24 November 2005

Mining Waste Directive Success in Europe

The Quarry Products Association is celebrating a major lobbying success in Europe as the European Parliament and Council agreed the finalised Mining Waste Directive. Earlier drafts of the directive would have imposed disproportionate burden on non-hazardous inert waste within the quarrying industry, but through its coordinated campaign, the QPA and partner organisations in the UK and on the continent saw this diverted.

Had the lobbying effort not been successful, the quarrying industry would have faced a barrage of new waste licensing requirements, increased and unnecessary monitoring, the need for financial bonding, waste planning and great deal more bureaucracy.

With the potentially damaging constituents removed, the conciliated Directive will be formally published early next year. The success is proof that a concentrated lobbying effort can influence European legislation positively and a boost for the quarrying industry which is becoming increasingly over-burdened with ill-conceived European and UK Government policy, bureaucracy and taxation. It is also the product of close working partnerships with the CBI Minerals Group and the European Aggregates Association (UEPG) alongside the support of the ODPM and DTI.

The key outcomes of the Directive for which QPA lobbied included:

• Inert waste and unpolluted soil to be exempted from permits, public participation, after-closure procedure, and financial guarantee - a key outcome for QPA members.
• Non-hazardous non-inert waste to be exempted by Member States from the financial guarantee.
• Temporary storage of waste to be allowed for one year for non-hazardous non-inert waste and three years for inert waste. After these periods, the waste disposal will be considered as waste facility.
• Thresholds for the classification of a waste facility as "Category A" (large/dangerous waste storage sites) to be maintained at a practical level. The vast majority of aggregate sites in the UK do not fall within this category.
• Rehabilitation of abandoned mine sites is left in the hands of the Member States.

Simon van der Byl, the Quarry Products Association's Director General, said: "with the European Parliament and Council agreed on the Mining Waste Directive, we have confirmation that our representations and lobbying in Europe have been successful. This is a major victory for the association and an important result for the quarrying industry. Had our efforts not paid off, the Directive in its original form would have classed Britain's quarries in the same bracket as uranium mines, which is clearly absurd. Our members are today breathing a collective sigh of relief."

ENDS

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