Hello Alex



In these instances I always refer back to the Environment Agency's definition of what is NOT a waste:



1) No requirement to "discard"

2) Suitable for use without treatment

3) Only quantity necessary for specified works

4) Certainty of use

5) Lines of evidence



Consulting the Agency for an opinion is always to be encouraged, but unless you have a specific person whom you know is expert in the field, the response you get from the Agency will always tend to default to a conservative position ie it is waste, because it is then up to you to prove it isn't.  It is also worth remembering that the CLAIRE Code of Practise is simply a means by which both Industry and the Agency can formalise an agreement around what constitutes the above 5 items, but it is not all encompassing for all materials.



In addition if a waste has been used as the raw material to produce a product, under a protocol, such as shredded tyres or recycled aggregates, there is nothing to stop that protocol from being used to demonstrate that the material continues to  meet the specification of the product in question.



Yours



Peter Hewitt



-----Original Message-----

From: Contaminated Land Management Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alex Bewick

Sent: 04 March 2014 12:04

To: [log in to unmask]

Subject: Waste or not waste?



Dear all,



We have had a slightly unusual problem put to us by a client. They are redeveloping a riding school which currently has an area surfaced with rubber chippings made of shredded tyres. Another riding school is happy to purchase these materials from them but the client wants to make sure they are doing everything correctly in terms of any testing or classification that may be required.



Although I think you could certainly argue that this material would constitute waste as they are removing it as part of redevelopment works, surely you could also argue that the material could be sold off as it is anyway and therefore doesn't fall into the definition of waste as it is not being discarded?



If it is waste then I'm also struggling to think how this could fit into an MMP situation as it would surely be quite difficult to demonstrate a requirement for these materials at the accepting site, demonstrating that shredded tyres don't pose any kind of risk is going to need some careful risk assessment, and I'm not even sure what you would end up testing the materials for, or even if it's possible to test shredded tyres in this way?



This is further complicated by the fact that tyres can't be landfilled any more so presumably if it is waste, it would have to go to some form of recycling centre which, presumably, could then simply sell the material back to another site that required some new rubber chipping surfacing?



I'd very much appreciate any thoughts any of you have on this matter.



Alex Bewick



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