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Waste and Emissions Trading Bill [HL]


Waste and Emissions Trading Bill [HL]
Part 1 — Waste
Chapter 1 — Waste sent to landfills

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     (7)    Where subsection (1) is satisfied by policies set out in a statement under section

44A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43) (national waste strategy),

if the statement was prepared before the coming into force of that subsection it

does not matter that the policies were not formulated for the purposes of that

subsection.

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 20    Strategy for Northern Ireland

     (1)    The Department of the Environment must have a strategy for reducing—

           (a)           the amount of biodegradable waste from Northern Ireland that goes to

landfills, and

           (b)           the amount of biodegradable waste from outside Northern Ireland that

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goes to landfills in Northern Ireland.

     (2)    The strategy required by subsection (1) must (in particular) include measures

to achieve the targets specified for Northern Ireland under sections 1 and 2.

     (3)    The measures mentioned in subsection (2) include (in particular) measures to

achieve the targets by means of recycling, composting, biogas production,

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materials recovery or energy recovery.

     (4)    Before formulating policy for the purposes of subsection (1), the Department

must—

           (a)           consult the Secretary of State, the Scottish Ministers and the National

Assembly for Wales,

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           (b)           consult such bodies or persons appearing to it to be representative of

the interests of local government as it considers appropriate,

           (c)           consult such bodies or persons appearing to it to be representative of

the interests of industry as it considers appropriate, and

           (d)           carry out such public consultation as it considers appropriate.

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     (5)    The Department must set out in a statement any policy formulated for the

purposes of subsection (1).

     (6)    The Department must, as soon as a statement is prepared for the purposes of

subsection (5), send a copy of it to—

           (a)           the Secretary of State,

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           (b)           the Scottish Ministers, and

           (c)           the National Assembly for Wales.

     (7)           Where subsection (1) is satisfied by policies set out in a statement prepared

before the coming into force of that subsection, it does not matter that the

policies were not formulated for the purposes of that subsection.

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     (8)           Subsection (4) may be satisfied by consultation before, as well as by

consultation after, the coming into force of this section.

Interpretation of Chapter 1

 21    “Biodegradable waste” and “municipal waste”

     (1)    In this Chapter “biodegradable waste” means any waste that is capable of

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undergoing anaerobic or aerobic decomposition, such as—

                    food and garden waste, and

                    paper and paperboard.

 

 

Waste and Emissions Trading Bill [HL]
Part 1 — Waste
Chapter 1 — Waste sent to landfills

    15

 

     (2)    In this Chapter “biodegradable municipal waste” means waste that is both

biodegradable waste and municipal waste.

     (3)    In subsection (2) “municipal waste” means—

           (a)           waste from households, and

           (b)           other waste that, because of its nature or composition, is similar to

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waste from households.

 22    “Landfill”

     (1)    In this Chapter “landfill” means a site for the deposit of waste onto or into land

where the site is—

           (a)           a waste disposal site, or

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           (b)           used for the storage of waste.

     (2)    In determining whether a site is a landfill for the purposes of this Chapter, the

following activities at the site are to be ignored—

           (a)           the temporary storage of waste if the site is used for such storage for

less than one year;

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           (b)           the unloading of waste in order to permit the waste to be prepared for

further transport for recovery, treatment or disposal elsewhere;

           (c)           the storage of waste, prior to recovery or treatment, for a period of less

than three years as a general rule;

           (d)           the storage of waste, prior to disposal, for a period of less than one year.

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     (3)    The fact that a site for the deposit of waste is at the place of production of the

waste does not prevent the site from being a landfill for the purposes of this

Chapter.

     (4)    In this Chapter “composting” includes a requirement to maintain selected

biodegradable waste at 98 degrees celsius for a minimum of two hours before

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storing.

     (5)    In subsection (2) “treatment” means the physical, thermal, chemical or

biological processes, including sorting, that change the characteristics of waste

in order to—

           (a)           reduce its volume,

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           (b)           reduce its hazardous nature,

           (c)           facilitate its handling, or

           (d)           enhance its recoverability.

 23    “Scheme year” and “target year”

     (1)    In this Chapter—

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                    “scheme year” means a year beginning with 17th July in any of 2004 to

2019;

                    “target year” means a scheme year ending with 16th July in 2010, 2013 or

2020.

     (2)    The Secretary of State may by regulations amend subsection (1) for the purpose

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of—

           (a)           providing for a different day to be the first day of a scheme year;

           (b)           adding one or more scheme years;

           (c)           changing the target years or any of them;

 

 

Waste and Emissions Trading Bill [HL]
Part 1 — Waste
Chapter 1 — Waste sent to landfills

    16

 

           (d)           adding or omitting one or more target years.

