The Environment Agency has published a web-based tool to aid the assessment of whether a waste derived material can be classed as non-waste so outside of waste regulatory controls. The publication follows are the official launch of the IsItWaste? tool to industry on Tuesday, 11 November 2014 at the Houses of Parliament.
The tool has been developed by EQual, which is an EU LIFE+ funded programme supporting businesses to re-use and recycle waste materials into new products whilst protecting human health and the environment. The Environment Agency is leading the programme with its six partners: Rijkswaterstaat (the Netherlands’ Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment), The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, Organics Recycling Group (part of the Renewable Energy Association), Environmental Services Association, Northern Ireland Environment Agency & Energy UK.
The tool is based on the By-Products (Article 5) and End of Waste (Article 6) parts of the Waste Framework Directive (Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC ). It should prove to be a valuable resource to facilitate assessment of materials as, either, waste or non-waste. This process, in itself, should be allow more materials to be declared as non-wastes and, therefore, capable to being used as valuable resources & reduce the regulatory burden on businesses.
The tool is accompanied by a User Guide to:
- access the IsItWaste tool
- do a self assessment to help you decide whether your material is likely to be a waste or not
- ask the Environment Agency Definition of Waste Panel for an opinion
It should be noted that, although, the tool is for England only as it’s based on English case law. Northern Ireland and Wales may have similar tools.
Now is a great opportunity to access the IsItWaste? tool at http://bit.ly/1uvMX8r to assess your by-products and end-of-life wastes. A copy of the User Guide can be found at http://bit.ly/1xCU1DY