 10 categories of WEEE covered by the regulations along with set national targets for each category; • • • • • • • • • •
large household appliances; small household appliances; IT and telecommunications equipment; consumer equipment; lighting equipment; electrical and electronic tools; toys, leisure and sports equipment; medical devices; monitoring and control instruments; automatic dispensers.
Schedule 2 of the directive gives many specific examples of the types of products included and these range from toasters to dialysis machines. Since August 2005 producers of these goods have had an obligation imposed on them by Regulation 15 to mark their products with a crossed out wheelie bin symbol and a registration number from which the producer can be identified. Further obligations are placed on distributors to provide information to consumers on the environmental impact of the products they purchase.
3.5.1 Approved schemes Regulation 10 requires producers to join an approved producer compliance scheme (PCS) which is overseen by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). No business is exempt from this, irrespective of its size. The scheme is financed by the producers who are members of the scheme and the levy is dependent on how much of a market share they have, i.e. the more electrical and electronic equipment they produce, the more they pay into the scheme. The operators of the scheme are responsible for implementing systems that enable reuse of parts as well as the best methods of treatment, recycling and recovery. The recording and reporting of these activities are stringent but are intended as a means of monitoring standards and ensuring the UK achieves the targets set out in the regulations. Reports need to be made on an ongoing basis for each compliance period, of which there are currently three between 1 July 2007 and 31 December 2009. As with producers, distributors must also belong to and fund either a distributor take-back scheme or must offer in-store take-back facilities for
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domestic consumers. An in-store scheme must allow consumers who are replacing equipment to bring back, free of charge, an old equivalent item even if it was not originally purchased from that distributor. If the distributor has joined a distributor take-back scheme then the consumer can take the WEEE to a designated collection facility (DCF) free of charge. Typically, DCFs will be located at local run council waste sites. Even those who import electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) into the UK are affected by the regulations as they are covered by the definition of a producer. It is for importers and manufacturers to determine which will hold responsibility as the registered producer for the purposes of the regulations, but according to Flynn (2007), it is likely that the Environment Agency will deem the importer responsible where the manufacturer is not UK based. WEEE can only be processed by an approved authorised treatment facility (AATF) that has the correct type of waste management licence. The processes and procedures used by the ATF to sort, dismantle and treat WEEE are also closely regulated and are administered by the Environment Agency. The regulations set out best practice that must be followed in processing techniques. Post-processing materials such as plastic and metal can then be transferred to a reprocessor and, in turn, be put back into the recycling chain as new products.
3.5.2 Integrated product policy Integrated product policy (IPP) is a public policy initiative which has been on the EU agenda since roughly the late 1990s and is concerned with the reduction of environmental impact associated with products and services. The purpose of the EC initiative was to harmonise varying environmental product policy strategies that were developing within the Community to minimise the environmental impact of their products at varying stages of the product life cycle: for example, take-back schemes, product labelling, taxes or other economic initiatives. These differing approaches among member states led to a call for harmonisation of such measures across the EU in order to avoid problems that might arise from different policy approaches. Consequently, an IPP green paper was published promoting a common framework within the EU (COM (2001) 68). IPP requires all, from government and other major stakeholders through to the supply chain and the consumer, to be mindful of every stage of the products life cycle in order to promote sustainability. All products cause some form of environmental degradation, be that during manufacturing, in use or during their disposal. When considering the life cycle of a product, account needs to be taken of potential environmental harm through all the areas of the cycle right from the extraction of
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Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites
natural resources, through the design process, manufacturing and assembly stages and on to marketing, distribution, sale and use and finally to their eventual disposal as waste. Clearly, depending on the product there may be a highly complex mix of contributors through the supply and demand chain during the life-cycle process and IPP seeks to place an onus on each to think about and improve their individual environmental performance. The IPP applies a number of techniques to encourage compliance and monitor the objectives set out in the policy, for example economic instruments such as taxes and subsidies, substance bans, voluntary agreements, environmental labelling and product design guidelines. The European Commission published a green paper on IPP in 2001 (COM (2001) 68) which set out the rationale behind developing the IPP approach to environmental policies and set out possible mechanisms that might be used to achieve ‘greener’ products. Two pilot projects were concluded in 2006 which focused on a mobile telephone and a tropical garden chair as example products (IP/06/1233). The work of the Commission has gone on to identify further products that can benefit from environmental improvement which includes passenger cars (Nemry et al. 2008). There is currently no specific legislation governing IPP but it is undoubtedly going to feature much more prominently in the future which was echoed in the mid-term report of the sixth EAP. IPP is, however, already being incorporated into other legislation and it is certain to do so further as regulations are amended and further regulation should not be ruled out. For example, the End-of-Life Vehicle Directive (Directive 2000/53/EC) and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (Directive 2002/96/EC) can be considered to be examples of IPP. Both directives place a requirement on producers to prevent waste in the first instance through the design of their products and with a view to their recyclability.
