Waste from farms is not municipal waste and so it is not dealt with by the local Council. Farmers need to make their own private commercial arrangements to deal with the waste they produce from their business activities. This type of waste is regulated by the Environment Agency and you can contact them on 08708 506506 for guidance. This page provides some advice on dealing with waste from farms. Reducing waste from farms is not only good for the environment but makes economic sense too as it may improve your businesses efficiency. For more information please read the attached guidance document on farm waste or follow the link to DEFRA's webpage on farm waste minimisation.
Agricultural waste regulations
Since
2006 the new agricultural waste regulations affect whether or not you
can burn, bury, store, use your waste on the farm or send it
elsewhere. You also have to remember your Duty of Care when storing
or passing your waste to someone else. The idea is to protect the
environment and encourage more waste to be reused and recycled.
Are manure and slurries waste?
A
recent court decision decreed that manures and slurries are not waste
when used as a fertiliser on agricultural premises. However, other
legal controls such as the Nitrate Vulnerable Zone Action Programme
and Groundwater Regulations still need to be complied with.
What can you do with your waste?
There
are five basic options: -
1)
You can store waste for up to 12 months as long as it is stored
securely, so it cannot escape from your control – such as become
windblown or leak into nearby streams.
2)
Take the waste to a recovery or disposal site yourself.
3)
Give the waste to someone else. Most local waste carriers advertise
in the local telephone directories.
4)
Obtain a Waste Management Licence (WML) or a Pollution Prevention and
Control (PPC) Permit. The Environment Agency warns that this is not
for farmers who want to continue to operate a farm dump/tip as this
will cost tens of thousands of pounds and is not a cost-effective
option. It is only for people who are seriously thinking about
diversifying into professional waste management activities.
5)
Register licence exemptions – most farms need to register one or
more exemptions.
What are the exemptions?
There
are 21 available exemptions from the regulations. The main ones are
listed below:
•
Using
waste paper as animal bedding.
•
Using
tyres on a silage clamp.
•
Chipping
logs and branches from cutting down trees and hedges, and shredding
plant material.
•
Clearing
mud and debris (dredgings) from water-courses such as streams and
ditches and depositing it along their banks.
•
Using
a compactor bin to crush waste, such as baling waste plastic silage
wrap, shredding paper packaging, crushing empty containers, and
cleaning pesticide containers.
•
Burning
naturally occurring plant matter, including logs and branches from
fallen or chopped down trees, untreated timber from fence mending,
hedge trimmings, leaves and bark.
•
Disposal
of plant tissue wastes such as diseased or spoiled crops on land at
the farm where they are produced, for example, rotten potatoes.
You
can get free advice on environmental regulations and how they may
effect your farm from by following the link to the NetRegs.gov.uk
website.
