Waste not, want not

After new legislation is introduced in July this year, hazardous waste will have to be pre-treated and deposited in special landfill sites. If the waste is considered 'stable and non-reactive' it can be deposited in dedicated sites at ordinary landfills. The latter facility is expected only to be available until July 2005.

The definition of hazardous waste in the UK has recently been brought into line with the rest of Europe. This means that excavated soil from contaminated sites and other construction and demolition waste is classified as hazardous waste where it is assessed as ecotoxic (defined as containing a threshold of contamination equivalent to 2,500 parts per million) or if it contains certain substances, for example, heavy metal compounds (arsenic, lead, cadmium, nickel).

The combination of the ecotoxic thresholds and the inclusion of heavy metal compounds is more likely to cause soil from contaminated sites to be classified as hazardous.

Consequences
It is predicted that from July the number of landfill sites permitted to take hazardous soils will fall from around the current number of 200 to less than 10 commercial operations. Moreover there are no planned sites in Wales or the West Midlands. There is only one site in the South East, a region which generates over one million tonnes of hazardous waste each year, most of it contaminated soil from brownfield developments.

At present it is estimated that more than 90% of all contaminated soil is treated by excavation and disposal at landfill (dig and dump). Inevitably the significant reduction in landfill capacity will mean that the cost of disposing of contaminated soil will increase due to:

• Longer haulage distances to the new sites licensed to take hazardous waste.

• Higher rates charged by such sites to take hazardous waste applying the principles of supply and demand.

• Landfill sites will be asked to implement higher engineering standards as part of their new permits and these increased costs will be passed on to the companies taking the waste to landfill.

It is anticipated that over time the development of new and existing environmental technologies together with the construction of new hazardous landfill sites should enable the treatment of the existing volumes of hazardous waste. In the meantime, the fear is that while many reputable contractors try and dispose of waste soils properly at an increased cost, many contractors may be tempted to fly tip the waste, particularly where they have already entered into contracts for disposal at fixed rates which do not take into account the inevitable price rises post July 2004.

Businesses must pass on their waste to a legitimate carrier, and could end up in the dock themselves if their waste is fly tipped by unscrupulous criminals

Contractor's duties
Contractors involved in land remediation should be concerned to ensure that they comply with their statutory duty of care obligations imposed by Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This imposes a duty of care on persons concerned with the management, treatment and disposal of waste to ensure that the waste is managed properly and recovered or disposed of safely. This includes correctly describing the waste, and identifying it as hazardous (if necessary by chemical analysis) and ensuring that it is disposed of in a landfill properly licensed to take such waste.

Liability for breach of the duty is strict and the Environment Agency has warned that it will crack down on illegal activity. The chief executive, Barbara Young, is quoted as saying: "Businesses are unaware that they have a legal duty of care to ensure that they pass on their waste to a legitimate waste carrier, and could end up in the dock themselves if their waste is subsequently fly tipped by unscrupulous criminals."

As a whole the construction industry is not ready for the reduced landfill capacity that will result from the EU Landfill Directive.

The lack of progress is alarming, particularly considering the demand for new buildings in large cities and residential development. If land is to be developed in accordance with the law then alternative remediation techniques must be adopted. However, there are difficulties associated with the alternatives which generally require more time to be carried out successfully compared with dig and dump with consequential increased costs.