3.5.3 Sustainable development One of the objectives of the sixth EAP which implements the EU waste strategy was to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation and to bring about a situation where resources were used more efficiently and waste management was improved so that more sustainable patterns in production and consumption were established. This philosophy is aligned with the EU strategy on sustainable development which was published in 2001 (COM (2001) 264) and updated in 2005 (COM (2005) 658). The strategy is based on seven key challenges, and most relevant to this discussion are: • •
to limit climate change; to limit the adverse effects of transport;
Waste management •
•
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to promote more sustainable modes of production and consumption and breaking the link between economic growth and environmental degradation; more responsible management of natural resources.
A progress report on the sustainable development strategy in 2007 (COM (2007) 642) indicated that positive progress had been made towards reducing greenhouse gas emission, for example, through the reduction in vehicle emissions but that the UK was still not on a path towards sustainable transport, with demand for transport growing at 1.3% per year. The rate of sustainable products and services is on the rise but the Commission intends to take further action including adopting an IPP approach and supporting research. Member states are reported to be updating national strategies to align with the EU sustainable development strategy and hence the priorities set here are likely to flow down into legislation in the future.
3.6
Classification and labelling of waste
The Environmental Protection Act (1990) sets out the duty of care obligations (DoC) for those who handle waste and it requires that any waste be properly described. Accurate descriptions of waste are at the core of waste management and any movement of waste needs to be accompanied by a waste transfer note that provides details about the waste according to a standardised code. Other types of labelling are used to assist in recycling and disassembly operations or to provide the consumer with information about the environmental impact of the products they purchase or use.
3.6.1 European Waste Catalogue The descriptions of waste are standardised by the European Waste Catalogue (COM 94/3/EC and COM 2000/532/EC) which enables waste to be recorded, monitored and controlled across Europe. The Catalogue is a standard set of descriptions and 6 digit codes for waste streams from each industry sector encompassing hazardous and non-hazardous waste. The European Waste Catalogue (EWC) has been transposed into domestic law by the List of Wastes Regulations (SI 895) and the Hazardous Waste Regulations (SI 894). The regulations are set out in chapters 1 to 20 depending on the industry or process that generated the waste. For example, chapter 19 deals with wastes from waste management facilities, off-site waste water treatment plants and the preparation of water intended for human consumption and water for industrial use and chapter 20 deals with municipal wastes. Each chapter has a sub-chapter code and within each
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Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites
sub-chapter is a code for a specific waste stream. If the waste is hazardous it is marked with an asterisk. To assign the correct code to the waste it will be necessary to know: • • • • • •
the type of industry that produced the waste; what activity resulted in the waste being produced; a description of the waste; the constituents of the waste; the concentration of any dangerous substances; if there are any hazards associated with the waste.
The chapters of the list are set out according to business types but certain industries such as car manufacturing use a number of different processes and will need to code their waste based on multiple chapter headings. As an example, waste carbon fibres would have a waste code of 04 02 21 which is derived from chapter 04 wastes from the leather, fur and textile industries, sub-chapter 02 wastes from the textile industry, followed by 21 which is the code for the specific waste stream, i.e. wastes from unprocessed textile fibres.
