Draft Document Waste Management Licensing (Amendment No 2) Regulations (NI) 2015The Department of the Environment is undertaking a review of exemptions from waste management licensing. The review is the proposed Waste Management Licensing (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015, which apply only to Part 1, paragraphs 12, 15, 17, 18, 19, 27 and 45 of Schedule 2 to the Waste Management Licensing Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (hereafter referred to as “the 2003 Regulations”).
Exemptions were introduced with the aim of regulating waste management activities in Northern Ireland in a proportionate way. Certain activities were deemed to be small-scale and to have a low risk of adverse impact on the environment, human health and animal welfare, and were thus made exempt from the need for a licence.
More than a decade after the 2003 Regulations came into operation, it is now necessary to review Part 1 of Schedule 2 to ensure that the exemptions regime is:
- up to date
- fit for purpose
- risk-based
- consistent
- transparent
The Department’s vision is of a future where proportionate risk-based waste management regulation will ensure protection for the environment and human and animal health, while encouraging the efficient use of resources.