020 7001 6000The pre-treatment requirement of the landfill Regulations came into force on 30th October 2007.
The requirement
The requirement is that, before being disposed of in landfill, all waste must be treated to reduce its quantity and/ or its environmental impact. The onus is on you as the waste producer , to treat your waste at source or arrange to have your waste treated for you.
"Treatment" is defined by the environment Agency using a "three-point test":
1. It must be a physical , thermal, chemical or biological process ( this "process" includes sorting)
2. It must change the characteristics of the waste
3. It must do so in order to
a) Reduce its quantity,
b) Reduce its hazardous nature,
c) Facilitate its handling or
d) Enhance its recovery
What this means to you
As a waste producer, you need to ensure that your waste is pre-treated before it goes to landfill. You have two main options:
- Treat the waste yourself by sorting your waste on-site ( that is , by separating recyclables from non- recyclables), or
- Ensure your Recycling and Resource Management provider treats your waste on your behalf
The landfill operator has a legal obligation to ensure that the waste being disposed of in their landfill site has been pre-treated.
You should not assume that your Recycling and Resource Management provider will treat the waste for you; many providers will charge you a fee to do so.
How Bywaters can help
Our unique Bycycler "recycling" system is designed to make segregation at source easy for you - giving you peace of mind and improving your environmental performance. If you are unable to sort your waste yourself, we already treat the waste we collect from our customers' sites at our waste transfer station in accordance with the new requirement - and we do not charge extra for this.
