1-15 of 15 results for subject:Compost
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To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions in each of the last five years the Environment Agency has refused to grant a licence for a windrow composting site; and what the reasons were for refusal in each case.
[151888]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions in each of the last five years the Environment Agency has refused to grant a licence for a windrow composting site; and what the reasons were for refusal in each case.
[151888]
In the last five years, the Environment Agency has refused to issue or vary a permit for three composting sites that involved windrow composting as part of their operations.
| Refusal
date | Reasons
for
refusal |
| 2010 | The
Environment Agency considered that the applicant would not be able to
comply with the conditions of the proposed permit. The applicant failed
to provide adequate detail with regard to the proposed
operation. |
| 2011 | The
Environment Agency considered that the applicant would not be able to
comply with the conditions of the proposed permit. There were concerns
over current operations and management of the existing
site. |
| 2012 | The
operator could not meet the required rules of the standard rules permit
as it did not have the appropriate site infrastructure to ensure
protection of ground
water. |
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many Environment Agency licences have been withdrawn from windrow composting sites in each of the last five years; and what the criteria are for withdrawal of such licences.
[151890]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many Environment Agency licences have been withdrawn from windrow composting sites in each of the last five years; and what the criteria are for withdrawal of such licences.
[151890]
The Environment Agency has not revoked any permits for windrow composting sites in the last five years.
The Environment Agency has a range of enforcement powers available where operators are not complying with their environmental permits, ranging from warnings through to formal cautions, to prosecutions and in extreme circumstances, permit revocation. The Environment Agency, where appropriate, would usually issue enforcement notices to secure specific improvements to environmental protection or vary permit conditions before considering a permit revocation. Before finally deciding to revoke a permit, any proposal would be referred to the Environment Agency's Central Assessment Panel, which would look at all the circumstances of the case in the light of the organisation's published Enforcement and Sanctions guidance, available at:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Business/Enforcement_and_Sanctions_Guidance.pdf
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many complaints his Department and its agencies have received in regards to odours released by windrow composting sites in the last three years.
[141871]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many complaints his Department and its agencies have received in regards to odours released by windrow composting sites in the last three years.
[141871]
In the last three years DEFRA has received 20 written complaints specifically about odour from composting, out of approximately 40 items of correspondence about composting facilities.
The Environment Agency is the principal regulator of waste management operations and has recorded 1,629 substantiated complaints about composting facilities, including about odour, over the same period.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 November 2012, Official Report, column 551W, on compost, what the name is of the project funded by his Department into bioaerosol and windrow composting sites; and when this project intends to publish...
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 November 2012, Official Report, column 551W, on compost, what the name is of the project funded by his Department into bioaerosol and windrow composting sites; and when this project intends to publish...
The name of the project funded by DEFRA is "Monitoring bioaerosols and odour emissions from composting facilities". The results of this project are expected this spring and the findings will be published shortly thereafter.
Agreed on question.
Agreed on question.
The nation owes a debt of gratitude to its metal detector enthusiasts. As I will explain, individually and collectively they have identified a serious environmental disaster that must be averted.
At first glance, the concept of spreading garden waste across farmland seems to be an excellent idea—more “green” than burying it...
The nation owes a debt of gratitude to its metal detector enthusiasts. As I will explain, individually and collectively they have identified a serious environmental disaster that must be averted.
At first glance, the concept of spreading garden waste across farmland seems to be an excellent idea—more “green” than burying it...
I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Sir Bob Russell) for raising this worthwhile subject. He shows why there is a need to achieve a balance between encouraging the recycling of waste of all types and securing protection for people, animals and the natural environment.
No one...
I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Sir Bob Russell) for raising this worthwhile subject. He shows why there is a need to achieve a balance between encouraging the recycling of waste of all types and securing protection for people, animals and the natural environment.
No one...
I must express disappointment at the Minister’s response so far. He is describing the theory, but the reality is what metal detecting enthusiasts from across England and their hobby group are telling me. What he describes is simply not happening out there in the field.
I must express disappointment at the Minister’s response so far. He is describing the theory, but the reality is what metal detecting enthusiasts from across England and their hobby group are telling me. What he describes is simply not happening out there in the field.
I think that the point I was coming to might answer my hon. Friend’s concerns. I will say now what I was going to say later: the Government are in absolutely no way complacent about this. We might have the most stringent standards in Europe, but we want to see...
I think that the point I was coming to might answer my hon. Friend’s concerns. I will say now what I was going to say later: the Government are in absolutely no way complacent about this. We might have the most stringent standards in Europe, but we want to see...
