Non-agricultural waste

There are several pieces of legislation relating to the spreading of non-agricultural waste on land, and any resulting discharge to surface water and groundwater, which are reviewed later in this section. The Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2011 allow certain non-agricultural wastes to be applied to agricultural land, which  do not need a waste management licence and are controlled under exemptions registered with SEPA. The spreading of waste must be carried out in a way that does not endanger human health or harm the environment, and within agriculture the waste treatment should result in a benefit to agriculture or ecological improvement. Application must be done in compliance with the Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2011. Wastes allowed under the exemption are shown in Table 1. Any non-agricultural wastes not listed in Table 1 would require a waste management licence in respect of spreading to land.

Application of wastes to agricultural land should be carried out as a method of beneficially recycling nutrients to the soil and not as a waste disposal opportunity. Several serious pollution incidents occur each year due to inadequate precautions being taken when spreading non-agricultural waste to land. Contractors carrying out spreading activities on farm should be suitably trained, qualified and competent to carry out the operation for which they are employed. Farmers and contractors should be aware of legal requirements and willing to follow the guidance in this Code.

Where wastes are imported onto and stored on the farm it is important that adequate facilities with sufficient capacity are available.  Include the waste volumes within  the Farm Slurry and Manure Management Plan (FSMMP) to ensure the material can be stored safely prior to application to land.

To make efficient use of the waste materials and avoid over application of nutrients, produce a nutrient management plan taking account of the nutrients within the material, crop requirement and nutrients available within the soil.   Producing a Risk Assessment for Manure and Slurry Map (RAMS) will help minimise the risk of pollution from spreading organic fertilisers to land. This is mandatory for Fertiliser and Manure Plans in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs).

Wastes which if used as treatment can result in agricultural and ecological improvement to land.

Wastes from agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture, forestry, hunting and fishing

• Plant tissue waste
• Straw, wood or paper-based bedding waste, slurry or dirty water from stables, zoos, animal parks or livestock markets, animal faeces, urine and manure

Wastes from sugar processing

• Soil from cleaning and washing beet

Wastes from wood processing and the production of panels and furniture

• Waste bark and cork
• Sawdust shavings, cuttings, wood, particle board

Wastes from pulp, paper and cardboard production and processing

• Waste bark and wood, including virgin pulp.
• Lime mud waste
• Sludges from on-site effluent treatment plants treating only virgin paper wastes, which contain no inks
• De-inked paper sludge from paper recycling, paper crumble derived from virgin pulp, which contains no inks
• Soil (including excavated soil from contaminated sites), stones and dredging spoil
• Soil and stones
• Dredging spoil

Wastes from aerobic treatment of solid wastes

• Off-specification compost consisting only of biodegradable waste

Wastes from anaerobic treatment of waste

• Digestate consisting only of biodegradable waste
• Digestate from anaerobic treatment of animal and vegetable waste

Garden and park wastes (including cemetery wastes)

• Biodegradable waste
• Soils and stones

Wastes from the preparation and processing of meat, fish and other foods of animal origin

• Materials unsuitable for consumption or processing consisting of blood and gut contents from abattoirs, poultry preparation plants or fish preparation plants; wash waters and sludges from abattoirs, poultry preparation plants or fish preparation plants; and shells from shellfish processing
• Wastes from fruit, vegetables, cereals, edible oils, cocoa, coffee, tea and tobacco preparation and processing; conserve production; yeast and yeast extract production, molasses preparation and fermentation
• Wastes from sugar processing – all wastes under this category
• Wastes from production of dairy products
• Wastes from the baking and confectionery industry – all wastes under this category
• Wastes from the production of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (except coffee, tea and cocoa) – all wastes under this category

Wastes from the leather and fur industry

• Sludges, in particular from on-site effluent treatment free of chromium

Wastes from the textile industry

• Organic matter from natural products (for example, grease, wax)
• Wastes from finishing other than those containing organic solvents
• Sludges from on-site effluent treatment
• Wastes from unprocessed textile fibres
• Wastes from processed textile fibres

