Waste Acceptance Criteria

Waste cannot be disposed of at a Landfill unless it meets the relevant Waste Acceptance Criteria for the specific type of Landfill appropriate for the waste type. The Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) are limits that have been derived by modelling the impacts of a typical Landfill on groundwater and are thus aimed at avoiding groundwater pollution^[1].

Introduction

EU Council Decision 2003/33/EC establishing criteria for the acceptance of waste at landfill specifies waste acceptance criteria for Inert, non-hazardous and hazardous waste.

Wastes that already meet the numerical Waste Acceptance Criteria still require treatment prior to Landfill. The requirement to pre-treat contributes to the aim of reducing the overall impact of landfilling on human health and/or the environment. Waste Acceptance Criteria are aimed at specifying the chemical properties that are actually landfilled in order to provide an acceptable level of risk. This means that, even where the waste inherently meets the waste acceptance limit values, treatment prior to landfill must still take place^[1].

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Defra, 2010. Environmental Permitting Guidance: The Landfill Directive for the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. London: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, p.7.

[foo-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Defra, 2010. Environmental Permitting Guidance: The Landfill Directive for the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. London: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, p.7.

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