REGULATION OF WASTE INCINERATION PROCESSES BY THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY IN ENGLAND AND WALES

摘要

The Environment Agency regulates all plants burning hazardous waste and all other plants burning non-hazardous waste with a waste input of greater than 1 tonne per hour. The paper discusses the need for incineration plants to form a part of the regional or local waste strategy and how this must represent Best Practicable Environmental Option for the area considering reduction, recycle, recover and reuse. The place of incineration as one of several options in developing a sustainable integrated waste management strategy is discussed. The paper also includes the Environment Agency procedures for consultation with the local residents, the local authorities, health authorities and other Government and non-Government bodies. The Environment Agency ensures national consistency of regulation by issuing guidance to its field staff, which is updated on a regular basis. This guidance and the standards it requires are briefly described. The paper discusses the implementation of various European Union Directives in England and Wales, what effects these have had and will have on commercial activity and more importantly the substantial reductions in emissions that have been achieved. Actual monitoring results from some incinerators are included to support this point.