Search Legislation

The Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997

Changes to legislation:

The Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 16 November 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Help about Changes to Legislation

Close

Changes to Legislation

Changes and effects yet to be applied by the editorial team are only applicable when viewing the latest version or prospective version of legislation. They are therefore not accessible when viewing legislation as at a specific point in time. To view the ‘Changes to Legislation’ information for this provision return to the latest version view using the options provided in the ‘What Version’ box above.

  1. Introductory Text

  2. PART I INTRODUCTORY

    1. 1.Title and commencement

    2. 2.General interpretation

  3. PART II WASTE ON LAND

    1. 3.Meaning of “fit and proper person”

    2. Prohibition on unauthorised or harmful depositing, treatment or disposal of waste

      1. 4.Prohibition on unauthorised or harmful deposit, treatment or disposal, etc., of waste

      2. 4A.Fixed penalty notices for offences under Article 4

    3. Duty of care, etc., as respects waste

      1. 5.Duty of care, etc., as respects waste

      2. 5A.Fixed penalty notices for certain offences under Article 5(8)

    4. Provisions relating to offences under Articles 4 and 5

      1. 5B.Article 4 and 5 offences: investigation and enforcement costs

      2. 5C.Article 4 offences: clean-up costs

      3. 5D.Article 4 and 5 offences: forfeiture of vehicles

      4. 5E.Power to search and seize vehicles etc

      5. 5F.Seizure of vehicles etc: supplementary

    5. Electronic waste tracking

      1. 5G.Electronic waste tracking

      2. 5H.Further provision about regulations under Article 5G

    6. Waste Management Licences

      1. 6.Waste management licences: general

      2. 7.Compensation where rights granted pursuant to Article 6(4) or 12(9)

      3. 8.Grant of licences

      4. 9.Consultation before the grant of certain licences

      5. 10.Variation of licences

      6. 11.Consultation before certain variations

      7. 12.Revocation and suspension of licences

      8. 13.Surrender of licences

      9. 14.Transfer of licences

      10. 15.Fees and charges for licences

      11. 16.Supervision of licensed activities

      12. 17.Appeals from decisions with respect to licences

      13. 18.Offences of making false or misleading statements or false entries

    7. Collection, disposal or treatment of controlled waste

      1. 19.Waste management plan

      2. 19A.Application of public participation procedures

      3. 19B.Public participation procedures

      4. 19C.Procedures following public participation

      5. 20.Collection of controlled waste

      6. 20A.Separate collection of food waste

      7. 21.Receptacles for household waste

      8. 22.Receptacles for commercial or industrial waste

      9. 22A.Fixed penalty notices for offences under Articles 21 and 22

      10. 22B.Amount of fixed penalty under Article 22A

      11. 22C.Use of fixed penalty receipts

      12. 23.Waste management plans by district councils

      13. 24.Payments for recycling and disposal, etc., of waste

      14. 25.Disposal of waste

      15. 26.Powers for recycling waste

      16. 27.Power of Department to require waste to be accepted, treated, disposed of or delivered

      17. 28.Powers to require removal of waste unlawfully deposited

      18. 28A.Article 28: supplementary power in relation to owner of land

      19. 29.Interference with waste sites and receptacles for waste

    8. Special waste and non-controlled waste

      1. 30.Special provision with respect to certain dangerous or intractable waste

      2. 31.Waste other than controlled waste

    9. Other controls on substances, articles or waste

      1. 32.Power to prohibit or restrict the use, supply or storage of injurious substances or articles

      2. 33.Power to obtain information about potentially hazardous substances

    10. Publicity

      1. 34.Public registers

      2. 35.Exclusion from registers of information affecting national security

      3. 36.Exclusion from registers of certain confidential information

      4. 37.Annual reports

    11. Registration of carriers of controlled waste

      1. 38.Offence of transporting controlled waste without registering

      2. 39.Registration of carriers

      3. 40.Restrictions on power under Article 39

      4. 41.Appeals against refusal of registration, etc.

      5. 42.Duty to produce authority to transport controlled waste

      6. 42A.Seizure of vehicles etc: supplementary

      7. 42B.Fixed penalty notices for offences under Article 42

      8. 43.Seizure and disposal of vehicles used for illegal waste disposal

    12. Miscellaneous

      1. 44.Obtaining of information

      2. 45.Provisions relating to legal proceedings and civil liability

      3. 46.Supplementary provisions relating to pipes

      4. 47.Transitional provisions with respect to licences

      5. 48.This Part and radioactive substances

  4. PART III CONTAMINATED LAND

    1. 49.Interpretation of Part III

    2. 50.Identification of contaminated land

    3. 51.Identification and designation of special sites

    4. 52.Referral of special site decisions to the Planning Appeals Commission

    5. 53.Duty of enforcing authority to require remediation of contaminated land, etc.

    6. 54.Determination of the appropriate person to bear responsibility for remediation

    7. 55.Grant of, and compensation for, rights of entry, etc.

