European and UK Regulatory Requirements for the Application of Waste Products to Land

Waste to land activities have the potential to recover value from wastes which would otherwise be sent for disposal. Appropriate land treatment and landspreading activities enable the physical, chemical and biological properties of predominately organic wastes to confer agricultural benefit or ecological improvement on the receiving land. They can substitute for quarried or commercially produced fertilizers and soil amendments that would otherwise have to be bought by a farmer or land manager. Those engaged in the recovery of waste to land are helping to support principles of the waste hierarchy. Moving away from the disposal of waste to its recovery is part of making better use of finite and non-renewable natural resources. Given the practice can also create an unacceptable risk of harm to the environment and to human health, European and UK Government regulatory controls are in place to safeguard human health and the wider environment.

Mat Davis, Environment Agency, Kingfisher House, Orton Goldhay, Peterborough PE2 5ZR, UK.

12 pages, 1 figure, 11 references.

Keywords: waste, recovery, exemptions, land, soil, agricultural