Will the Minister consider the fact that it is possible to look at the outcome as opposed to the process and perhaps offer some facility for the Environment Agency to recognise the integrity of agricultural and food-producing land and to offer some protection for that land? We already protect water...
Will the Minister consider the fact that it is possible to look at the outcome as opposed to the process and perhaps offer some facility for the Environment Agency to recognise the integrity of agricultural and food-producing land and to offer some protection for that land? We already protect water...
I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. What Government have to do is to create standards, and we do that in accordance, in the main, with European designations on such matters. However, that is a very prosaic and rather unambitious reason to do it. We also do it because...
I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. What Government have to do is to create standards, and we do that in accordance, in the main, with European designations on such matters. However, that is a very prosaic and rather unambitious reason to do it. We also do it because...
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what factors the Environment Agency takes into consideration before issuing a permit for the siting of a windrow composting site.
[129558]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what factors the Environment Agency takes into consideration before issuing a permit for the siting of a windrow composting site.
[129558]
The siting of new windrow composting sites is a matter for relevant planning authorities when they determine planning applications and is not determined by the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency is a statutory consultee for such applications and cannot issue permits for this type of waste operation unless the sites have the necessary planning permission.
In determining applications for permits for composting facilities, the site’s location will have a bearing on whether the Environment Agency is likely to grant a permit, the type of permit that might be issued, the type of infrastructure and controls and safeguards required by the permit conditions.
The main locational factors that the Environment Agency will take into account with respect to the points above are likely to be the proximity of the proposed site to sensitive receptors such as dwellings and workplaces, groundwater source protection zones, watercourses, and designated habitats sites such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated research into any relationship between the use of windrow composting sites and the incidence of respiratory illnesses in populations located within (i) 500 metres, (ii) 1,000 metres and (iii)...
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated research into any relationship between the use of windrow composting sites and the incidence of respiratory illnesses in populations located within (i) 500 metres, (ii) 1,000 metres and (iii)...
DEFRA has not commissioned research into the relationship between the use of windrow composting sites and the incidence of respiratory illnesses in populations located within these distances. Findings from the DEFRA bioaerosol project expected in spring 2013 will help to shape our policy around this issue and to provide evidence on bioaerosol production, dispersion and potential exposures on humans from windrow composting sites.
Under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010, the Environment Agency is required to assess any emissions from windrow composting sites and monitor the impact on the environment and human health and act accordingly where there are breaches of the environment permit.
We are working with WRAP and the Environment Agency to produce a matrix of recently completed and ongoing Government sponsored research in AD and composting from the AD and Composting Research Network (ADCORN), co-ordinated by DEFRA. This is available at:
http://www.biogas-info.co.uk/images/PDFs/research.pdf
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has conducted into the presence of harmful pathogens and spores originating from windrow sites.
[129561]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has conducted into the presence of harmful pathogens and spores originating from windrow sites.
[129561]
DEFRA is funding a project to provide evidence on bioaerosol production, dispersion and potential exposures on humans from windrow composting sites. This project is undertaking a comprehensive set of standard and novel bioaerosol measurements at representative composting sites, to assess comparability and measure spatial and temporal variations. It will also measure trace components of the odour emissions and compare these with bioaerosol emissions to see if odour is a marker of significant bioaerosol exposure. The final report is likely to be published next year.
The Waste and Resources Action Programme has completed a quantitative risk assessment exercise on compost derived from waste materials, which has included reviewing and assessing data on a range of pathogenic organisms. This work is currently being considered by the Food Standards Agency through its Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food. We expect this review process to be finalised next year.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had on the phasing out of peat in compost and other growing media; what recent assessment he has made of the value of conserving peat bogs to (a) carbon storage, (b) biodiversity and...
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had on the phasing out of peat in compost and other growing media; what recent assessment he has made of the value of conserving peat bogs to (a) carbon storage, (b) biodiversity and...
With respect to the use of peat in growing media, I discussed the emerging findings of the Sustainable Growing Media Task Force with its chairman, Dr Alan Knight OBE, in May prior to the publication of the task force's report in July. My officials are involved in ongoing discussions with both task force members and other interested parties, and the Government will produce its response to the report by the end of this year.
Government recognises the important role that functioning peat bogs can play in delivering a range of ecosystem services including climate regulation and water storage and purification. The most recent national assessment of the value of peat bogs was part of the Natural Ecosystem Assessment. It identified gaps in the evidence base to assess the impact of peatland management on carbon storage and DEFRA has research in place to address these gaps. A particular gap is the evidence on lowland peatlands (from where peat is extracted for horticultural use) and DEFRA is funding a £1.75 million research project to address this.