Tony
Blair may not yet have found any weapons of mass destruction in
What
remains of
The Waste Management Regulations 1994, implementing EC waste directive 91/156,
introduced into
It
has fallen to me for the first time to attend to the disposal of the remains of
a pet, a golder retriever. Having
taken on board increasing advice for society to opt for so-called green burials
instead of cremation, which scientists now tell us is more polluting than
burial, I thought I would investigate the possibility of burying the dog, before
agreeing to the more usual canine cremation.
Just two telephone calls were enough to reveal that following certain new
EU regulations in relation to waste disposal, British canine and pet cemeteries
have been practically put out of business. Pet cemetery owners apparently
have to fork out in the region of £5000 to comply. The result is they are
closing down their burial business and converting entirely to cremation which
according to the information I have, in relation to either human or pet
cremation, is more polluting. (
The Creosote Council, which
represented the interests of manufacturers and
suppliers of industrial and DIY grades of creosote along with timber
treatment companies and users of
creosoted timber, was dissolved at its last Annual
General Meeting on
Georgina Downs, a young singer who, as I reported last July, has fought a
fearless campaign to expose the startling gap in the law which deprives members
of the public of any protection from damage by toxic crop-sprays.
She and her parents suffered severe health problems from repeated
exposure to pesticides drifting over their
An extra 250,000 cars will be abandoned or torched on the streets of Britain each year as a result of the government's decision to make the poorest motorists pay for the disposal of their old cars, says a report out today. The government's mishandling of an EU directive aimed at increasing recycling of cars and reducing pollution from them will dwarf the problem of the fridge mountain of 2002 and cost local authorities more than £100m in clean-up costs, the Institute for European Environmental Policy says. The government is already nine months late in implementing the EU end-of-life vehicle directive and has been threatened with prosecution by the European commission. The Department of Trade and Industry hopes to produce proposals next month which will make the last owner of the vehicle pay for the cost of disposal, which it estimates will be £40 but the scrap industry says will be £100. The reason for the increased costs is that the directive insists that waste oil and other fluids, as well as glass, rubber and plastic, are removed from the 2m vehicles scrapped each year. In the meantime the value of scrap steel has been falling. The government also expects local authorities to clamp and remove from the streets 200,000 unlicensed vehicles a year. The incentive for law-abiding motorists to pay for their cars to be scrapped is that they will have to continue paying road tax unless they can prove they have sold the vehicle, it has been stolen, or a scrapping certificate is produced. But the report says one-third of cars more than 10 years old are owned by the poorest 20% of the community. "The temptation to avoid paying the costs of disposal of an old car will probably be greatest for the least well off. When scrappage results from a sudden breakdown or MOT failure, many of the least well-off motorists may find themselves in a 'can't afford to fix it, can't afford to scrap it' dilemma. Thus it seems likely that dumped or burnt-out cars will become even more common in deprived areas. "The potential impact of this is underlined by a recent circular from the then DTLR , which comments that: 'Research has indicated that the presence of abandoned vehicles on the streets encourages crime and can set a strongly detrimental (and visually harmful) tone to deprived communities'." The DTI is confident the proposed measures will work but the report says the number of cars abandoned on the streets each year could double to 600,000. (The Guardian January 14, 2003)
"HMG
has commissioned a 181 page Risk Assessment on the composting of catering waste
containing meat and the spreading of the compost to land. The authors cover
their backsides by slipping in amongst all the complicated scientific formulas,
the following question and answer-: 'Could composted catering waste spread
endemic infections to uninfected animal herds?' 'The question of whether the
application of composted catering waste to agricultural land could spread the
infection to uninfected herds and flocks is not tackled directly'. The
risk assessment has not answered the only question that really matters, because
the author knows that the answer is not the one that DEFRA wants.
DEFRA is desperate to avoid the wrath of the EU for the UK's lack of progress
in reducing landfill and wants to implement composting as soon as possible
and to hell with the risks to UK agriculture.
HMG is planning the introduction of composting of meat in the new year.
