Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018: ​Proposed Standard Conditions for Registration level activities

In January 2024, we consulted on our proposed types of authorisation for waste management activities – to replace the existing system of exemptions, licences and permits. Initially, we proposed eighteen registration level activities and after helpful stakeholder feedback during the consultation, we can confirm the following 22 waste management activities will require a registration level authorisation, subject to standard conditions.

• Transporting only your own waste.
   
• Transporting waste.
   
• Acting as a broker or dealer of waste.
   
• Storage of asbestos waste in a single sealed container not greater than 40 cubic metres (m³).
   
• Storage of less than, or equal to, 2,500 tonnes of waste per year for recovery except for activities to which the Code of Practice on Sampling and Reporting at Materials Facilities applies.
   
• Storage of less than, or equal to, 10 waste motor vehicles at any one time.
   
• Storage and treatment of less than, or equal to, 5 waste motor vehicles at any one time (not including waste electric and hybrid vehicles).
   
• Storage and treatment of less than, or equal to, 25m³ of waste cooking oil at any one time to manufacture biodiesel.
   
• Storage and treatment of less than, or equal to, 100,000m³ of waste in a 12-month period within the boundary of a water treatment works or a wastewater treatment works (including the sludge treatment facility).
   
• Storage and treatment of less than, or equal to, 20,000 tonnes of inert and excavation waste at any one time for the manufacture of construction aggregates.
   
• Storage and treatment of less than, or equal to, 10,000 tonnes of metal waste for recovery at any one time.
   
• Storage and treatment of less than, or equal to 1,000 tonnes of segregated wood waste for recovery at any one time.
   
• Storage and treatment of less than, or equal to, 500 tonnes of segregated non-hazardous waste for recycling at any one time, except for activities to which the Code of Practice on Sampling and Reporting at Materials Facilities applies.
   
• Storage and preparation for reuse of waste (not including WEEE).
   
• Storage and treatment of less than, or equal to, 35 tonnes of waste electronic and electrical equipment at any one time by repairing, refurbishing, or dismantling it for the purpose of:
  
  (a) reusing the WEEE for its original purpose,
  
  (b) reusing any dismantled components for their original purpose, or
  
  (c) manually dismantling WEEE for the purpose of recovery elsewhere.
   
• Storage and treatment of less than, or equal to, 500 tonnes of biowaste for composting in open systems at any one time, with a capacity of less than or equal to 75 tonnes a day.
   
• Storage and treatment of less than, or equal to, 500 tonnes of biowaste for composting in an enclosed system at any one time, with a capacity of less than or equal to 75 tonnes per day.
   
• Anaerobic digestion of less than, or equal to, 100 tonnes of biowaste per day.
   
• Use of waste on land for the purpose of soil improvement (single farm/site).
   
• Use of less than, or equal to, 300 tonnes of waste per year in construction
   
• Use of waste for recovery in:
  
  (a) construction; or
  
  (b) reclamation, restoration or improvement of land projects using less than or equal to 100,000 tonnes.
   
• Incineration of biomass waste 50kg to 3,000kg per hour.

Standard conditions for waste registrations

To improve consistency, the standard conditions for waste management activities will generally follow a common framework with core conditions appearing across the majority of activities.

In this section, we will set out the following:

• Core standard conditions for waste registrations: a list of the core standard conditions to be commonly used across waste management Registrations.
   
• Standard conditions for registration-level waste activities: where activity specific standard conditions will be required in addition to the core standard conditions. For example, a list of specific authorised waste types, site infrastructure, storage and treatment requirements, de-pollution of waste motor vehicles, or managing a composting process or dismantling Waste Electronic & Electrical Equipment (WEEE). These are explained in the specific section for that activity.

In addition to standard conditions, registration level activities will also be subject to a clear site boundary marking the area of the Authorised Place.

To support this consultation, we have developed draft guidance that we would like to get feedback on. The guidance is as follows:

• Waste storage and treatment guidance.
   
• Waste recovery plan guidance: Construction, restoration, reclamation and land improvement projects.

This guidance supports the requirements of the conditions for waste storage and treatment activities and the development of site-specific written management systems. Further guidance covering specific activities, such as the treatment of end-of-life vehicles, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), and the use of sewage sludge on land will be made available in due course.