3.6.2 Recycling labels Both legislation and increasing environmental awareness have forced through the requirement for increased waste prevention and minimisation as well as life-cycle thinking. In order to improve the processes of recycling and reuse it is crucial to clearly identify waste and waste streams. In many instances producers are responsible for taking back products at the end of their lives through legislative tools such as the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 (SI 648), so it is in industry’s interests to implement easier methods of identification and sorting to meet ever more ambitious targets. For example, the 2008 amending regulations (SI 413) require 81% of glass packaging to be recycled by 2010. As a result, the use of recycling symbols is common but there is not a systematic regulated approach bar a few exceptions such as the wheelie bin sign required by the WEEE directive (SI 3289). The symbols typically fall into three categories that will signify if the material can be recycled, show what the material is and show whether or not it is compliant with a recognised compliance scheme. Environmental claims about products are addressed through ISO 14021 which attempts to harmonise information on self-declared environmental or ‘green’ claims. The standard outlines conditions for using certain selfdeclared claims such as whether or not an item is recyclable and the use of symbols and logos such as the Mobius loop.
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Recyclability symbols Probably the most familiar symbol that denotes if an item can be recycled is the Mobius loop shown in Fig. 3.1. The symbol is intended for use only on goods that are capable of being recycled, if a facility exists, but it has no precise meaning and is often misused. The Mobius loop with a percentage sign indicates that the product contains the given percentage of recycled content which is more meaningful than the empty loop. Material-specific symbols There are a number of labels in common use to identify what a product is made of and some also denote if it is recyclable. Examples of this are given in Fig. 3.2 for glass, steel and aluminium. The composition of plastic materials are described by a series of numbered Mobius loop symbols developed by the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) and are known as resin identification codes. Usually below the symbol is a shorthand version of the name of the resin the item was made from as shown in Fig. 3.3. Eco-label scheme The eco-label was introduced to the European Union in 1992 (Regulation EEC 889/92) and seeks to encourage businesses to provide goods and services that have a reduced environmental impact. It is a market-based initiative and its function is to stimulate the supply and demand of green and
X%
3.1 The Mobius loop.
alu RECYCLABLE STEEL
3.2 Recycling and material identification symbols for glass, steel and aluminium.
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Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites
1 PETE
Polyethylene terephthalate
2 HDPE
High density polyethylene
3 V
Polyvinyl chloride
4 LDPE
Low density polyethylene
5 PP
Polypropylene
6 PS
Polystyrene
7 OTHER Any other plastic 3.3 Resin identification codes. Note: PETE, V and OTHER can also be known as PET, PVC and O, respectively.
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3.4 European eco-label symbol.
environmentally friendly products that are licensed by the scheme. The scheme also allows the consumer to take into consideration the environmental impact a product has before they choose to buy it. The eco-label scheme is therefore putting into practice the IPP approach and using lifecycle thinking to reduce the environmental impact of goods. Licensed products are permitted to use the flower symbol shown in Fig. 3.4. The product types and specific criteria are set out in the regulation and the amending regulation (Regulation EC 1980/2000). The scheme is open to any product and service, except food, drink, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Furthermore, the flower cannot be awarded to substances that are toxic, carcinogenic or dangerous to the environment or to goods that could be harmful to the consumer in their normal use.
3.7
Conclusions
Waste management in the UK is framed by European Union and domestic environmental strategies, direct regulation, environmental taxes, trading schemes as well as self regulation and voluntary agreements all of which are necessary to bring about sustainability. The waste hierarchy set out in the Waste Framework Directive and EU environmental strategy ultimately determines the economics and practices in waste management through a number of routes including: • • • • •
preventing waste being produced; decoupling economic growth from waste generation; recovering resources from waste; only landfilling waste for which there is no market; setting of progressively stricter emissions levels;
60 • • •
Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites setting up networks of appropriate waste management facilities; generating markets for reused, recycled and recovered products; waste resource trading and treatment internationally.
Current and future environmental policy is likely to put ever-increasing targets and challenges on waste management and in response better and more efficient regulation has come on stream to assist the waste management industry. There is also an onus on those dealing with waste at whatever point in its life cycle to use the best available techniques.
