Industrial Emissions Directive
The Industrial Emissions Directive affects sites that perform certain activities that are considered to require more exacting environmental controls.
From a waste perspective, it means that some sites that have operated under an Environmental Permit will need to take IED into account and be classed as an ‘installation’ for Permitting purposes.
Installation permits require increased regulatory effort by the EA and therefore attract higher charges that ordinary permits.
The EA estimates that in England, ~9000 waste operations will not be affected by IED but 767 will definitely be and a further 1,689 might be. There seems to be some confusion in relation to those ~1700 sites.
The newly prescribed activities that are affected are as follows:
- Hazardous waste storage at > 50 tonnes per day (tpd)
- Hazardous waste treatment for recovery (and disposal) at > 10tpd
- Anaerobic digestion at > 100tpd *
- Composting at > 75tpd *
- Mechanical and Biological Treatment at > 75tpd *
- Metal shredders / fragmentising at > 75tpd *
- Slags and ash treatment for recovery at > 75tpd *
- Pre-treatment for incineration or co-incineration for recovery at > 75tpd *
- Vegetable processing >300tpd (or >600tpd if seasonal for <90 days per year), mixed animal and vegetable processing covered under new mixed rules
* note that capacity would be aggregated with other asterisked activities on the same site
A very good leaflet was produced by the Renewable Energy Association.
The best place to find historical information on this is in the EA Archives. New information can only be found on GOV.UK but as with everything else on that site, you need to know what you are looking for.