Environmental guidance for your business in Northern Ireland & Scotland
Your waste or sewage site may contain microscopic organisms known as pathogens or bioaerosols that can be hazardous to human health. For example, if you operate a composting facility or anaerobic digester your site may contain:
For information about pests, see our pests guidance.
If your business has a permit, licence or exemption you must comply with its conditions, including any conditions about bioaerosols. If you do not comply with conditions you can be fined or sent to prison.
Put appropriate measures in place to control any pathogens at your site.
You may use pesticides or chemicals to control rodents or other pests at your site. Make sure that you do not cause land or water pollution.
If you require assistance with pest control, contact the environmental health department of your local council.
Directgov: Find out about pest control
Treat compost and sewage sludge to remove pathogens. You could do this by using:
For further information about these treatment processes, see Table 1 in the Defra Code of Practice for agriculture use of sewage sludge.
You should also see our guidance on disposing of sewage sludge.
Groundwater in Northern Ireland, DAERA have produced a leaflet to raise awareness about this untapped resource
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