The Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997

[F1 Part 1 N.I. Objectives

F1 Sch. 3 substituted (18.12.2020) by The Waste (Circular Economy) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (S.R. 2020/285), regs. 1(1), 2(7)

Overall objective N.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 hierarchy N.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 environment N.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 proximity N.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) [F3 The network must be designed so as to enable the United Kingdom as a whole to [F4 move 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.]

F2 Words in Sch. 3 para. 4(1) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Waste and Environmental Protection (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1443), regs. 1(3), 2; 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F3 Sch. 3 para. 4(2) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Environment (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/584), regs. 1, 14(a); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F4 Words 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))