The Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003

Prohibition of acceptance of certain wastes at landfills S

11.—(1) The operator of a landfill shall not accept any of the following types of waste at the landfill–

(a) any waste in liquid form (including waste waters but excluding sludge);

(b) waste which, in the conditions of landfill, is explosive, corrosive, oxidising, flammable or highly flammable;

(c) hospital and other clinical wastes which arise from medical or veterinary establishments and which are infectious;

(d) chemical substances arising from research and development or teaching activities, such as laboratory residues, which are new or not identified, and the effects of which on man or on the environment are not known;

(e) as from 16th July 2003, whole used tyres other than–

(i) tyres used as engineering material;

(ii) bicycle tyres; and

(iii) tyres with an outside diameter above 1400mm;

(f) as from 16th July 2006, shredded tyres other than–

(i) bicycle tyres; and

(ii) tyres with an outside diameter above 1400mm;

[F1 (fa) as from 1st January 2010, waste industrial or automotive batteries;]

[F2 (fb) as from 1st January 2014, waste which has been collected and transported in accordance with section 34(2I) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990;

(fc) as from [F3 31 December 2025], biodegradable municipal waste;]

(g) any waste which does not fulfil the relevant waste acceptance criteria.

(2) The operator of a landfill shall ensure that the landfill is not used for landfilling waste which has been diluted or mixed solely to meet the relevant waste acceptance criteria.

[F4 (2A) Sub-paragraph (1)(fa) does not prohibit the acceptance of residues of any batteries that have undergone both treatment and recycling, provided that the treatment and recycling—

(a) used best available techniques, in terms of the protection of health and the environment; and

(b) complied, as a minimum, with [F5 [F6 assimilated] law], in particular as regards health and safety and waste management.]

[F7 (2B) Paragraph (1)(a) does not prohibit the temporary storage for more than one year at a landfill of metallic mercury that is considered a waste F8 ... ]

(3) For the purposes of this regulation, waste is–

[F9 “biodegradable municipal waste” if it consists of municipal waste that is also biodegradable waste, but does not include waste—

(i)

that is treated, and either—

(aa)

respiration activity after a static respiration test is less than 10 milligrams of oxygen for each gram of dry material; or

(bb)

dynamic respiration over one hour is less than 1000 milligrams of oxygen for each kilogram of volatile solids;

(ii)

that is incinerated, and the total organic carbon content is less than 5%]

“corrosive” if it consists of substances and preparations which may destroy living tissue on contact;

“explosive” if it consists of substances and preparations which may explode under the effect of flame or which are more sensitive to shocks or friction than dinitrobenzene;

“flammable” if it consists of liquid substances and preparations having a flash point equal to or greater than 21°C and less than or equal to 55°C;

“highly flammable” if it consists of–

(a)

liquid substances and preparations having a flash point below 21°C (including extremely flammable liquids);

(b)

substances and preparations which may become hot and finally catch fire in contact with air at ambient temperature without any application of energy;

(c)

solid substances and preparations which may readily catch fire after brief contact with a source of ignition and which continue to burn or to be consumed after removal of the source of ignition;

(d)

gaseous substances and preparations which are flammable in air at normal pressure; or

(e)

substances and preparations which, in contact with water or damp air, evolve highly flammable gases in dangerous quantities;

“infectious” if it consists of substances containing viable micro-organisms or their toxins which are known or reliably believed to cause disease in man or other living organisms;

“oxidising” if it consists of substances and preparations which exhibit highly exothermic reactions when in contact with other substances, particularly flammable substances.

[F10 (3A) For the purposes of paragraph (2B), metallic mercury is considered a waste if it is mercury—

(a) that is no longer used in the chlor-alkali industry;

(b) gained from the cleaning of natural gas;

(c) gained from non-ferrous mining and smelting operations; or

(d) extracted from cinnabar ore in the European Union as from 15th March 2011.]

[F11 (4) In this regulation, a reference to the total organic carbon content of waste is a reference to the total amount of carbon bound in organic compounds in the waste.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 11(1)(fa) inserted (6.7.2009) by The Waste Batteries (Scotland) Regulations 2009 (S.S.I. 2009/247), art. 1(1), reg. 7(4)(a) (with regs. 8-10)

F2 Reg. 11(1)(fb)(fc) inserted (17.5.2012) by The Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 (S.S.I. 2012/148), regs. 1(1), 4(2)(a)

F3 Words in reg. 11(1)(fc) substituted (4.12.2020) by The Waste (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 (S.S.I. 2020/314), regs. 1(1), 4(3)

F4 Reg. 11(2A) inserted (6.7.2009) by The Waste Batteries (Scotland) Regulations 2009 (S.S.I. 2009/247), art. 1(1), reg. 7(4)(b) (with regs. 8-10)

F5 Words in reg. 11(2A)(b) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Environment (EU Exit) (Scotland) (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2019 (S.S.I. 2019/26), regs. 1, 9(4); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F6 Word in reg. 11(2A)(b) substituted (1.1.2024) by The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (Consequential Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 (S.S.I. 2023/374), reg. 1(1), sch. 2 para. 3(3)

F7 Reg. 11(2B) inserted (1.8.2013) by The Landfill (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/222), regs. 1, 2(5)(a)

F8 Words in reg. 11(2B) omitted (28.2.2019) by virtue of The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Miscellaneous Amendments and Revocations) (Scotland) Regulations 2018 (S.S.I. 2018/391), regs. 1(1), 12(4)

F9 Words in reg. 11(3) inserted (17.5.2012) by The Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 (S.S.I. 2012/148), regs. 1(1), 4(2)(b)

F10 Reg. 11(3A) inserted (1.8.2013) by The Landfill (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/222), regs. 1, 2(5)(b)

F11 Reg. 11(4) inserted (17.5.2012) by The Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 (S.S.I. 2012/148), regs. 1(1), 4(2)(c)