By Marco Muia aka “Enviroman”
Here goes another year in the wacky world of waste. We are in for a busy year again with lots of legislative changes, but one old issue just won’t go away. Despite having a shutdown over the Christmas break whilst the construction industry closes down and skip sales slow down for a week or so, you get back to the yard and that great stockpile of screened soil is still there looking for a home and probably the only thing on site that stubbornly refuses to move, despite your best efforts. I have had a number of reader enquiries recently regarding problems with screened soil and the fact that in some areas the EA deem it unsuitable for exempt or inert sites? I have covered this issue before with regard to fines from trommels processing mixed waste and have summarised below the current situation and answers to the questions asked.
What is inert waste?
Strictly speaking inert waste is defined in Regulation 7(4) of the Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002, as follows:
“(4) Waste is inert waste if -
(a) it does not undergo any significant physical, chemical or biological transformations;
(b) it does not dissolve, burn or otherwise physically or chemically react, biodegrade or adversely affect other matter with which it comes into contact in a way likely to give rise to environmental pollution or harm to human health; and
(c) its total leachability and pollutant content and the ecotoxicity of its leachate are insignificant and, in particular, do not endanger the quality of any surface water or groundwater.”
In other words “very restricted”! Operators of inert waste landfills must ensure that their site only accepts inert waste which meets the waste acceptance criteria (WAC) or inert wastes which do not need testing, which are defined by their EWC codes (below). Any that are not listed must pass the WAC test. For more details on WAC just type “wac” into Google and it will direct you to the correct EA website page.
European Waste Code = 10 11 03
Description = Waste glass based fibrous materials
European Waste Code = 15 01 07
Description = Glass packaging
European Waste Code = 17 01 01
Description = Concrete
European Waste Code = 17 01 02
Description = Bricks
European Waste Code = 17 01 03
Description = Tiles and ceramics
European Waste Code = 17 02 02, 20 01 02
Description = Glass
European Waste Code = 17 05 04, 20 02 02
Description = Soil and stones (excluding topsoil and peat)
The WAC test only needs to be carried out if your inert waste is to be accepted at a landfill which is licensed to take it. The regulations do not apply to “the use of suitable inert waste for redevelopment, restoration and filling-in work or for construction purposes”. In other words the use of inert wastes for exempt operations is acceptable subject to the material being fit for use and fitting in with the exemption criteria, most of which I have covered in previous articles. Furthermore the wastes deposited at exempt sites have to be suitable for the end use and not necessarily inert. This is a matter between you and the exempt operator and of course subject to scrutiny by the Agency.
Recovered soils are probably the biggest problem facing the industry today or at least the one with no immediate solution. The Environment Agency and WRAP have been working on a soil protocol but there has been little news on the outcome. In the mean time if you are dealing with clean excavated soil there should not be a problem with its re-use or deposit in exempt or licensed sites, however, it must meet the relevant conditions for that exemption. The problem occurs where the Agency still deem the screened material to be waste even if builders and other users are queuing up to use the final product. This issue will only finally be sorted when we have a soil protocol or case law on the matter. There is nothing to stop you drafting a soil protocol if you wish to do so. The Agency are unlikely to agree its contents but the document could be useful in the event of enforcement action.
Screened soils from transfer stations are a wholly different scenario. Screening mixed construction and demolition waste often creates a soil like material we best know as fines and which is commonly described as inert when it may in fact be non-hazardous or depending upon the analysis, even hazardous (mainly because the eco-toxicity test is very strict). The only answer is that the matter needs to be considered on a site by site basis i.e. is your waste acceptable at the site you wish to take it to and what requirements do you need to meet. It may be that your waste is not inert but that the destination site can take it as cover, for example. Agreeing the analysis requirements before you send samples to the lab is important. I have seen many jobs held up because the Agency or destination site wanted more analysis carried out.
It is important that loads are not cross contaminated and also to have a clear indication of what you want to do with your soils. Our biggest problem is the Agency’s lack of consistency on the matter with some geographical areas receiving more attention than others. I would be grateful to hear how your screened soils are viewed by your local Agency officer as I am compiling a case file for soil protocols.
Finally, I apologise for not covering the EA’s fees and charges proposals as promised but the last few articles have arisen from requests within the industry which are more pressing. If you have any subjects or legislation for future articles please let us know by getting in touch with The Skip.