Wastes from the manufacture, formulation, supply and use (MFSU) of acids

• Gypsum

Wastes from the manufacture, formulation, supply and use of fine chemicals and chemical products not otherwise specified

• Sludges from onsite effluent treatment other than those containing dangerous substances

Wastes from power stations and other combustion plants (except wastes from management facilities, off-site waste water treatment plants and the preparation of water intended for human consumption and water for industrial use)

• Bottom ash from the combustion of biomass
• Gypsum

Wastes from manufacture of cement, lime and plaster and articles and products made from them

• Gypsum

Soil (including excavated soil from contaminated sites), stones and dredging spoil

• Dredging spoil

Wastes from anaerobic treatment of waste

• Liquor consisting only of biodegradable waste
• Liquor from anaerobic treatment of animal and vegetable waste

Wastes from the preparation of water intended for human consumption or water for industrial use

• Sludges from water clarification

Information correct February 2024 source: https://www.sepa.org.uk/regulations/waste/activities-exempt-from-waste-management-licensing/

Pre-notification requirements and transport of wastes

The contractor or farmer must register the exemption with SEPA at least 21 days before the storage or spreading of wastes can take place, providing full details of the waste and soil characteristics.

Only registered waste carriers can transport the waste to agricultural land. Transporters of waste must be registered with SEPA as a registered waste carrier. If you transport waste produced by your own farm you must register with SEPA as a professional collector and transporter of waste.

General binding Rule 18 states that nutrients cannot be applied in excess of crop requirements.  Carrying out a nutrient management plan will help you calculate nutrient application rate (fertilisers, organic manures) that aligns to crop demand for a single crop, or crops within a rotation, subject to target crop yield. Any fertiliser/material should be applied when it will provide benefit to the crop:

• Nutrients should be applied in early spring to early summer to ensure they are taken up by the growing plants and do not leach out into watercourses.
• Wastes with a low nutrient but high liming value should be spread in autumn to ensure the liming effect takes place before sowing next year’s crop.

Ensure that the timing of nitrate fertiliser application is planned in advance. Nitrates are very soluble and if applied at a time of low plant-uptake they are prone to loss through leaching and surface runoff. Nitrates are additionally readily converted to gases that are emitted to the atmosphere. As such, fertilisers should be applied as close in time to crop need as possible. Ensure that you carryout out a nutrient management plan regularly to reduces losses and only apply what the crop requires. For more information on nutrient planning please click here.

It is important to analyse the material being spread to land to ensure that you are aware of what it contains. This will ensure that you can carry out an accurate nutrient management plan for your land, but additionally you can become aware of any additional components such as heavy metals which may be present.

Further information

SEPA exemption guidance and forms can be found here.

2020 Materials to Land Assessment – Sustainability, Availability and Location

The exemption from licensing includes the temporary storage of not more than 1,250 tonnes of non-agricultural wastes on the farm where they are to be spread, as shown in Table 2.  This activity is covered under a ‘Paragraph 7’ exemption.

Table 2: Paragraph 7 exemption criteria for storage of waste on land before spreading[1]

All secure waste storage locations must be shown on your RAMS map and be stored:

• 250 m from any well or borehole used for domestic water supply.
• 50 m from any well or borehole used for any other water supply; and
• 10 m from any inland or coastal waters.

To ensure that pollution to the environment or to human health does not occur, waste should be stored:

• On land, which is not waterlogged
• On land with a greater soil depth than 40 cm
• In a secure manner, where either the waste is stored within a container/lagoon, or a location where all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure the waste cannot escape and members of the public cannot gain access to the waste.

It is a statutory requirement under the Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2011 that waste storage prior to land application (and waste being applied to land) do not cause a nuisance such as obnoxious smells.

