1. When appropriate measures apply
What you must consider when you assess the appropriate measures for your site.
There is a lot of overlap between:
- best available techniques (BAT) for waste installations facilities
- necessary measures for waste operation facilities
- best available treatment, recovery and recycling (BATRRT) for the treatment of WEEE
- ‘proper treatment’ as referred to by the WEEE Directive
The Environment Agency uses the term ‘appropriate measures’ to cover all these requirements. Appropriate measures are the standards that operators should meet to comply with their environmental permit requirements. Following these measures will also help ensure you are using BATRRT. This guidance sets out what you must consider when you assess the appropriate measures for your site. It is not definitive, and it does not replace your obligation to assess appropriate measures fully taking into account your site’s location and characteristics.
Where measures are specified for certain types of WEEE, those measures are in addition to any applicable measures set out in the general waste treatment section.
Some measures may not be suitable or relevant for your operation. Appropriate measures will depend on the:
- activities being carried out
- size and nature of the activities
- location of the site
For installations there are additional requirements for using energy and raw materials (including water) efficiently. These are called process efficiency measures.
Where a measure is not suitable, you can propose alternative measures that achieve the same level of environmental protection. Or you can provide an explanation of why the specific measure is not relevant to your operations.
In certain situations, you may need to provide a higher standard of environmental protection, for example:
- where there are local sensitive receptors
- if there is a risk that an operation may exceed an Environmental Quality Standard
This guidance also covers some activities where legislation applies directly to that activity. This guidance and any time scales for the appropriate measures does not remove the need to comply with that legislation. For example, legislation relating to F-gases, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), or hazardous waste.
The standards in this technical guidance have been grouped into:
- general management
- waste pre-acceptance, acceptance and tracking
- waste storage, segregation and handling
- waste treatment
- emissions control
- emissions monitoring and limits
- process efficiency (measures for using energy, raw materials and water apply to Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) installations only – other measures including process monitoring apply to all permitted facilities)
Other generic technical guidance also applies to WEEE treatment and transfer facilities, including guidance on emissions, odour and noise.
You also need an approved fire prevention plan that meets the requirements of our guidance on fire prevention plans.
Medium combustion plant with a rated thermal input between 1 megawatt and 50 megawatts must comply with the relevant requirements of the Medium Combustion Plant Directive. Specified generator controls, unless excluded, apply to generators with a rated thermal input of up to 50 megawatts. See our guidance on medium combustion plant and specified generators.
The appropriate measures in this guidance apply to both new and existing facilities that treat or transfer WEEE.
For new facilities the appropriate measures must be in place before operations start.
For existing facilities, if the cost of complying with the appropriate measures is disproportionate to the environmental benefit, immediate compliance may not be reasonable.
Through permit reviews, the Environment Agency will assess the current operating techniques of existing facilities against the relevant appropriate measures.
Where an operator is not using appropriate measures, we will expect them to provide improvement plans and timetables for implementing the relevant appropriate measures. We will review these proposals and set formal timescales for making the improvements needed. We will do this by varying the environmental permit to include improvement conditions.
Improvements at existing facilities are likely to fall into one of the following 2 categories.
Standard good practice requirements
For example, these could be:
- updated management systems
- waste, water and energy efficiency measures
- measures to prevent fugitive or accidental emissions
- waste acceptance and handling techniques
- appropriate monitoring equipment
Where these improvements are relatively low cost, operators must implement them as soon as possible and in any event within 12 months.
Larger, more capital intensive improvements
For example, these could be:
- installing significant abatement equipment
- the significant redesign of facility layout, including the design and installation of new buildings or treatment plant
Operators should complete these improvements as soon as practicable and in any event within 3 years.
Local environmental impacts may mean you need to act more quickly than the timescales provided here. For example, if there are sensitive receptors or an air quality management area close by.
Existing installations must comply with relevant BAT associated emission levels (AELs) by August 2022, unless we approve a derogation. BAT AELs are set out in the published waste treatment BAT conclusions.
New installations (including new or replacement plant at existing facilities or a substantial change to existing plant) must comply with any relevant BAT AELs from when operations begin, unless a derogation is approved.