Two new guidance documents have been published this month, relating to both packaging waste and environmental permitting.
The Environment Agency has issued guidance on the process for making an application for Packaging Waste Recovery Notes (PRNS) and Packaging Waste Export Notes (PERNs). The series of guidance notes cover the procedural requirements for the application of PRNs and PERNS as well as outlining the benefits of the scheme and criteria that companies have to meet in order to qualify.
Amendments to the Producer Responsibility (Packaging Waste) Regulations SI 2007/871 came into force on 19 July this year, and require businesses dealing with recycling or recovering UK packaging waste, and companies that export UK packaging waste for recovery or recycling, to demonstrate compliance with their recycling obligations through the attainment of a PRN or PERN.
In addition, following the introduction of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations SI 2007/3538, which set out the circumstances in which an environmental permit is required to carry out certain waste management activities, or where certain activities are exempt from this requirement, the Agency have now issued updated guidance on registering an exemption for land treatment.
The treatment of land for agricultural benefit or ecological improvement is exempt from the requirement to hold an environmental permit as it is one of the exempt waste operations listed in Schedule 3.
Further information on the above guidance is available from www.environment-agency.gov.uk.