[1] Source: SEPA (2023) Guidance Document for notifying SEPA of a Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2011 Paragraph 7(1) Exemption Activity and the carrying out of that Activity

Through the spreading of waste derived from agricultural or horticultural produce to arable land, there is a risk of introducing pests and diseases, such as potato brown rot, potato ring rot and potato cyst nematode. SASA have provided key guidance material on Plant Health and the regulations, which need to be adhered to. Here you will find statutory controls on waste from certain imported products, which may pose a risk to domestic plant health. You will need to apply for a Paragraph 7 exemption at least 21 days before spreading to land.

The Animal By-Products Regulations must be complied with when using animal processing waste. These EU regulations are implemented in Scotland by the Animal By-Products (Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 and the Animal By-Products (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2015. The Scottish Government have produced guidance documents on animal by-products disposal guidance.

When applying animal by-products to land you must ensure that the land is not used for grazing after application for a minimum of:

• Two months for pigs
• Three weeks for other farmed animals.

You must ensure that you keep a record of:

• The date the material was applied to land.
• The quantity of material applied to land.
• Full description of the material applied to land.
• The date livestock were first given access back to the land.

Further information

Netregs have compiled all the legislation which needs to be complied with, which can be found here https://www.netregs.org.uk/environmental-topics/waste/animal-by-products-and-food-waste/animal-by-products-and-food-waste-environmental-legislation/

The Farm Advisory Service have produced Technical Note TN736 Optimising the application of livestock farmyard manures and slurries

In Scotland, you must not spread organic fertiliser, including sewage sludge:

• Within 10 m of any ditch, burn, river, loch, wetland or coastal water (on sloping ground a wider buffer zone may be required)
• Within 50 m of any spring that supplies water for human consumption or any uncapped well or borehole.
• On waterlogged or snow-covered ground.
• 250 m from any well, borehole or similar work sunk Into underground strata for the purpose of a domestic water supply.
• On shallow soils (average depth of less than 40 cm over gravel or fissured rock).

Use of sewage sludge on farmland is controlled by The Sludge (Use in Agriculture) (Regulations 1989 (as amended) also known as “The Sludge Regulations”, which control the build-up of Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) in soil and restrict the planting, grazing, and harvesting of certain crops following the application of sludge. Prior to storing  sludge to be spread to land you need to register a Paragraph 8 Exemption from SEPA.

Sludge is defined as “residual sludge from sewage plants treating domestic or urban wastewaters and from other sewage plants treating waste waters of a composition similar to domestic and urban wastewaters.”[1] You must only use sewage sludge which has been tested according to The Sludge Regulations.

Tables 3 to 5 provide information on the current guidelines for permissible concentrations of toxic elements found in soil after the application of sewage sludge and where this material can be spread in an agricultural setting.

Table 3: The Sludge (Use in Agriculture) (Amendment) Regulations 1990: Maximum permissible concentrations of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in soil (0-25 cm)¹ after application of sewage sludge waste and maximum annual rates of addition.

Table 4 The Sludge (Use in Agriculture) (Regulations 1989 (as amended): acceptable uses of treated sludge in agriculture and horticulture (see also the Safe Sludge Matrix in Table 5).

Table 5: The Safe Sludge Matrix

https://assuredbiosolids.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Safe-Sludge-Matrix-2001.pdf

“Conventionally Treated Sludge” is sludge, which has been treated to ensure at least 99% of pathogens have been destroyed.

“Enhanced Treated Sludge” is sludge, which has been treated to ensure it is free from Salmonella and that 99.9999% pathogens have been destroyed.

[1]https://www.sepa.org.uk/media/105222/the-storage-and-spreading-of-sludge-technical-guidance-note-for-paragraph-8-exemptions.pdf

The Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (WML) or the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2012 (PPC) provide regulatory control for composting. SEPA have provided a detailed section on their website listing the regulations, permits and guidance that should be followed when compositing and using compost on farm.

