The Waste (Materials Facilities) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025

Prospective

Amendment of the Pollution Prevention and Control (Industrial Emissions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 N.I.

3.  The Pollution Prevention and Control (Industrial Emissions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013(1) are amended as follows––

(1) In regulation 2(1)––

(a) after the definition of “existing medium combustion plant” insert––

““fibre-based composite material” means packaging material which is made of paperboard or paper fibres, with a layer of plastic, and which may also have layers of other materials, to form a single unit that cannot be separated by hand;”;

(b) after the definition of “landfill” insert––

““materials facility” means––

(a)

a facility or part of a facility where waste material is received in order to-–

(i)

separate it into specified output material; or

(ii)

consolidate it into bulk quantities (whether as a first point of consolidation for such waste or following the first consolidation of bulk quantities transferred from other suppliers);

for the purpose of selling it, or transferring it to other facilities or persons to enable that material to be prepared for re-use or recycling;

(b)

any reference to a “materials facility” excludes a facility or part of a facility––

(i)

at which all the waste material received during a reporting period is attributable exclusively to a single supplier, unless the waste material so received is separated into specified output material at that facility;

(ii)

that is provided pursuant to arrangements made under section 25(1)(b) of the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997;

(iii)

that undertakes the processing or sorting of waste electrical and electronic equipment, waste batteries or accumulators;

“Materials Facilities Code” means the Code of Practice on Sampling and Reporting at Materials Facilities issued by the Department on 31st January 2025;”;

(c) after the definition of “specified generator” insert––

““specified output material” means a batch of material (whether or not waste) that is—

(a)

produced from a separating process for waste material; and

(b)

made up of one or more of the following kinds of material—

(i)

glass;

(ii)

metal;

(iii)

paper;

(iv)

card;

(v)

plastic;

(vi)

fibre-based composite material;”;

(d) at the end of the definition of “waste incineration installation”, for “.”, substitute “;”;

(e) after the definition of “waste incineration installation” insert––

““waste material” means waste that—

(a)

is household waste, or originates from a source other than household waste but is similar to household waste in terms of its nature or composition;

(b)

has been separately collected (whether as a single kind of material or two or more kinds of material mixed together) for the primary purpose of preparing it for re-use or recycling; and

(c)

consists (whether wholly or in part) of any of the following kinds of material—

(i)

glass;

(ii)

metal;

(iii)

paper;

(iv)

card;

(v)

plastic;

(vi)

fibre-based composite material.”.

(2) In regulation 10(2) for “or 15” substitute “,14A or 15”.

(3) In regulation 12(1) for “15 and” substitute “14A, 15 and”.

(4) After regulation 14, insert––

“Conditions of permits: Materials facilities

14A.   The enforcing authority shall ensure that a permit granted or varied on or after 1st April 2025 authorising the operation of a materials facility contains a condition requiring the holder of the permit to comply with the Materials Facilities Code.”.

(5) In regulation 19(1), for “and 14” substitute “, 14 and 14A”.

(6) In regulation 19(4) for “and 17” substitute “,14A and 17”.

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 3 in operation at 1.4.2025, see reg. 1

(1)

S.R. 2013 No.160 as amended by S.R. 2014 No. 304 and S.R. 2018 No. 33.