Environmental Legislation 2015
Do You Have a Solution?
The recent environmental legislation changes mean we will need to treat recycling slightly differently. In order to ensure quality the depots will be tasked with careful collection and segregation of different waste streams prior to taking the waste on to the disposal facility.
This will mean your depots may require bays for different streams.
MRF Regulations
A few of the key changes since the consultation:
Some of the requirements (input and output measurements for instance) come into force in stages:
-
- Stage one between 1st October 2014 to 1st October 2016
- Stage two after 1st October 2016
Requirements
- Time based sampling frequency removed
- No requirement for an independent audit
- Change from “material recovery facilities” to just “material facilities” ??
- Expected to identify the “grades” of the output materials
- Records will need to be kept for four years, and
- Additional statistical work needed to produce standard deviations of the average percentages
- New Schedule 9A was added to the EPR 2010, which will come into effect on 1st October 2014
- Will apply to materials facilities expected to receive more than 1,000 tonnes/ year of mixed waste
- Mixed waste includes household waste and similar from other sources that is “similar” to household waste.
- Materials facilities will need to register with EA. Materials facilities will need to measure and report on their inputs and outputs every quarter
- (except if the material input is to be directly transferred to another M/F for processing)
WRAP – MRF Guidance
- Published by WRAP in April 2014
- Available at: www.wrap.org.uk/content/sorting-materials-materials-recovery-facilities-mrfs
- Provides Information and guidance on improving the quality of materials sorted at MRFs and
- Everything else WRAP has to offer to MRF operators.
Who Qualifies and Who Doesn’t
The following flowchart will show whether the new regulatory requirements apply:
Which MFs are Unaffected?
- Waste transfer or bulking activities not involving sorting
- Sorting just one stream (e.g. paper does not qualify as a mixed waste)
- Incoming waste is unlike household waste (i.e. contains trade or industrial waste of a type clearly not present in significant quantities in waste from a household) or does not contain the target materials
- HWRC/ CA sites (Placing incoming waste in specific piles/bays is not sorting for the purpose of these regulations)
- An industrial material recovery facility taking large sized waste (e.g. in skips), not comprising household or household-like waste.
- Only treating residual waste (‘dirty’ Materials Facilities), tending to be black bag mixed and wet waste – not dry recyclables
- MBT unless Mixed Waste Material is accepted for any Materials Facilities operations that form part of the process
- A RDF plant without a sorting facility
- WEEE and waste batteries/ accumulators
- C&D Materials sorting Facilities
The Solution
Regulation 14 states that those collecting wastes also have a “duty not to remix waste.”
Virtus Wall Blocks is the solution. These interlocking blocks which are made using 87% recycled materials can build segregation walls very quickly, simply and economically.
For more information about the solution go to products
Author:
Bob Evans – Managing Director, Virtus Projects Ltd
CALL 0800 880 3135
Call today and tell us about your project. We can then design it and give you the quantities of blocks you require together with a quotation. We supply all the method and risk assessments and COSHH data sheets for installation. Opening hours from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday (except bank holidays).
