Paragraph 47 The Burning of Waste at a Dock
A guide to the legislation is given below. Read through this to help you decide if this exemption covers the type of activity that you wish to undertake.
Exempted Activity
Paragraph 47 allows the burning at a dock of waste consisting of plant tissue1 or wood of any kind used to wedge or support parts of cargo, including packing material, spacers and pallets. The activity is carried out in pursuance of a notice given under Article 22 of the Plant Health Order (Northern Ireland) 1993.
Waste Stream(s) Permitted
Plant tissue waste and wood of any kind used to wedge or support parts of cargo, including packing material, spacers and pallets.
Quantity
The total quantity of waste stored or burned in any period of 24 hours must not exceed 15 tonnes.
Storage and Location
Storage of the waste must be at the dock where it was unloaded and where it is intended to be burned.
Additional Conditions
The burning at a dock of plant tissue waste must be in pursuance of a notice given by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) under Article 22 of the Plant Health Order (Northern Ireland) 2006 (as amended).
The burning at a dock of wood of any kind used to wedge or support parts of cargo, including packing material, spacers and pallets must be in pursuance of a notice given by DARD under Article 20 of the Plant Health (Wood and Bark) Order (Northern Ireland) 2006 (as amended).
In accordance with Regulation 18 of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003, the burning activity may be carried out as soon as required under the notice issued by DARD and the information notified to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency thereafter as soon as is practicable.
Interpretation
1 “Plant tissue” means tissue from a plant and includes any linseed residues, oil-seed rape residues, field beans harvested dry residues, peas harvested dry residues, cereal straw or cereal stubble.
"Plant" has the same meaning as in Article 2 of the Plant Health Order(Northern Ireland) 2006 and means a living plant (including a fungus, tree or shrub), or a living part of a plant (including a living part of a fungus, tree or shrub), at any stage of growth; and living parts of a plant shall include: fruit or seed, vegetables, other than those preserved by deep freezing, tubers, corms, bulbs or rhizomes, cut flowers, branches with or without foliage, a plant, tree or shrub that has been cut and which retains any foliage, leaves or foliage, a plant, tree or shrub in tissue culture, live pollen, and bud wood, cuttings or scions. www.opsi.gov.uk/sr/sr2006/nisr_20060082_en.pdf
What the legislation says
The full wording of the paragraph 47 exemption can be found in Schedule 2 of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003. These Regulations have been amended a number of times. A document containing subsequent legislative updates can be found on the NIEA website at
www.ni-environment.gov.uk/final_amended_wml_regs.pdf (.PDF 664KB)
Relevant Objectives in relation to the disposal or recovery of waste are given in paragraph 4 of Schedule 3 to the Regulations.
If you think that you can meet the requirements of the paragraph 47 exemption and wish to proceed with the registration please contact:-
Northern Ireland Environment Agency
Land and Resource Management
1st Floor Klondyke Building
Cromac Avenue
Gasworks Business Park
Lower Ormeau Road
Belfast
BT7 2JA
Telephone 028 9056 9358
Fax 028 9056 9376
or alternatively click on the links below for printable guidance and application form
