Waste Acceptance Criteria
Waste cannot be disposed of at a Landfill unless it meets the relevant Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) for the specific type of Landfill appropriate for the waste type. The limits have been derived by modelling the impacts of a typical Landfill on groundwater and are thus aimed at avoiding groundwater pollution[1].
Introduction
EU Council Decision 2003/33/EC establishing criteria for the acceptance of waste at landfill specifies waste acceptance criteria for Inert, non-hazardous and hazardous waste. These are[2]:
- a list of wastes which may be accepted at a landfill for inert waste without testing;
- limits on the leachability of certain parameters; and
- limits on the organic waste.
There are no numerical WAC limits on landfills for non-hazardous waste.
Wastes that already meet the numerical Waste Acceptance Criteria still require treatment prior to Landfill. The requirement to pre-treat contributes to the aim of reducing the overall impact of landfilling on human health and/or the environment. Waste Acceptance Criteria are aimed at specifying the chemical properties that are actually landfilled in order to provide an acceptable level of risk. This means that, even where the waste inherently meets the waste acceptance limit values, treatment prior to landfill must still take place[1].
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Defra, 2010. Environmental Permitting Guidance: The Landfill Directive for the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. London: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, p.7.
- ↑ Waste Acceptance at Landfills, Environment Agency