Pollution Prevention and Control: Waste Incineration

The Waste Incineration Directive 2000/76/EC has introduced stringent operating conditions and sets minimum technical requirements for waste incineration and co-incineration. The requirements of the Directive have been developed to reflect the ability of incineration plants to more cost effectively achieve high standards of emission control in comparison to the 1980s. It covers virtually all waste incineration and co-incineration plants.

The main aim of the Directive is to prevent and limit negative environmental effects by emissions into air, soil, surface and ground-water, and the resulting risks to human health, from the incineration and co-incineration of waste. It is not of itself concerned with the place of incineration in waste management strategies, but with ensuring that incinerators continue to be tightly regulated.

Following a consultation paper we published in June 2002, Regulations came into effect on 28 December 2002 in order to implement the Directive. Accompanying Directions have been made, to instruct the Regulators (the Environment Agency or the Local Authority) to implement the Regulations, and we have now also produced Guidance on the Directive.

Guidance

This Guidance describes the scope, and regulatory and technical requirements of the Waste Incineration Directive. The guide is aimed at operators of incineration and co-incineration plant, regulators, waste producers and waste managers, all of whom will be affected by the implementation of the Directive. The Guidance includes the text of the Directions, the Regulations and the Directive (separate copies are also available below).

We shall be grateful for comments upon what it says and on experience of applying it, and it may therefore be regarded as a form of consultation document. However it should be regarded as established guidance. It does not, of course have any legal standing in its own right.

Responses to this consultation paper should be sent by 16th May 2003, to:

David Demain
Industrial Pollution Control Branch
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
Zone 4/H11, Ashdown House
123 Victoria Street
London SW1 6DE
e-mail: control.pollution@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Please indicate whether or not you would be content for your comments to be made publicly available, if required. If you need to speak to an official about this paper, please phone David Demain on 020 7944 6313.

Copies of Guidance

The guidance is available for downloading as follows:

• Executive Summary only (15kb)
• Full text of Guidance (including Directions, Regulations and Directive) (860kb)
• Covering letter sent to consultees (15kb)

Printed copies are available from Defra Publications, Admail 6000, London, SW1A 2XX, Tel: 08459 556000, Fax: 020 8957 5012, Email: defra@iforcegroup.com. Please quote reference "PB8005"

Directions, Regulations and Directive are available as follows:

• Pollution Prevention and Control (Waste Incineration Directive) (England and Wales) Direction 2002 (15kb)

• The Environmental Protection (Waste Incineration Directive) (England) Direction 2002 (15kb)

• The Waste Incineration (England and Wales) Regulations 2002, SI 2002/2980 (UK Statutory Instruments are available at the Her Majesty's Stationery Office web site)

• Directive 2000/76/EC on the incineration of waste (140kb) (the general index to European Union legal documents is at this site)

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