Authorisations for burning waste
What you must do
In most circumstances you need an authorisation for burning waste. You must have the correct authorisation in place before you burn waste.
Most activities that involve burning waste are subject to the Waste Incineration Directive (WID). Even if the WID does not apply to your plant, you may still require an authorisation if the capacity of the plant exceeds set limits, or a registered waste exemption (in Northern Ireland).
In Northern Ireland, depending on the capacity of your plant and whether you are burning hazardous or non-hazardous waste, your permit will be from either the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) or your district council.
Your plant may also need to comply with other legal requirements, such as the Animal By-Products (ABP) Regulations.
Burning waste in a WID plant
If you burn waste that is subject to the WID, you must have:
- In Northern Ireland, a WID-compliant Part A PPC permit for your incinerator.
- In Scotland, an EASR authorisation
See the page in this guideline on requirements of the Waste Incineration Directive.
Your authorisation will list the types and quantities of waste that you are allowed to burn. It will also include operating conditions, emission limits and monitoring requirements. You must comply with the conditions of your authorisation.
Burning non-hazardous waste in a plant excluded from the WID
In Northern Ireland, if you incinerate non-hazardous waste in a plant that is excluded from the WID, which has the capacity to burn no more than 50 kilograms per hour, your activity may be covered by a paragraph 29 waste exemption. See the page in this guide on exemptions for burning waste. If you cannot meet the requirements of the exemption, you must have a PPC permit or waste management licence.
If you incinerate non-hazardous waste in a plant that is excluded from the WID on premises which have the capacity to burn between 50 kilograms and 1 tonne per hour, you will need a Part C PPC permit.
If you incinerate non-hazardous waste in a plant that is excluded from the WID, which has the capacity to burn 1 tonne or more per hour, you may need a Part A PPC permit.
In Scotland, the level of authorisation you need depends on the type of waste and quantities being burned. If you burn:
- biomass waste in an incineration or co-incineration plant, with a capacity of 50 kilograms, or less per hour you will need an EASR notification
- biomass waste in an incineration or co-incineration plant, with a capacity of more than 50 kilograms per hour, and equal to, or less than, 3000kgs per hour, you will need an EASR registration
- any other waste non-hazardous waste (excluding activities listed as low-risk waste activities), you will need an EASR permit
Burning hazardous/special waste in a plant excluded from the WID
If you incinerate hazardous/special waste in a plant that is excluded from the WID, regardless of the quantities or capacities involved, you will need:
- in Northern Ireland, a Part A PPC permit
- in Scotland, an EASR permit
Burning waste gases
If you incinerate gaseous compounds containing halogens (other than incidentally when burning solid or liquid waste) you will need:
- in Northern Ireland, a Part A PPC permit
- in Scotland, an EASR permit
Burning waste in the open
You must not burn waste in the open unless:
- in Northern Ireland, you have a waste management licence or a registered waste exemption
- in Scotland, you have an EASR authorisation from SEPA, or if you are carrying out a low risk waste activity
You must not burn waste material that produces dark smoke. See the page in this guideline: Controls on burning waste in the open.
Incinerating animal carcasses
Your incinerator is excluded from the WID if it burns only whole animal carcasses, parts of animal carcasses that have been cut up for ease of transport or to make incineration easier, or unprocessed parts of carcasses. If it is excluded from the WID you will not need a WID-compliant permit. However, you may still require an authorisation, depending on the size of the activity.
In Northern Ireland, if your incinerator burns only animal carcasses, and has a capacity of:
- less than 50 kilograms per hour and a net rated thermal input of less than 0.3 megawatts, you may qualify for a paragraph 29 exemption from waste management licensing
- between 50 kilograms and 1 tonne per hour and less than 10 tonnes per day, you need a Part C PPC permit
- more than 1 tonne per hour or more than 10 tonnes per day you require a Part A PPC permit.
In Scotland, if your incinerator burns only animal carcasses, and has a capacity of:
- less than 50kg per hour you do not need an EASR authorisation when authorised under animal by-products legislation by the Animal & Plant Health Agency.
- more than 50 kilograms per hour you need an EASR permit
If you are incinerating animal carcasses along with other types of waste, other authorisations may be required.
If you have an on-farm incinerator burning only whole carcasses, you must meet specific standards set out under ABP legislation and the incinerator must be approved by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) in Northern Ireland or by Animal Health in Scotland.