The Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997

[F1Part 1N.I.Objectives

Overall objectiveN.I.

1.  To protect the environment and human health by preventing or reducing the generation of waste and the adverse impacts of the generation and management of waste and by reducing overall impacts of resource use and improving the efficiency of such use.

Application of the waste hierarchyN.I.

2.—(1) To apply the following waste hierarchy as a priority order in waste prevention and management policy—

(a)prevention;

(b)preparing for re-use;

(c)recycling;

(d)other recovery (for example energy recovery); and

(e)disposal.

(2) To apply the waste hierarchy in sub-paragraph (1) in a manner which—

(a)encourages the options that deliver the best overall environmental outcome, which may require specific waste streams departing from the hierarchy where this is justified by life-cycle thinking on the overall impacts of the generation and management of such waste; and

(b)takes into account—

(i)the general environmental protection principles of precaution and sustainability;

(ii)technical feasibility and economic viability;

(iii)protection of resources; and

(iv)the overall environmental, human health, economic and social impacts.

(3) To make use of economic instruments and other measures to provide incentives for the application of the waste hierarchy, such as those listed in Part 4 of this Schedule or other appropriate instruments and measures.

Protection of human health and the environmentN.I.

3.  To ensure that waste management is carried out without endangering human health, without harming the environment and, in particular—

(a)without risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals;

(b)without causing a nuisance through noise or odours; and

(c)without adversely affecting the countryside or places of special interest.

Principles of self-sufficiency and proximityN.I.

4.—(1) To establish an integrated and adequate network of waste disposal installations and of installations for the recovery of mixed municipal waste collected from private households, including where such collection also covers such waste from other producersF2....

(2) [F3The network must be designed so as to enable the United Kingdom as a whole to [F4move towards the aim of becoming] self-sufficient in waste disposal as well as in the recovery of mixed municipal waste collected from private households taking into account geographical circumstances or the need for specialised installations for certain types of waste.]

(3) The network must enable waste to be disposed of, or mixed municipal waste collected from private households for recovery to be recovered, in one of the nearest appropriate installations and by means of the most appropriate methods and technologies, so as to ensure a high level of protection for the environment and human health.

(4) This paragraph does not require that the full range of final recovery facilities is located in Northern Ireland.]

F4Words in Sch. 3 para. 4(2) substituted (31.12.2020) by S.I. 2019/584, reg. 14(a) (as amended by The Waste and Environmental Protection (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1443), regs. 1(2), 5; 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1))