In Scotland, under a Paragraph 12 exemption farmers may make compost if you:

• compost, on your farm, using only material arising on your farm – a maximum of 1,000 tonnes of material at any one time; or
• bring to your site material produced elsewhere, to compost – a maximum of 400 tonnes of material at any one time.

You will need a Paragraph 7 Waste Management License Exemption to apply compost to your farm.

Composts certified to the BSI PAS 100 specification under the UK Compost Certification Scheme and SEPA’s additional requirement regarding plastic contamination limits meet pre-defined quality criteria and are not classified as wastes in Scotland. They can be applied to land without further regulation, providing they are used within the terms of SEPA’s guidance on “Regulation of Outputs from Composting Processes”.

https://www.sepa.org.uk/media/219843/wst-g-050-regulation-ofoutputs- from-composting-processes.pdf

Note you must still comply with GBR18.

You will require a PPC permit if you are carrying out the following activities:

• composting of food waste in a process with a capacity of greater than 10 tonnes per day
• composting any waste in a process with a capacity of greater than 75 tonnes per day

You will need a Waste Management Licence if you carry out composting on any waste below the PPC thresholds. However, some composting activities may be registered under an exemption if they fit within these thresholds:

• compost up to 400 tonnes of green waste or kitchen and canteen waste (all food waste must be treated in an enclosed process), or
• compost on a farm up to 1000 tonnes of green waste arising from within the farm business.

The size of the AD plant and the feedstocks to be processed will determine which regulations apply to the activity.

Waste Management Licence

You will need a waste management licence if your plant has a capacity of less than 100 tonnes per day and accepts any organic waste material, such as household and commercial food waste, or commercial and industrial organic wastes or sludges. This could include peelings and pulp from commercial fruit and vegetable processing.

Exemption from Waste Management Licensing for agricultural plants

Plants that have a capacity of less than 100 tonnes per day and accept only agricultural and distillery wastes can register a paragraph 51 exemption from waste management licensing. Please note that manures and slurries are not classed as waste if they are used directly onto land as a soil conditioner/fertiliser. However, manure and slurry that are processed through an anaerobic digester are classed as wastes and would require to be treated as waste material. SEPA do note that if the digestate is derived only from agricultural wastes, including manure and slurry, and/or crops grown for AD plants, the material can be spread to land without waste regulatory controls. This is only permitted when adhering to General binding Rules, four-point plan, the PEPFAA Code and NVZ Regulations, where appropriate.

PPC Permit

AD plants that can accept more than 100 tonnes of organic waste per day must have a permit issued under the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2012.

Use of digestate

If the digestate is made from any waste inputs, including manures and slurries, it is classed as waste unless it meets specific quality criteria designed to protect the environment and human health.

SEPA Position Statement

In 2017 SEPA released a Position Statement on the Regulation of Outputs from Anaerobic Digestion Processes. This statement outlines the regulations, which must be adhered and how SEPA regulate the use and handling of digestate outputs from Anaerobic Digesters.

BSI PAS 110

PAS 110 is a quality specification baseline for digestate, which provides reassurance and quality control for digestate. Rules are applied to the production and process of making the material, including what feedstocks are inputted into the AD plant, the quality of the digestate produced and the information which must be supplied to the recipient of the digestate material. Sites must be certified to the standard which includes annual third-party audits and regular testing of digestate.

Material certified to the PAS 110 standard and the additional SEPA rules is no longer classed as a waste. If the material does not meet these standards the material will be classed as a waste and will need to be managed under waste management licensing procedures.

Paragraph 7

You will need a Paragraph 7 Waste Management License Exemption to apply digestate to your farm if the material is derived from materials other than slurry, manures and purpose grown (energy) crops. However, if the material complies with SEPA’s position statement and is PAS110 certified you do not need a Paragraph 7 Waste Management License Exemption. You must comply with General Binding Rules.

