14 January 2008

QPA-Inspired Consultation Heralds New Deal on Inert Waste

The QPA, the principal trade body for the quarry products sector, will shortly be submitting its response to a consultation on inert waste regulation being held by Defra, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Environment Agency. The review of the regulations follows recommendations from 2006's Davidson Report for a more "proportionate" approach to inert waste, in direct response to the QPA's calls.

Currently, the use of inert waste in quarry restoration is generally considered "waste disposal" under the over-zealous UK regulations, with producers of such wastes more inclined to take the materials to unlicensed disposal sites where regulation is less restrictive. Because of this, some quarry operators are finding that effective restoration is becoming more difficult to carry out in some areas with inert wastes going elsewhere. This in turn can make it more difficult to secure new mineral permissions, which are contingent on completing agreed restoration plans.

It is hoped that the consultation will create a simplified regulatory landscape that will allow inert waste to be used constructively for restoration, an outlet that the QPA feels matches the Government's aims to "minimise burdens on business, whilst securing outcomes which maximise resource efficiency". Restoration is also a process that returns worked land to beneficial use for society.

To ensure that all parties in the inert waste debate are as informed for the consultation as possible, the QPA has joined together with Defra to run a special workshop covering the issue on 13 February at London House. QPA is encouraging the industry and other stakeholders to take advantage of the session.

Speaking about the consultation, QPA's Director General Simon van der Byl said: "we have long campaigned for a level playing field for inert waste regulation and this consultation is evidence that Government has listened to the QPA and is welcomed by the industry. The joint QPA-Defra workshop is another opportunity for the sector to engage with the issue and ensure that all views are fed into what will become the solution for the burden of existing regulation."

ENDS

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