" (Warmwell.com 21/10/02)
THE number of abandoned cars in Norwich and the UK could triple in the next year, it was claimed today. A new European Union directive requiring car dismantlers and scrap metal merchants to recycle more vehicle parts could mean owners of clapped out bangers will have to pay an extra £50 to have them scrapped. At present, drivers of old cars are abandoning them, rather than paying £20 for them to be properly disposed. That disposal cost could rise to £70 under the new EU directive. John Hesketh, president of the Motor Vehicle Dismantlers' Association, said: "Its a problem everyone knows about but no-one is grasping the nettler and its going to put up the cost of dismantling cars immeasurably. "At the moment it seems to be accepted 300,000 cars are abandoned each year. That figure could jump three-fold." (EveningNews24 March 14, 2002)
Businesses across the European Union face being held financially responsible for environmental damage they cause, under a controversial draft law due to be proposed next month by the European Commission. The plans would establish an EU-wide regime requiring national governments to prevent or restore any "significant environmental damage" caused on their territory, with the companies responsible bearing the costs of the clean-up. Governments would have five years to recover the money. Where companies could not be found liable, governments would still have to ensure all measures needed were properly financed, a duty missing from existing liability regimes in individual EU states. Winning the agreement of ministers and the European Parliament could prove to be one of the most difficult tasks yet faced by Margot Wallstrom, EU environment commissioner. The proposals come as European companies are already facing tighter curbs on their emissions of gases blamed for global warming. While not opposing the principle, business leaders fear the proposal leaves too many questions unanswered. "It's extremely difficult to quantify damage to natural resources," explained Erik Berggren, senior policy adviser at Unice, the European employers' federation. "Insurance companies won't be able to give people cover if they can't assess the risk for natural resource damage." Although the scheme would not apply retrospectively, Unice also fears problems in cases where it could not be proved conclusively whether damage had been caused before the regime came into force. The Commission calculates the baseline costs of the proposal at around E1.5bn ($1.3bn) every year, less than 0.02 per cent of gross domestic product or less than E4 per EU inhabitant. (Financial Times November 25 2001)
A Government attempt to blame the European Commission for delays in recycling old fridges backfired last night when Brussels said Michael Meacher, the Environment minister, was responsible for "mishandling" the issue. Tories and Liberal Democrats have accused ministers of botching the introduction of new EU rules on recycling fridges. Mr Meacher fended off attacks in the Commons last week by claiming his department had been "badly let down" by Brussels. Mr Meacher said delays in providing the right facilities to remove harmful CFC gas were because the European Commission failed to let London know if the rules applied to the removal of CFCs from insulation foam as well as coolant gases in fridge motors. But the EU's environment commissioner, Margot Wallstrom, reacted angrily. She said yesterday: "These accusations against the Commission in connection with the UK's late implementation of EU-wide rules on removal of CFCs from refrigerators are entirely unfounded. From the outset, the UK has been fully involved in the process of establishing what this agreement implies in practical terms." She said Britain had been involved in talks in October 2000 when the details of extracting CFCs from insulating foam were discussed. (4 February 2002 Independent)
The problem with salvaging old fridges is not the recovery of the CFC gas, it the difficulty of recovering the CFC-11 blowing agent in the insulation. The British government has not yet issued the specification for the plant to process the insulation even though warned about it by industry in 2000. In a letter to the Daily Telegraph Richard Lawton writes that his company specializes in testing refrigeration equipment, and he has carried out tests on the ageing of insulated foams containing the CFC-11 blowing agent. After about 12 years, ageing ceases because all the agent has leaked out and been replaced by air and water vapor.. (Daily Telegraph 24/11/01)