Further information

• Farm Advisory Service has produced Technical note TN699 Agricultural use of biosolids, composts, anaerobic digestates and other industrial organic fertilisers
• Zero Waste Scotland have produced a Farmers Guide to Sourcing and using digestate and compost
• Paragraph 51 Exemption Anaerobic Digestion of Agricultural and Distillery Wastes
• Digestate – Storage & Handling https://www.fas.scot/environment/water-management/slurry-storage-and-management/digestate-storage-application/#:~:text=There%20are%20a%20number%20of,where%20it%20is%20being%20spread.
• Using Anaerobic Digestates on Farms in Scotland – Checklist of Key Questions to Ask https://www.sruc.ac.uk/media/iysjqkee/using_anaerobic_digestates_on_farms_in_scotland.pdf

Water pollution

Farmers and contractors who neglect their duty to prevent pollution of waters (e.g. because of run-off) may be liable to enforcement action.

Waste management

Establish and agree what responsibilities and measures will need to be taken to avoid pollution, odour, and other statutory nuisances. This will need to be communicated and confirmed with all participants of the waste chain from the waste producer, waste carriers, contractor and farmer, where appropriate.

Regulations made under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 confer a Duty of Care upon producers, carriers, and disposers of waste to ensure that:

• waste is not kept, treated or disposed of illegally;
• an adequate written description of waste accompanies the transfer of waste;
• the waste is held securely and does not escape; and.
• the waste is only passed to persons authorised to receive it.

If you are unclear about any of the requirements, contact your local SEPA office.

Nutrient Management Plan

It is beneficial for all farms to produce a Nutrient Management Plan, which is adhered to and regularly reviewed. These plans help nutrient management on farm and demonstrate compliance with regulations relating to the application of: inorganic fertilisers, livestock manures and slurries and non-agricultural wastes. The plans can help match the nutrient requirements of the rotation and crops being grown.

Before agreeing to accept non-agricultural derived organic wastes, a farmer must carefully assess whether these additional nutrient inputs can be utilised effectively to give a “benefit to agriculture or ecological improvement” without causing a pollution threat. When applying for a Paragraph 7 exemption, you will need to provide evidence that the waste materials can offer agricultural and/or ecological benefit to the land.

All applications of waste materials to land should be in quantities and at frequencies that convey positive benefits without causing pollution. Factors to take into consideration are the type and category of wastes, land availability/suitability, and crop nutrient demand. Properly qualified advice should be sought on what application rate is appropriate for each waste material, each soil, and each site.

Using non-agricultural waste as fertilisers

Non-agricultural wastes can provide a source of nutrients for your farm. However, they need to be included within your nutrient budgeting plan. Wastes that contain significant quantities of nutrients may have valuable fertilising properties. The rate and timing of application of waste must be matched to the nutrient requirements of the crop. If this is exceeded, then the operation will be classed as waste disposal rather than fertilisation. To be of fertiliser value, at least part of the nutrient content should be available or become available for plant uptake within 3 years.

Some non-agricultural wastes contain other important nutrients (e.g. sulphur and magnesium) or a range of trace elements. However, if a trace element deficiency has been diagnosed, it is important to apply a specific treatment because the trace element content of most non-agricultural wastes is generally insufficient to correct a deficiency.

The Farm Advisory Service have produced Technical Notes on nutrient budgeting for crops, which can be found here.

Chemical analysis of waste material usually entails the measurement of total nutrient quantity as well as other parameters such as dry solids, pH and organic matter or total carbon. It must also provide details of other hazards including potentially toxic elements.

The effectiveness or availability of nutrients for crop uptake must be assessed before the fertiliser value of the imported waste can be calculated. Certain wastes with a high C:N ratio may not initially release any of its nitrogen for plant uptake because of a temporary locking-up of plant available N (immobilisation). SEPA has produced an Agricultural Benefit Calculator to allow those submitting a Paragraph 7 exemption application to highlight the agricultural benefit of the material they intend to store and spread to land.