    8. 56.Restrictions and prohibitions on serving remediation notices

    9. 56A.Restrictions on liability relating to the pollution of waterways and underground strata

    10. 57.Liability in respect of contaminating substances which escape to other land

    11. 58.Appeals against remediation notices

    12. 59.Offences of not complying with a remediation notice

    13. 60.Powers of the enforcing authority to carry out remediation

    14. 61.Recovery of, and security for, the cost of remediation by the enforcing authority

    15. 62.Special sites

    16. 63.Registers

    17. 64.Exclusion from registers of information affecting national security

    18. 65.Exclusion from registers of certain confidential information

    19. 66.Reports by the Department on the state of contaminated land

    20. 67.Guidance by the Department concerning contaminated land

    21. 68.Supplementary provisions

    22. 69.Supplementary provisions with respect to guidance by the Department

    23. 70.Interaction of this Part with other statutory provisions

    24. 71.This Part and radioactivity

  5. PART IV GENERAL

    1. Supervision and enforcement

      1. 72.Powers of enforcing authorities and persons authorised by them

      2. 73.Power to deal with cause of imminent danger of serious pollution etc.

      3. 73A.Power of authorised officers of Department to stop vehicles

      4. 74.Offences

    2. Evidence

      1. 75.Evidence in connection with certain pollution offences

    3. Information

      1. 76.Disclosure of information

    4. Charging schemes

      1. 76A.Power to make charging schemes

    5. Supplemental

      1. 77.Power to give effect to retained EU obligations and other international obligations, etc.

      2. 78.Offences by bodies corporate

      3. 79.Offences under this Order due to fault of others

      4. 80.Application to Crown

      5. 81.Financial provision

      6. 82.Orders, regulations and directions

      7. Article 83—Amendments and repeals

  6. SCHEDULES

    1. SCHEDULE 1

      1. 1.Production or consumption residues not otherwise specified below.

      2. 2.Off-specification products.

      3. 3.Products whose date for appropriate use has expired.

      4. 4.Materials spilled, lost or having undergone other mishap, including any materials, equipment,

      5. 5.Materials contaminated or soiled as a result of planned actions (e.g. residues from cleaning operations,

      6. 6.Unusable parts (e.g. reject batteries, exhausted catalysts,

      7. 7.Substances which no longer perform satisfactorily (e.g. contaminated acids, contaminated solvents, exhausted tempering salts,

      8. 8.Residues of industrial processes (e.g. slags, still bottoms,

      9. 9.Residues from pollution abatement processes (e.g. scrubber sludges, baghouse dusts, spent filters,

      10. 10.Machining or finishing residues (e.g. lathe turnings, mill scales,

      11. 11.Residues from raw materials extraction and processing (e.g. mining residues, oil field slops,

      12. 12.Adulterated materials (e.g. oils contaminated with PCBs,

      13. 13.Any materials, substances or products whose use has been banned by law.

      14. 14.Products for which the holder has no further use (e.g. agricultural, household, office, commercial and

      15. 15.Contaminated materials, substances or products resulting from remedial action with respect to land.

      16. 16.Any materials, substances or products which are not contained in the above categories.

    2. SCHEDULE 2

      APPEALS AND DECISIONS REFERRED TO THE PLANNING APPEALS COMMISSION

      1. PART I APPEALS UNDER ARTICLE 17, 41 OR 58

        1. 1.This paragraph applies to an appeal to the Planning Appeals Commission ( “the Commission”) under

      2. PART II APPEALS UNDER ARTICLE 36 OR 65

        1. 2.This paragraph applies to an appeal to the Planning Appeals Commission under Article 36(5) or

      3. PART III DECISIONS REFERRED UNDER ARTICLE 52

        1. 4.This paragraph applies where, in accordance with paragraph (1) of Article 52, a district council

    3. SCHEDULE 3

      THE WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN

      1. Part 1 Objectives

        1. 1.Overall objective

        2. 2.Application of the waste hierarchy

        3. 3.Protection of human health and the environment

        4. 4.Principles of self-sufficiency and proximity

      2. Part 2 Matters which must be included in the waste management plan

        1. 5.Analysis of the current waste management situation etc.

        2. 6.General policies in relation to waste and litter

        3. 7.Policies in relation to packaging waste

        4. 8.Policies in relation to separate collection of waste

        5. 9.Policies in relation to bio-waste

        6. 10.Policies in relation to preparing for re-use

        7. 11.Policies in relation to recycling targets and landfill reduction targets

      3. Part 3 Matters which may be included in the waste management plan

        1. 12.The waste management plan may include provision about any of the following, taking into account

      4. Part 4 Examples of economic instruments and other measures to provide incentives for the application of the waste hierarchy

        1. 13.The economic instruments and other measures referred to in paragraph 2(3) are—

    4. SCHEDULE 4

      SUPPLEMENTAL PROVISIONS WITH RESPECT TO POWERS OF ENTRY

      1. Interpretation

        1. Interpretation

          1. 1.In this Schedule “relevant power” means a power conferred by Article 72, including a power

        2. Issue of warrants

          1. 2.If it is shown to the satisfaction of a justice of the peace on complaint

        3. Information obtained to be admissible in evidence

          1. 3.Subject to Article 72(9), information obtained in consequence of the exercise of a relevant power,

        4. Duty to secure premises

          1. 4.An authorised person who, in the exercise of a relevant power, enters on any premises

        5. Compensation

          1. 5.Where an authorised person exercises any power conferred by Article 72(2)(a) or (b) or (3),

    5. Schedule 5—Amendments

    6. Schedule 6—Repeals

Back to top

Options/Help

Print Options

Close

Legislation is available in different versions:

Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.

Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.

Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.

Close

Opening Options

Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once

Close

More Resources

Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • correction slips
  • links to related legislation and further information resources
Close

Timeline of Changes

This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.