In the old days there were butter mountains and wine lakes to illustrate the inefficiency and waste of the European Union. Now, for contemporary audiences, comes the "fridge mountain". It started with a European Commission regulation reclassifying old refrigerators as "hazardous waste" from January 1 and insisting that all CFC gases be removed. The regulation probably seemed a jolly good idea - saving the ozone layer, and all that. But Britain disposes of 2.7 million old refrigerators a year. Until recently, fridge merchants would recycle them for sale in Africa and elsewhere. Soon shops will not be allowed to do that. One can ask one's council to dispose of an old fridge, for a fee. But even councils will not be able to dispose of old fridges, according to the new regulation. Britain does not have the right equipment and may not get it for another six months. So local authorities will have to store a million or more fridges and guard them, too, since they are "hazardous waste". It may cost up to £100 million. If councils increase their charges for taking fridges away, many more will be dumped on roadsides, in woods and so on. In which case they will rust and may then leak, giving off - wait for it - CFC gases. And the Government's solution? Don't buy a new fridge - hold on to your old one. (Electronic Telegraph 23/11/01)
The European Parliament, on Thursday, backed a report calling for testing of chemical substances, whose annual production exceeds one tonne, in order to weigh up their effects on human health and on the environment, amid strong opposition from the industry. The Parliament urged a general reform of the European Union's chemicals policy and opened the way for the European Commission to table proposals on testing and labelling tens of thousands of substances. The European Union heads of states had committed the Union, at the Gothenburg Summit in June, to reassess the Union's chemical policy by 2004. 30,000 chemicals More than 30,000 chemical substances produced in quantities exceeding one tonne will have to be tested and labelled, according to the report backed by the Parliament. Moreover, 140 substances considered particularly harmful for human health and the environment have been put on an emergency list for testing and measures for risk limitation proposed. However, another 70,000 substances produced in smaller quantities will not be covered by the same requirements, amid concerns of the members of the parliament that a too-restrictive policy might lead to job losses in Europe's large chemical industry. (EUobserver.com 17/11/01)
Both politicians and environmental organisations are set to be deeply disappointed by the European Commission’s apparent u-turn in relation to its policy on the protection of consumer health and the environment with regards to chemicals. Last year the Commission promised that 3 000 of the most used chemicals within the European Union were about the be examined for their impact on public health and the environment and that the ones which posed a danger ought to be replaced by others if possible. However, heavy pressure from the chemicals industry seems to have created a change of heart within the Commission and created a clear softening of its stance. This much is evident in the draft for a new chemicals directive, according to the Danish newspaper Politiken. According to the new draft, thousands of chemicals, used in medicine, foods, animal feeds and cosmetics look set to be execmpt from the new rules, as well as the existence of safe alternatives is no longer enogh to outlaw the use of dangerous chemicals. (EUobserver.com 7/11/02)
Under the Packaging Waste Directive 94/62 all medium and large firms that use packaging have to record it. Trago Mills superstores in the SouthWest sells 144,000 different lines of goods. Under the regulations they have to fill in forms giving the exact weights and quantities for each different packaging material used to package them. One item might have a plastic container, a plastic cap, and be sold in a cardboard box. To complete the forms Trago Mills has to write off to more than 1,000 different manufacturers, asking how much of each material they have supplied in the past year. If no answer is forthcoming the firm employs someone part-time to weigh each item of packaging and record the result. The person’s salary alone costs £10,000. The only purpose of this extra work is to compile national re-cycling targets, which are in reality wholly meaningless. But at least the system helps to provide employment for hundreds of officials. (Sunday Telegraph 23/1/00)
The Commission has published guidelines on the use of the "precautionary principle" in analysing risk in environmental and health issues. It applies where scientific evidence is inconclusive but preliminary evaluation indicates reasonable grounds for concern about potentionally dangerous effects. (The Week in Europe 3/2/00)
Pre Norm 13432, has been accepted by EU scientists as to what is, in fact, biodegradable. The following is a list of non-biodegradable substances: · a leaf · paper · collagen and many animal proteins · silk · grain proteins · many hydrophobic polymers designed for durability in nature The reason these materials will not pass, is that they do not biodegrade within 6 - 12 months, and will not give off 90% CO2 in that time. (April 2000 European Vice http://www.geocities.com/europeanvice/Vice3.html)
