With news on: SEPA reuse guidance; Agency safety inspections, and; Bywaters solar installation.
SEPA guidance aims to clarify reuse definition
New guidance has been published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) aiming to clarify what counts as reuse activities in Scotland.
The guidance, ‘Reuse Activities and Waste Regulation’, aims to clarify when waste legislation applies to reuse activities and what Scottish organisations need to do to comply.
SEPA has sought to clarify guidance on reuse activities
The document aligns with the Scottish Government’s own Circular Economy strategy and is relevant to organisations that undertake reuse activities such as councils, charity shops and repair shops.
A key question for organisations to consider is whether there is ‘certainty’ that an item will actually be reused, even if some repair or refurbishment is required. This must be established for any item to be considered ‘non-waste’.
At the top of the hierarchy is ‘no change of ownership’, with increasing evidence required for direct reuse, indirect reuse with checking, indirect use without checking, and export for reuse outwith the UK.
As well as explaining how the regulations apply to these organisations, the guidance is also relevant to SEPA staff who advise and regulate such reuse activities. To view the guidance, click here.
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‘Multi-agency’ approach taken to North East inspections
The Environment Agency has joined forces with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) in the North East of England to carry out combined visits to check waste sites.
The multi-agency approach aims to improve working practices on regulated waste sites, according to the Environment Agency.
During the last series of visits at the back end of 2016, staff attended 13 sites across the region, with more visits proposed for this month.
To date the joint initiative has focused on sites that recycle, process or store waste metal, such as scrap vehicles and general waste metal. Operators use a variety of processes and equipment to strip, cut and burn waste to extract the key metal and components, work which has the potential to expose workers to risks to health and safety.
The Environment Agency’s Ruth Tyson, Waste Team Leader, said: “These joint operations are a really good opportunity to share knowledge with other agencies and mean we look at the site from different perspectives, ensuring any issues impacting on the environment and community can be looked at together with site safety.”
Inspector Victoria Wise from the Health and Safety Executive added: “During the last joint initiative HSE found 8 sites visited to be in significant contravention of health and safety law with 7 Enforcement Notices served.”
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Bywaters solar investment creates savings
London waste management firm Bywaters has invested in 4,000 solar panels for the roof of its main materials recycling facility (MRF) in Bow.
The 1000kW array is, according to Bywaters, London’s largest solar PV retrofit and has generated 700Mh for the company since it was installed in February 2016.
The solar array on the Bow MRF
It has also saved around 361 tonnes of carbon emissions over the course of nine months.
Energy generated by the panels provides most of the power needed for Bywaters’ MRF and is on track to deliver a return on investment ‘within six years’.
John Glover, managing director of Bywaters, said: “Feasibility studies convinced us of the validity of using solar panels in the UK and, we are already saving more carbon than anticipated. As well as reduced energy costs, the solar panels are enabling us to operate more sustainably.”
The post News in Brief (24/01/2017) appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
