Archived press release

DOE ill-prepared for introduction of new landfill regime which will force closure of many sites

5 July 2006

DOE is ill-prepared for the introduction of changes which may necessitate the closure of many landfill sites in Northern Ireland, according to a report published today by Friends of the Earth [1]. The Department's Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) [2] is not able to provide - and says it cannot easily access - information on the number and type of landfill sites which will be closing under a strict new regime it is responsible for introducing [3]. More than half of Scotland's landfill sites are closing as a result of the introduction of the regime there [4]. The green pressure group says the findings lend weight to the campaign to win an Environmental Protection Agency for Northern Ireland.

A series of questions was asked of EHS by the report's author, Dr Liz Fawcett of Liz Fawcett Consulting, for example:

• How many landfill sites are there in Northern Ireland?
• How many are operated by a private company or individual?

EHS refused to provide a response, however, because of the 'considerable period of time' required to do so.

Dr Fawcett commented:

"It seems extraordinary that EHS is unable to answer such basic questions. It's now more than two years since landfill operators had to provide EHS with the information on which closure decisions were to be based. It's hard to see how EHS can effectively plan for a reduction in landfill capacity when it still has no idea how many sites, and what type of sites, are likely to close under the new system?"

Friends of the Earth's report comes in the wake of criticism by the NI Audit Office and Westminster Public Accounts Committee which found that the lack of reliable waste data held by EHS was creating a difficulty for effective planning and monitoring.

Also contained in the report are the findings of a survey of waste industry bosses [5]. The single issue of greatest concern to the legitimate waste industry was the perceived inability of EHS to act decisively against 'cowboy' operators. Waste company executives complained that EHS was failing to deal effectively with landfill operators who do not have the correct planning permission and licences, or who flout the legislation governing waste disposal. EHS estimates that illegal site operators are each making, on average, profits of £1m a year.

The poll also found concern about delays in the administration of waste licence applications. Five companies complained of delays in the issue of planning permission and the other consents needed to operate legally. One firm said that, due to EHS delays, it was still using a 23-year old waste licence which contained no stipulations on operating in an environmentally-friendly way.

Private sector respondents also complained that the monitoring regime for landfill sites was inadequate.

1. One site had only been visited by EHS twice in the previous four years.
2. Another had only been visited twice in the previous three years.
3. A third company reported that Belfast City Council had conducted weekly inspections when it was the responsible authority but that EHS only visited twice a year.
4. A fourth company said it received weekly visits from Belfast City Council but had only been visited by EHS once or twice a year since it took over responsibility for inspection. Moreover, none of the EHS visits was unannounced.

Besides the survey of waste industry bosses, the report also compared EHS with its Scottish equivalent and found:

1. EHS was slower than the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) in responding to requests for information.
2. EHS was less helpful than SEPA in its provision of information.
3. EHS's website is more user-friendly than SEPA's, however it contains far less information relating to waste regulation.
4. EHS appears to be more generously funded for waste regulation activities than does SEPA [6].
5. EHS receives proportionately more reports of illegal waste activity than does SEPA, suggesting the problem is greater here than in Scotland.
6. EHS appears to be taking a much higher proportion of cases to court than SEPA.

Lisa Fagan of Friends of the Earth concluded:

"EHS performance in regulating the waste industry has been criticised in recent years by the Waste Management Advisory Board, the NI Audit Office, the House of Commons Environment Committee and the Westminster Public Accounts Committee. But this report is different because it demonstrates that the waste industry itself is unhappy with how it is being regulated. EHS performance in cracking down on cowboy operators and its record of bureaucratic delays are singled out for particular criticism by waste company executives. This lends weight to Friends of the Earth's campaign for the creation of an Environmental Protection Agency for Northern Ireland."

Notes

[1] (back) The Regulation of Northern Ireland's Waste Industry: Private Sector and Comparative Perspectives (PDF) was written by Dr Liz Fawcett of Liz Fawcett Consulting on behalf of Friends of the Earth.

[2] (back) Environment and Heritage Service is an Executive Agency within the Department of the Environment, responsible for pollution control including the regulation of the waste industry.

[3] (back) The Landfill Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 require landfill sites to hold a Pollution Prevention and Control Permit by 31 March 2007, however the high cost of compliance is such that many sites are expected to opt instead for closure.

[4] (back) In Scotland, 147 of 257 landfill sites are closing down as a result of the introduction of the new regime.

[5] (back) Dr Fawcett conducted semi-structured telephone interviews with senior executives from 11 waste companies. These included many of the largest and best-known firms in the waste industry in Northern Ireland. Interviews were also undertaken with two independent waste industry consultants, a representative of the Irish Waste Management Association, a freelance journalist with a special interest in the waste industry, and a representative of Arc 21 (one of three regional groupings which coordinates the waste management activities of local councils in Northern Ireland). Most of the private sector respondents requested anonymity.

[6] (back) EHS has a waste regulation budget approximately equal to that of SEPA, however Northern Ireland's population is one third that of Scotland's. In 2004-5, EHS spent £5.6m on waste regulation while SEPA spent £5.5m, however Scotland's population at 5.1m is about three times that of Northern Ireland which has 1.7m inhabitants. EHS has, however, had to devote proportionately more resources to prosecution than has SEPA.

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Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland
7 Donegall Street Place
BELFAST
BT1 2FN
Tel: 028 9023 3488
Fax: 028 9024 7556
Email: foe-ni@foe.co.uk.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust