Waste Legislation
Animal By-Products Legislation
Animal By-Products Legislation - The most recent legislation is the UK 2005 Animal By-Products regulations (ABPR) and the related EC 1774/2002 Regulations have led to significant changes in the allowed use and treatment of animal by-products (ABPs).
This legislation divides ABPs into 3 categories according to level of risk
- Category 1: Very High Risk e.g. animals infected with BSE or Specified Risk Material such as brain or spinal cord
- Category 2: High Risk e.g. Diseased animals and fallen stock
- Category 3: Low Risk e.g. parts of animal fit for human consumption including former foodstuffs.
The legislation also defines allowed treatment methods for the
different ABP categories. Significantly use as animal feed
or disposal to landfill of untreated ABP are no longer allowed.
This has a considerable impact on the food industry as animal derived
former foodstuffs must now be treated in accordance with legislation.
Depending on the category of material, possible treatment options
available for ABPs include Anaerobic Digestion,
treatment in composting facilities and energy from
waste technologies such as pyrolysis or gasification.
Landfill Regulations -
Numerous initiatives now restrict the use of landfill, particularly as regards disposal of biodegradable waste streams.
Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS): From April 2005, this scheme began which will impose increasingly strict limits on the quantities of biodegradable waste which local authorities can landfill. If councils exceed their allowance they will be fined £150 per tonne of material. These allowances are tradable meaning that councils with low landfill rates can benefit by selling their allowance to other councils. LATS will be allocated to meet the Landfill Directive targets to reduce the quantity of biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill to 35% of 1995 levels by 2020. Additional information can be found at:
http://www.letsrecycle.com/legislation/landfill
http://www.letsrecycle.com/legislation/landfill/allowances.html
Landfill Tax Escalator: In the 2007 budget it was announced that Landfill Tax for active wastes would increase by £8 a tonne per year from 2008-09 until at least 2010-11. This equates to a cost of £48/tonne landfill tax for active wastes in 2010-11. The aim of this escalator is to encourage waste reduction and recycling and make alternative technologies such as AD more economically viable. http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/strategy/factsheets/landfilltax.htm
Reports:
UK 2005 Animal By-Products regulations (ABPR) - UK animal by-products legislation
EC 1774/2002 Regulations - EU animal by-products legislation