The villagers of Gillamoor, North Yorkshire, are battling to save their water supplies after a ruling by the Drinking Water Inspectorate in London that the water from local springs is in breach of the EU directive 80/778 because it is too "soft" and contains minute traces of aluminium, although these present "no threat to human health". They have been told by Yorkshire Water that their supply is now to be replaced by "hard" water piped from a new borehole, at a cost of £3 million. (Sunday Telegraph 28/11/99). Yorkshire Water claimed there was a risk of contamination by cryptosporidium from sheep on the moors. BBC Countryfile arranged for tests that showed the water conforms to quality standards. But the villagers are now required to prove that contamination will never happen in the future. (BBC 1 TV Countryfile 28/11/99)
MILLIONS of litres of cooking oil from fish and chip shops and fast-food restaurants may be dumped illegally down drains if Europe-wide moves to stop animal feed becoming contaminated with toxins become law. Officials believe the ban on recycling used vegetable oils, backed by the European Commission and the majority of member states, might lead to river pollution and a rise in the level of city drains, which could become clogged with health-hazardous oils and fats. Some waste and foul smelling cooking oils are likely to be dumped to avoid collection charges, critics claim. Now about 350,000 tonnes a year of used cooking oil are recycled for use in feed. The oils are collected free of charge from caterers and big food manufacturers by recycling companies which sell it on to feed manufacturers. The new rules will make used oil worthless, forcing collection companies to charge to dispose of it. The Environment Agency said yesterday that it feared the Commission was moving too quickly. "We are very concerned that these oils will be dumped illegally," a spokeswoman said. (Times 21/7/99)
Traffic fumes from Europe were partly to blame for Britain's failure to hit a key pollution target. Europe was responsible for a significant proportion of particulate air pollution here, said Mr Prescott the Deputy Prime Minister. (Daily Telegraph 14 January 1999)
A Leicestershire tree surgeon, Mr Farmer, has for years been transporting clippings and pruned branches from town gardens to a field in the countryside, where he can burn them safely without inconveniencing neighbours. The Environment Agency informed him he was committing an offence under the EC waste management regulations. Controlled waste may only be burned on the land where it was produced. Mr Farmer has had to spend thousands of pounds on a shredder so he can spread the chips on the field where he used have his bonfire (Sunday Telegraph 4/10/98)
Almost all communal Guy Fawkes bonfires will be illegal. They contravene the EC waste directive. Thousands of councils and charity organisations will be committing a criminal offence, punishable by unlimited fines, because they are burning waste materials that were not produced on the land where the fires are situated. The directive 91/156 does not mention bonfires; British officials added these. Also forbidden is the burning of waste products such as cardboard boxes, pallets, wood from fields nearby, or building materials, unless from demolition work. (Sunday Telegraph 4/10/98)
A Welsh company producing printed circuit boards has, according to EU directives, to clean its waste water to ensure there is no more that 1 part per million of copper. The fresh water it receives from Welsh Water has 7 ppm of copper. (Labtech Ltd 31/8/98)
Owners of farmland have been warned to beware of a rising tide of sewage sludge heading for the fields. At present it is disposed of either at sea or on agricultural land where it can act as a fertiliser and soil conditioner. But an EC directive banned disposal at sea after next year and the amount of sludge disposed of on British farmland is set to double to a million tonnes a year. Sewage sludge usually contains heavy metals and it can also contain potentially dangerous pathogens such as salmonella and hepatitis A, as well as parasitic worms and other organisms. (Shropshire Farmer April 1998)
Brussels bureaucrats have plans to make householders sort their rubbish into 23 different categories. Products could be marked in shops to make sorting easier. (Sunday Times 15/2/98)
Makers of fridge's, dishwashers, cookers, computers and other electrical appliances would be forced to pay for the recycling, removing and disposing of worn out equipment under a law being drawn up by Brussels. Broken down machinery would be picked up from owner's homes. The plan is to stop people from disposing of appliances at the roadside, in rubbish dumps and shredders. (D Telegraph 27/1/98). Up to 90% of large household goods, office equipment and dispensing machines are to be taken back by their makers. Smaller household goods have lower recovery rates of 60%, e.g. telephones, TVs, lamps, electric toys and electric tools. Industry claims that materials change so rapidly that even equipment a few years old cannot be recycled into new models, making the targets unworkable. (E Voice 18/6/98). Electrical manufacturers and retailers are putting pressure on the government to resist a planned Brussels' directive on recycling. The Commission appears intent on pressing ahead with a proposal to increase recycling by requiring electrical retailers to offer to take back old equipment when selling a similar item. It would cover everything from deep-fat fryers to musical socks, and retailers estimated it will cost them £500 million a year. (FT 13/10/99)
