Guidance on the recovery and disposal of waste in quarries

Overview

SEPA believes that there is scope for restoration projects in quarries utilising waste to be licensed as recovery operations. This consultation seeks views on the proposed factors that would be used to help make a determination on whether an operation would be seen as recovery or disposal.

This consultation will run for a period of 8 weeks and will close on 31st March 2017.

Why your views matter

Traditionally, a quarry restoration project utilising waste materials has been thought to be subject to control by SEPA in one of two ways namely

1 - a Pollution Prevention and Control permit for an inert landfill or

2 -  the registration of an exemption under Regulation 17 of the Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (particularly paragraphs 9 and 19).

Following discussions with operators and legal advice, SEPA now believes that there is scope for a third option - the issue of a waste management licence for a recovery activity.

This consultation sets out the context for SEPA's position and gives details of the different aspects that will be considered in the determination process should an application for a recovery process involving quarry restoration be received. 

What happens next

SEPA will consider all feedback and look to publish the revised guidance before the summer of 2017.