Environmental guidance for your business in Northern Ireland & Scotland
Animal by-products are divided into three categories according to their potential risk to human and animal health. There are different rules for disposing of waste in each category.
All three categories of animal by-products must be kept separate at all times. If material from one category is mixed with material from another category, the whole mixture must be treated as being in the higher risk category.
Category 1 is for very high risk material and includes:
Category 2 is for high risk material and includes:
Category 3 is for low risk material and includes:
DAERA: Animal by-products guidance (Northern Ireland)
Scottish Government: Animal by-products
GOV.UK: International catering waste
If you have animal by-products, you must send them to approved premises for treatment or disposal. Ideally, different categories of animal by-product should be handled at different sites. See the page in this guideline on animal by-product categories
Category 1 material must be disposed of by:
International catering waste may be disposed of at a landfill site authorised by the Divisional Veterinary Office in Northern Ireland or Animal Health in Scotland.
Category 2 material must be disposed of by:
Some category 2 material - such as manure - may be recycled without pre-treatment, eg for biogas, composting, oleo-chemical products, or used as a fertiliser if other requirements are met. Unprocessed category 2 material cannot go to landfill.
Category 3 material must be disposed of by:
In some cases, category 3 material can be used in an approved pet food manufacturing plant or technical plant.
Category 3 material cannot be taken to landfill, except for catering waste.
Food waste
In Northern Ireland, if your business produces more than 50kg of food waste per week, you are required to have separate collection of that waste. From the 1st April 2017 this requirement also applies to businesses producing more than 5kg and up to 50 kg of food waste per week. There is no requirement for food businesses which produce less than 5kg of food waste, to collect it separately. From the 1 April 2017 food waste must not be deposited in a lateral drain or public sewer. The legislation does not apply to householders.
NIEA: Duty of Care – A Code of Practice
Food Waste Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015
DAERA: Guidance - the Food Waste Regulations
In Scotland, if you process, prepare or sell food and produce more than 5kg of food waste a week, in an urban area, you will be required to separate that food waste from the rest of the waste you produce for separate collection. This applies to large producers (more than 50kg) from 1 January 2014 and small producers (more than 5kg) from 1 January 2016. This duty does not apply to businesses in rural areas or those producing less than 5 kg of food waste per week.
The use of macerators to dispose of food waste in the sewer system will be banned from 1 January 2016, except for domestic premises and food waste producers in rural areas.
Scottish Government: Duty of Care - A Code of Practice
GOV.UK: Guidance for the Animal By-product industry
GOV.UK: International catering waste
Scottish Government: Animal by-products registered and approved premises
DAERA: List of Approved Premises and Operators
Categories of animal by-products
Disposing of animal by-products
Disposing of food waste and catering waste
Transporting animal by-products
Groundwater in Northern Ireland, DAERA have produced a leaflet to raise awareness about this untapped resource
EU Exit, EU Exit useful information
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