The EU wants to ban lead as a hazardous substance. Manufacturers claim there is no viable alternative to lead solder to make electrical connections. (E Voice 18/6/98). The draft EU directive on waste from electrical and electronic equipment is far reaching and has the potential to impose significant trade barriers, without promoting enhanced environmental protection and very costly to society. The directive reflects significant misunderstanding of electronics equipment, lead, plastic, consumables and the world-wide business related to their manufacture, their end-of-life and their environmental impact. The proposals are not based on sound science and are currently economically and technologically infeasible. (Trans Atlantic Business Dialogue Charlotte briefing Nov 1998)
The Packaging Directive requires any companies that create over 750 tons of packaging materials to recycle at least 50%. This applies to normal packing as well as items such as coat hangers, envelopes, tins, etc. (Guardian 12/8/97)
As forecast, fly-tipping has increased immensely following the EU inspired land-fill tax. (BBC 1 Countryfile 9/11/97). The Quarry Products Association wants measures to discourage operators from dumping waste illegally or on unlicensed sites. Their members report a 54% fall in waste deliveries to their sites. (FT 3/1/98)
The EU signed the Climate Change Convention to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide to 1990 levels by the year 2000. Under the special deal negotiated by the EU, Spain, one of the world's top 20 emitters, is allowed to increase output of carbon dioxide by 25%. Similarly, Portugal can increase by 40% and Ireland by 20%. Other countries with similar emission levels, such as Switzerland and New Zealand have to make cuts. The reason for the concession to Spain, etc. is that the EU demanded that the whole area should be judged on its performance allowing some countries to increase emissions. (New Scientist 6/5/95). At the Kyoto meeting in December 1997 it was agreed in principle that countries could trade in spare emission permissions. (New Scientist 13/12/97). The Group of 8 leading industrialised countries has agreed that emission trading would not be used to evade painful domestic reductions in greenhouse gases. Trading would be supplemental to domestic action. (FT 6/4/98). ). Revised EU targets are for Britain to reduce greenhouse gases by 12% between 1990 and 2010, Germany and Denmark by 22%, Austrian 21%, Holland 8% and Italy 7%, Sweden 5%. Portugal can increase emissions by 24%, Greece 23% and Spain 15%. France and Finland have no change. (D Telegraph 15/6/98)
Small incinerators used by schools and vets costing £3,000 are required to have £20,000 of pollution monitoring equipment to comply with EEC directives on environmental protection. The firm making these incinerators has ceased their production and sacked 6 staff (S Telegraph 11/7/93).
As a result of EU legislation restricting the further use of burial sites for industrial and domestic rubbish, the UK is having to start building a large number of giant industrial incinerator plants. 170 are currently planned. These things have smoke stacks over 200 feet high, and burn over 200,000 tons of waste a year. The real snag is that they need to be situated all over the country, not just in areas of heavy industry. There are currently plans for one overlooking Canterbury Cathederal, and another on the South Downs less than three miles from the Glyndebourne Opera House for instance. The smoke stacks pump out dioxins, heavy metal particles, and other nasties. This is a typical example of EU legislation forcing the UK to do that which it would otherwise choose not to do. (Internet posting 11/5/00 ukip@rodmell.prestel.co.uk)
Under the Clean Air Directive, Lord Scarborough has been banned from burning log fires at Sandbeck Park House. The fire has been burning since the 18th Century. (Times 17/12/95)
Directive 90/396 on appliances burning gaseous fuels says they must be submitted to a test costing £5,000. There are six EU makers of glasshouse heaters and they are all British. Four low volume producers are expected to close because of the cost of testing (S Telegraph 12/3/95) Hotbox Heaters of Lymington sent its heaters to a Dutch testing station to obtain it's CE mark at a cost of £20,000. It was told that they could now be sold in the UK but because there are 37 varieties of gas used in the EU the heaters would have to be tested separately for each one. It is a criminal offence to sell heaters without a CE mark. (D Mail 12/2/96).