     (3)    Before making regulations under subsection (2), the Secretary of State shall

consult the Scottish Ministers, the National Assembly for Wales and the

Department of the Environment.

 24    Other definitions

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     (1)    For the purposes of this Chapter, the “allocating authority”—

           (a)           for England is the Secretary of State,

           (b)           for Scotland is the Scottish Ministers,

           (c)           for Wales is the National Assembly for Wales, and

           (d)           for Northern Ireland is the Department of the Environment.

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     (2)    In this Chapter, any reference to an allocating authority’s “area” is to the area

for which it is the allocating authority for the purposes of this Chapter.

     (3)    In this Chapter “landfill allowances” means allowances allocated under section

4(1).

     (4)    References in this Chapter to the monitoring authority for an area are to the

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monitoring authority designated for the area by regulations under section

10(1).

     (5)    In this Chapter “waste disposal authority”—

           (a)           in relation to England, Wales and Scotland has the same meaning as in

Part 2 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43);

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           (b)           in relation to Northern Ireland means a district council.

Supplementary

 25    Activities to which Chapter 1 does not apply

     (1)    References in this Chapter to sending biodegradable waste, or biodegradable

municipal waste, to landfills do not include—

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           (a)           the spreading of sludges (including sewage sludges and sludges

resulting from dredging operations), or similar matter, on the soil for

the purposes of fertilisation or improvement,

           (b)           the deposit of non-hazardous dredging sludges alongside small

waterways from out of which they have been dredged,

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           (c)           the deposit of non-hazardous sludges in surface water or in the bed or

subsoil of surface water, or

           (d)           the deposit of unpolluted soil resulting from—

                  (i)                 prospecting for, or the extraction, treatment or storage of,

mineral resources, or

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                  (ii)                the operation of quarries.

     (2)    For the purposes of this section, sludge is “non-hazardous” if it is not

hazardous waste for the purpose of Council Directive 91/689/EEC.

 26    Penalties under Chapter 1: general

     (1)    Where a waste disposal authority in an allocating authority’s area is liable to a

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penalty under this Chapter—

 

 

Waste and Emissions Trading Bill [HL]
Part 1 — Waste
Chapter 1 — Waste sent to landfills

    17

 

           (a)           the amount of the penalty is that specified by, or calculated under,

regulations made by the allocating authority under subsection (3);

           (b)           the penalty, and any interest on it, is to be paid to the allocating

authority; and

           (c)           the allocating authority may—

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                  (i)                 extend the time for paying the whole or part of the penalty or

any interest on it;

                  (ii)                relieve the waste disposal authority, in whole or in part, from

liability to the penalty or any interest on it.

     (2)    Relief under subsection (1)(c) may be given—

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           (a)           in respect of an amount after (as well as before) it becomes due;

           (b)           in a particular case or in cases of a particular description;

           (c)           unconditionally or subject to conditions.

     (3)    An allocating authority may, as regards penalties under this Chapter to which

waste disposal authorities in its area are liable, by regulations—

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           (a)           make provision specifying the amounts of penalties or rules for

calculating their amounts;

           (b)           make provision as to when payments in respect of penalties are due;

           (c)           make provision for interest where payments in respect of penalties are

due but unmade;

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           (d)           make provision for recovering or setting off, and securing, unpaid

amounts in respect of penalties or interest.

     (4)    Provision under subsection (3) relating to supplementary penalties under

section 9(3) or (4) in respect of waste sent to landfills in a scheme year may be

made after the end of that year.

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 27    Regulations under Chapter 1: consultation

     (1)    This section applies to regulations under this Chapter, other than regulations

under section 1, 2, 3 or 23.

     (2)           Before making regulations to which this section applies, an allocating authority

shall (subject to subsection (4))—

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           (a)           consult such bodies or persons appearing to it to be representative of

the interests of waste disposal authorities in its area as it considers

appropriate,

           (b)           consult such bodies or persons appearing to it to be representative of

the interests of persons concerned in the operation of landfills in its area

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as it considers appropriate, and

           (c)           consult such bodies or persons appearing to it to be representative of

any other affected persons as it considers appropriate.

     (3)           In subsection (2)(c) “affected person” means a person appearing to the

allocating authority to be a person who will or may be affected by the

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regulations.

     (4)    The allocating authority need not consult as mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b)

of subsection (2) if it appears to the authority that the interests mentioned in

that paragraph will not be affected by the regulations.

 

 

 
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