The burning of waste at a dock - paragraph 47 exemption

A paragraph 47 exemption allows the burning at a dock of waste consisting of plant tissue(1) or wood of any kind used to wedge or support parts of cargo, including packing material, spacers and pallets. The activity is carried out in pursuance of a notice given under Article 22 of the Plant Health Order (Northern Ireland) 1993.

Waste stream(s) permitted

Plant tissue waste and wood of any kind used to wedge or support parts of cargo, including packing material, spacers and pallets.

Quantity

The total quantity of waste stored or burned in any period of 24 hours must not exceed 15 tonnes.

Storage and location

Storage of the waste must be at the dock where it was unloaded and where it is intended to be burned.

Additional conditions

The burning at a dock of plant tissue waste must be in pursuance of a notice given by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) under Article 22 of the Plant Health Order (Northern Ireland) 2006 (as amended). 

The burning at a dock of wood of any kind used to wedge or support parts of cargo, including packing material, spacers and pallets must be in pursuance of a notice given by DARD under Article 20 of the Plant Health (Wood and Bark) Order (Northern Ireland) 2006 (as amended).

In accordance with Regulation 18 of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003, the burning activity may be carried out as soon as required under the notice issued by DARD and the information notified to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency thereafter as soon as is practicable.

Interpretation

  1. “Plant tissue” means tissue from a plant and includes any linseed residues, oil-seed rape residues, field beans harvested dry residues, peas harvested dry residues, cereal straw or cereal stubble.
  2. "Plant" has the same meaning as in Article 2 of the Plant Health Order(Northern Ireland) 2006 and means a living plant (including a fungus, tree or shrub), or a living part of a plant (including a living part of a fungus, tree or shrub), at any stage of growth; and living parts of a plant shall include: fruit or seed, vegetables, other than those preserved by deep freezing, tubers, corms, bulbs or rhizomes, cut flowers, branches with or without foliage, a plant, tree or shrub that has been cut and which retains any foliage, leaves or foliage, a plant, tree or shrub in tissue culture, live pollen, and bud wood, cuttings or scions.

What the legislation says

The full wording of the paragraph 47 exemption can be found in Schedule 2 of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003. 

Relevant Objectives in relation to the disposal or recovery of waste are given in paragraph 4 of Schedule 3 to the Regulations.

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