Small and medium scrap businesses to be hounded out of existence with new regulations, e.g. all carriers must be licensed, materials must be certified, disposal of all waste must be recorded. Police can stop any vehicle on suspicion of carrying waste. So farewell then, Steptoe and Son - the European Commission wants to put you on the scrap heap. The casual rag and bone man is in the firing line as Brussels attempts to bring environmental controls into the scrapyard. All scrap merchants will need to be licensed from the beginning of next year, under plans being considered by Euro-MPs in Strasbourg this week. The real target is what Eurocrats call "end-of-life" cars - unsightly rusty old bangers littering scrapyards across Europe. They are set to become a thing of the past under proposals obliging carmakers to use more recyclable materials. Following European Parliament demands back in 1992, the commission is recommending tighter controls on car disposal plants and scrapyards and measures to encourage the recycling of parts. (9/2/99 PA News)
The end-of-life directive proposes that 95% of the parts used in all vehicle models approved after 2005 would have to be re-used for the original purpose and 8% of the parts would have to be recycled. For vehicles approved before 2005 the targets would not apply until 2015. Europe's carmakers fear that, if the targets were adopted, they would be left footing the bill. They also argued that the requirements would impose an especially large financial burden on smaller manufacturers. (European Voice 17 June 1999). Car manufacturers have earned the government that new EU rules on vehicle recycling could cost the industry hundreds of millions of pounds if Britain implements the legislation more rigorously than other member states. Under the rules carmakers will be obliged from next July to pay most of the recycling costs of all new cars on the road. From 2007 they will become liable for recycling all cars, no matter when built or sold. The SMMT suspect the government will ignore the transition timetable. About 1.5m cars are scrapped each year and recycling rules could cost £300 per car. (Financial Times 10/7/01) Britain's motor industry has won a reprieve from the government that has said it will not impose more stringent rules than the rest of the EU. Carmakers will be forced to pay for recycling of all vehicles by 2007 instead of 2002. (Financial Times 28/11/01)
A directive on pollution and waste will allow the final owner of a car to claim the cost of removal to an approved waste recyling depot from the original manufacturer. (CEC WE/27/97)
A decision on proposed legislation to govern end-of-life vehicles was postponed after Germany bowed to pressure from its carmakers and blocked the measure, with the UK's support. There was anger in many member states over an apparent trade-off between Bonn and London, with Germany agreeing to support the UK in its opposition to plans to give artists the right to royalties when their works are sold anywhere in the EU in return for British support in blocking the end-of-life vehicles directive. (European Voice 1 July 1999)
Under the proposed end-of-life recycling directive, carmakers must recycle all the vehicles they ever made. They will have to make provisions in their accounts to meet the costs. Rover will have to spend £100m and such a provision will make the company insolvent (BBC 2 TV Money Programme 3/10/99)
The Waste Disposal Directive 91/156/EEC emphasises the need to recycle waste. Scrap metal yards, however, have to obtain a Waste Management licence costing £1,800 and £850 per annum. These useful recycling agencies are unlikely to be stimulated by this disincentive. (Dire Directives Jan 1996)
Companies supplying products in paper sacks will have to collect used sacks and dispose of them at their own expense. (International Milling Flour & Feed March 1993) The EU Directive on Waste & Packaging divides retailers from packers and leaves manufacturers of different materials at loggerheads. All countries are committed to recover between 50% and 65% of packaging. There is little confidence that some EU countries will police the regulations effectively. (FT 11/1/95). The separation of paper from household waste has been so efficient that the residual rubbish will not burn in municipal incinerators. Carefully separated waste paper is now fed into the incinerators to allow combustion. (Private communication).
The EU packaging waste directive 94/62 requires companies which use packaging materials to keep a record of every transaction. The data must include a statement of the weight of every piece of plastic, paper, etc. A company making electrical relays received a statement from a supplier that goods had been packaged in cardboard and shrink wrapping weighing precisely four ounces. The cost to industry of the regulations is estimated to be £1bn a year. (Sunday Telegraph 22/6/97). Companies with over £1m turnover will have to record every scrap of packaging, even polystyrene cups in vending machines. Whenever products are delivered the packaging will have to be weighed. One wholesaler was advised to empty the oil out of cans so they could be weighed. It is a criminal offence to disobey the regulations. The information is used to set percentage targets for recycling. (S Telegraph 17/5/98)
Statutory Instrument 96/972 was never debated in Parliament but it implements Directives 75/442/EEC and 91/689/EEC on recycling waste. This covers scrap lead acid batteries. Every time a batch of old batteries is moved a multipart form has to be filled in and UKP10 paid to the Environment Agency. Although there was an efficient system for salvaging batteries it will now close down, as it will not be worth the trouble. The Directives have been gold-plated by UK officials (Eurofacts 8/11/96). The collection rate for old batteries has fallen from 95% to 80% and the countryside is becoming littered with old ones. Batteries were usually collected in batches of 20 from garages. A batch is worth less than the cost of the five-part set of forms. This means that some 20,000 batteries a year are no longer being recycled. (Sunday Telegraph 23 & 30/11/97)
Farmers and livestock feed processors will have to register to transport sugar beet pulp, brewer's grains, and wheat bran. These are classed as waste products requiring a permit costing £850 pa. (Farmers Guardian 19/2/93)
Horse owners, farmers and pet owners should have a waste management licence to hold and dispose of waste sawdust/woodshavings for animal bedding (FT 24/4/93)
Shopkeepers providing a customer with an empty box to carry away their purchases are now liable to a hefty fine. These are classed as waste and can only be transported by registered persons. (FT 24/4/93). Bill McKenzie a shopkeeper appeared in the Ross & Cromarty criminal court charged with sending his waste cardboard boxes to an organic farm for composting without filling in the requisite waste transfer forms. The waste regulations have prevented a baker from feeding surplus bread to the swans (S Telegraph 13/3/94).