Liming value and pH

Wastes such as limed sludge can have a high liming (neutralising) value which makes the waste a useful liming material for acid soils. Care must be taken however to avoid raising the soil pH too high through excessive applications as this may lead to some trace elements becoming unavailable in the soil. The Sludge Regulations prohibit the spreading of sewage sludge on soils with a pH less than 5.0.

Soil conditioning

Certain non-agricultural wastes can act as a soil conditioner and may also add useful amounts of organic matter to the soil, which may improve soil structure and increase the water holding/drainage capacity. However, such improvements to soil structure will only be significant if regular and well managed dressings of bulky and highly organic wastes are made to a low organic matter soil. Cross Compliance/GAEC requires that soil organic matter levels are maintained through appropriate practices, including optimising the use of organic manures by basing rates of application on soil and crop needs. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that any product that you use complies with assurance schemes.

The amount of potentially toxic elements (PTEs), organic contaminants and pathogens, and environmental risks of any waste type can vary greatly from one waste producer to another. There can also be great variability in the analysis on a month-by-month basis for any waste producer. Farmers should seek up-to-date and representative analysis from the waste producer (or waste contractor) and seek agronomic and environmental advice. It is important that accurate records of the type of waste and rate of application are kept for each field. The Farm Advisory Service has produced a Technical Note TN753 on the Management of inputs of heavy metals to agricultural soils and crops which provides information on managing heavy metals on your farm.

Biosolids Assurance Scheme

The Biosolids Assurance Scheme is UKAS accredited to “provide food chain and consumer reassurance that BAS Certified Biosolids can be safely and sustainably recycled to agricultural land”. The Scheme is open to operations which treat sewage, transport, and store the material, and those that recycle biosolids to agricultural land. In Scotland all sludge producers have signed up to this Scheme.

There are several factors to be taken into consideration before, during and after the application of any non-agricultural wastes. Ensure that you understand and follow the relevant Know the Rules Guides before commencing work.

When applying non-agricultural waste you must not:

• apply during heavy rainfall, or if heavy rain is forecast within 24 hours
• apply to land which is:
  • within 10 m of any surface water, wetland or shoreline
  • within 50 m of any spring that supplies water for human consumption or any uncapped well or borehole
  • waterlogged
  • frozen
  • snow covered
  • sloping, unless a significant buffer is provided to intercept any run-off to prevent slurry reaching a surface water, or
  • has an average soil depth of less than 40 cm over gravel and fissured rock

All equipment used must be maintained in a good state of repair and the material must always be applied in such a way and at such times that the risk of pollution is minimised.

Assess the soil capability/fertility

Prior to the acceptance of receiving and the application of non-agricultural wastes, you should obtain an analysis to determine the status of the soil in terms of pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and Potentially Toxic Elements (PTE) content. PTEs may include copper, zinc, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel, and any others appropriate to the source of the waste. The nutrient requirement of the growing crop should be calculated considering the soil nutrient status and nutrient residues from previous cropping and fertiliser practice. Please refer to the soil section for soil sampling and analysis information.

Analyse the waste

The waste should be first analysed for nitrogen, ammonium-nitrate, phosphorus and potassium, BOD, COD, pH, dry solids, and salinity before you accept the material. The waste may also require analysis of PTEs, oils and fats, prescribed substances, C:N ratios, pathogens, and neutralising value (analysis depending on waste type and possible hazards). A bioassay (a controlled plant growth experiment) or similar trial should ideally be obtained from the contractor to determine the effects of the waste on plant growth. If these tests are shown to be satisfactory, land application can be considered.

Assess the application rate

Using the waste analysis, the application rate can be calculated to match the nutrient requirements of the crop and/or the maximum acceptable application of PTEs (whichever is lower). Guidance should be followed through the Paragraph 7 exemption process.

In all cases, application rates should not exceed the nutrient requirements of the crop or rotation.