Treating waste reduces the impact it has on the environment, and encourages recovery and recycling.
All waste must be treated before you send it to landfill.
There are exceptions to this requirement for:
- inert waste that cannot be treated
- any other waste for which treatment would not reduce its quantity or its hazard to human health and the environment.
However, there are very few instances when these exceptions apply. For more information in England and Wales refer to the Environment Agency’s frequently asked questions on the landfill ban.
Who has to treat waste?
Businesses will need to ensure that all their waste is treated before sending it to landfill. You can either treat waste yourself, or ensure that a later holder of the waste will treat it before it is landfilled. You may choose to pay a waste management company for this service.
However you treat your waste, it is a good idea to produce a written declaration. This should state:
- who has treated the waste
- the type of treatment that has occurred (if any)
- the amount of waste that has been sorted out for recovery or alternative treatment (if relevant).
You can see an example of a written declaration in the Environment Agency’s factsheet for businesses on landfill rules.
What is classed as treatment?
Treatment is defined as a physical, thermal, chemical or biological process, which changes the characteristics of the waste.
The characteristics may be changed by:
- reducing the volume of the waste
- reducing the hazardous nature of the waste
- making handling or recovery easier.
Examples of treatment include:
- collecting waste streams separately to recycle one or more of the separated components
- biological treatment such as composting or anaerobic digestion
- thermal treatment such as incineration.
A lot of waste is already treated before it is sent to landfill. In these cases, you will not need to change your current procedures.
Compaction is not considered a treatment – a squashed cardboard box has the same potential for impact on health or the environment as the original box.
When you are deciding how to treat your waste you should consider the whole process, from waste production to the practicalities of different types of treatment. For example, check whether there are local facilities for your chosen treatment and consider at every stage whether any waste stream can be eliminated.
In this guideline:
