UK – Government urges agriculture sector to prepare for new controls on farm wastes

Farmers, horticulturalists, waste contractors and suppliers should start preparing now for new waste management controls for agriculture due in 2004.



A comprehensive leaflet summarising the changes and opportunities along with other new information is released by the Agricultural Waste Stakeholders’ Forum.



The new information includes:

a summary document which highlights key issues and the results of recent research studies

a report of a survey of 380 agriculture holdings in Great Britain to establish current waste management practices and attitudes

a review of the most sustainable options for agricultural waste collection

a report on the feasibility of ‘take back’ by suppliers

The proposed changes will implement EU legislation applying to waste from all sectors of industry and mean that uncontrolled burning of waste on farms and the use of ‘farm tips’ will be unlawful.



Full consultation on the proposals will be published in the coming months to allow those affected to express their views.



Farm suppliers will need to play their part by minimising their packaging and considering the viability of ‘take back’ schemes.



The Forum which produced today’s information includes representatives from Government, farming organisations, the waste management industry and farm suppliers. It was set up in 2002 to provide a Forum for the various stakeholders to discuss and inform the Government’s forthcoming consultation paper and its proposals for extending to agricultural waste the waste management controls required by the Waste Framework Directive.



The EU Waste Framework Directive requires that waste is recovered or disposed of in ways that do not cause risk to the environment or harm to human health. The Directive has applied to other sectors of industry since 1994. These changes will apply the Directive’s requirements to agricultural waste.



Defra will publish the proposed Regulations, consultation paper and associated regulatory impact assessment in the coming months. The Regulations will come into force in 2004.