Furniture makers banned from giving away offcuts as firewood as this is classed as hazardous waste. Householders collecting the waste must obtain a waste handling licence, cost £95, and a waste management licence at a cost of £1,800 (ST 5/9/93).
Anyone who helps to raise funds for, say, the church, by collecting waste paper from neighbours must have a Waste Disposal Carriers licence, cost £95. The penalty for not complying with the law is confiscation of the vehicle, a fine of £20,000, or imprisonment. (Hereford & Worcester Waste Management Executive)
A householder who employs a builder creating rubble for disposal must, by law, record the builder's Waste Carriers licence number, note a description of the waste and what it is contained in, the time and date, which licensed tip it is to go to and keep this record for two years. (Country Landowner February 1993).
If apple pomice (from cider making) is to be used as fertiliser it has to be transported by a registered haulier and the field where it is to be spread notified to the Waste Management Authority with cropping details.
Farmyard manure can be freely sold unless it is over a year old when it is classed as toxic waste. The farmer must register as an exempt toxic waste processor and notify the Waste Management Authority about storage and disposal. If a gardener or allotment society buys manure it must be used within a year otherwise they must obtain a license from the Waste Management Authority. In addition, if manure is used as a mulch it is classed as toxic waste liable for licensing. But if it is dug in then it need not be licensed. (Garden News 1-12-93) The EU is to cancel the exemption of farmyard manure so that under the UK waste disposal regulations farmers will have to pay a landfill tax of £2 per ton spread on the fields (CLA Journal March 1996). Manure and compost heaps must be on a concrete base, according to an EU directive (BBC R4 26/5/96)
Soil dug from a trench cannot be spread over adjacent land but must be taken
to a landfill site. This is an example of UK officials gold plating an EU
directive (S Telegraph 12/11/95) Clean spoil must go to an approved landfill
site, or an "exempt site". A builder has to apply to the EA to make
the place he wishes to dump the spoil an "exempt site". (Environment
Agency 16/7/03)
The Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive would not go further than our own existing laws. The EU's desire for harmonisation, however, gives our own officials a tempting opportunity to gold plate existing legislation and thrust added burdens on UK industry. The directive should be resisted on the grounds that under the subsidiarity principle national governments should be left to enforce their own regulations (CLA May 1996).
In a reversal of normal UK practice officials have severely weakened the 1990 EU directive on the disclosure of environmental information. The directive provides for freedom of information on the environment but the privatised utilities are exempt for the regulations. The water service companies say that they have neither statutory duties nor hold public responsibilities for the environment under the UK interpretation of the directive (FT 4/12/96)
The Physical Agents Directive on noise, vibration and electromagnetic radiation will cost UK industry £3bn to implement. (D Telegraph 22/3/95). The Directive has been opposed by the government because the cost is five times the benefits it would deliver (FT 25/11/95). EU proposals for Europe-wide noise mapping and target measures to meet EU-wide standards in the UK would cost £5bn. Proposals for deterrent rail track charges to discourage railway noise would make railways less attractive than road transport. The eventual EU decision will be taken by qualified majority voting which means our government cannot use a blocking vote. (Independent 27/12/96)