Fact
Over 350 million trees are cut down each year for the paper that's used in UK offices alone. We can halve this by setting the photocopier to print on both sides of the paper.
Legislation
Waste recycling, especially recycling food waste and animal by-products, is subject to extensive legal controls. Anyone who produces, transports, treats or recycles waste must meet strict Duty of Care requirements.
Sites that process and handle waste must obtain appropriate permits /licences from the Environment Agency, SEPA or the Northern Ireland Environment Agency – rules, terminology and regulator vary between different parts of the UK. New sites also need to seek planning permission.
Making sure an AD plant complies with all planning, environmental and health legislation is a complicated and lengthy process. Over the years we have built up detailed knowledge and understanding of these ever changing requirements. Our proven technology and expertise ensures we can obtain all the required permits and approvals to plan, build and operate new AD plants.
An exemption from permitting is required from the Environment Agency in order to spread the residue from anaerobic digesters (called digestate) onto land in England and Wales as a biofertiliser. Similar exemptions are required in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Such spreading must also comply with all applicable codes of good practise in agriculture and any local requirements, such as those applying to Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs).
Working with WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme), the Environment Agency has developed a Quality Protocol to make it easier to collect, store, transport and reuse anaerobic digestate from source-separated biodegradable waste in England and Wales. Our experts worked with BSI, WRAP and the Renewable Energy Association (REA) to develop the national specification, BSI PAS 110, on which the protocol is based.
An anaerobic digester treating feedstocks containing animal by-products must comply with the Animal By-product Regulation.