3.8
References
1st environment action programme 1973–1976. Official Journal of the European Communities, C 112, 20.12.1973 2nd environment action programme 1977–1981. Official Journal of the European Communities, C 139, 13.6.1977 3rd environment action programme 1982–1986. Official Journal of the European Union, C 46, 17.2.1983 4th environment action programme 1987–1992. Official Journal of the European Union, C 328, 7.12.87 5th environment action programme 1993–2000. Official Journal of the European Union, C 138, 17.5.1993 6th environment action programme 2001–2010. Official Journal of the European Union, L 242, 10.9.2002 com (2001) 68 – Green paper on Integrated Product Policy com (2001) 264 – A Sustainable Europe for a Better World – A European Union Strategy for Sustainable Development com (2005) 658 – On the review of the Sustainable Development Strategy. A platform for action com (2007) 642 – Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament Progress report on the sustainable development strategy 2007 com 2000/532/EC Commission Decision of 3 May 2000 replacing Decision 94/3/EC establishing a list of waste com 94/3/EC Commission Decision establishing a list of wastes. Official Journal, L 5, 7.1.1994 council decision 2003/33/EC establishing criteria and procedures for the acceptance of waste into landfills. Official Journal of the European Communities, L 11/27, 16.1.2003 directive 1999/31/EC on the Landfill of Waste. Official Journal of the European Union, L 182/1, 16.7.1999 directive 2000/53/EC on End-of-Life Vehicles. Official Journal of the European Union, L 269/34, 21.10.2000 directive 2002/96/EC on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment 27 January 2003. Official Journal of the European Union, L 37/24, 13.2.2003 directive 2006/12/EC on waste. Official Journal of the European Union, L 114/9, 27.4.2006
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directive 2008/1/EC concerning integrated pollution prevention and control (Codified version) 2008. Official Journal, L 24, 29.1.2008 directive 2008/98/EC on waste. Official Journal of the European Union, L 312, 22.11.2008 directive 75/439/EEC, Disposal of Waste Oil, Official Journal, L 194/23, 1975 directive 75/442 EEC on waste. Official Journal, L 194, 25.7.1975 directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste. Official Journal, L 377, 31.12.1991 directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, Official Journal, L 365, 31.12.1994 directive 96/61/EC. Integrated Pollution and Prevention Control. Official Journal, L 257, 10.10.1996 environmental protection act 1990. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1990/Ukpga_ 19900043_en_1.htm flynn b, ‘WEEE, the way to go’, The New Law Journal, 157, issue 7258, 2007 ip/06/1233 – Environment: Commission pilots projects resulting in industry commitments to make greener products. http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do? reference=IP/06/1233&format=HTML&aged=1&language=EN&guiLanguage =en nemry f, leduc g, mongelli i and uihlein a. Environmental Improvement of Passenger Cars (IMPRO – Car). EU Joint Research Centre, Scientific and Technical Report, JRC 40598, EUR 23038 EN 2008 regulation (eec) No 1980/2000 on a Revised Community eco-label award scheme. Official Journal, L 237, 21.09.2000 regulation (eec) No 880/92 on a Community eco-label award scheme. Official Journal, L 099, 11.04.1992 statutory instrument No. 1528, The Landfill Tax (Qualifying Material) Order 1996 statutory instrument 2002 No. 1559. The Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2002/20021559.htm statutory instrument 2003 No. 2635. End-of-Life Vehicle Regulations 2003. http:// www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2003/20032635.htm statutory instrument 2006, No. 3289. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006. http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file35992.pdf statutory instrument 895. List of Wastes Regulations. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/ si2005/20050895.htm statutory instrument No. 1056. The Waste Management Licensing Regulations, 1994. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1994/Uksi_19941056_en_2.htm#fnf010 statutory instrument No. 1527. The Landfill Tax Regulations, 1996. http://www. opsi.gov.uk/si/si1996/Uksi_19961527_en_1.htm statutory instrument No. 3212. The Landfill Allowances and Trading Scheme Regulations 2004. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2004/20043212.htm statutory instrument No. 413. The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 statutory instrument No. 648. The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 statutory instrument No. 770. The Landfill Tax (Amendment) Regulations 2008 statutory instrument No. 894. The Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005. http:// www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2005/20050894.htm statutory instrument No. 3538. The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/uksi_20073538_en_1