Waste - general regulations

Part I of COPA 1974 applied to waste on land and required licensing of all sites used for the disposal or treatment of controlled (i.e. household, industrial or commercial) waste. Since COPA 1974, there have been a number of UK Acts of parliament and EU Directives concerning waste handling. The most important are within a summary.

Under EPA 1990 (s.75 (2)) waste is:

a) any substance, which constitutes a scrap material or an effluent or other, unwanted surplus substance from the application of any process

b) any substance or article which requires to be disposed of a being broken, worn out, contaminated or otherwise spoiled.

Classifications of Controlled Waste

The list below gives the controlled and other waste classifications:

Controlled waste

• Household
  
  
• Commercial
  
  
• Demolition/Construction
  
  
• Dredged spoils
  
  
• Industrial
  
  
• Blast furnace and steel slag
  
  
• Power station ash
  
  

Other

• Sewage sludge
  
  
• Not controlled waste
  
  
• Agriculture
  
  
• Mining and quarrying
  
  
• Colliery and slate
  
  
• China clay
  
  
• Quarrying
  
  

The categories of controlled waste are: household, commercial and industrial.