The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016

SECTION 2.2 Non-ferrous metals

Interpretation and application of Section 2.2

1.  Part A(1) and Part B do not apply to hand soldering, flow soldering or wave soldering.

Part A(1)

(a) Unless falling within Part A(2) of this Section, producing non-ferrous metals from ore, concentrates or secondary raw materials by metallurgical, chemical or electrolytic activities.

(b) Melting, including making alloys of, non-ferrous metals, including recovered products and the operation of non-ferrous metal foundries where—

(i) the plant has a melting capacity of more than 4 tonnes per day for lead or cadmium or 20 tonnes per day for all other metals, and

(ii) any furnace (other than a vacuum furnace), bath or other holding vessel used in the plant for the melting has a design holding capacity of 5 or more tonnes.

(c) Producing, melting or recovering (whether by chemical means or by electrolysis or by the use of heat) cadmium or mercury or any alloy containing more than 0.05 per cent by weight of either of those metals or both in aggregate.

Part A(2)

(a) Melting, including making alloys of, non-ferrous metals, including recovered products and operating of non-ferrous metal foundries where the plant has a melting capacity of more than 4 tonnes per day for lead or cadmium or 20 tonnes per day for all other metals, and—

(i) no furnace (other than a vacuum furnace), bath or other holding vessel used in the plant for the melting has a design holding capacity of 5 or more tonnes, or

(ii) the plant uses a vacuum furnace of any design holding capacity.

Part B

(a) Melting, including making alloys of, non-ferrous metals (other than tin or any alloy which in molten form contains 50 per cent or more by weight of tin), including recovered products (such as refining or foundry casting) in plant with a melting capacity of 4 tonnes or less per day for lead or cadmium or 20 tonnes or less per day for all other metals.

(b) Heating in a furnace or any other appliance any non-ferrous metal or non-ferrous metal alloy for the purpose of removing grease, oil or any other non-metallic contaminant, including such operations as the removal by heat of plastic or rubber covering from scrap cable, if not related to another activity described in this Part of this Section, unless—

(i) it involves the use of one or more furnaces or other appliances the primary combustion chambers of which have in aggregate a net rated thermal input of less than 0.2 megawatts, and

(ii) it does not involve the removal by heat of plastic or rubber covering from scrap cable or of any asbestos contaminant.

(c) Melting zinc or a zinc alloy in conjunction with a galvanising activity at a rate of 20 or less tonnes per day.

(d) Melting zinc, aluminium or magnesium or an alloy of one or more of these metals in conjunction with a die-casting activity at a rate of 20 or less tonnes per day.

(e) Unless falling within Part A(1) or Part A(2) of this Section, the separation of copper, aluminium, magnesium or zinc from mixed scrap by differential melting.

Interpretation and application of Part B

1.  When determining the extent of an installation carrying on an activity within Part B(e), any location where the associated storage or handling of scrap which is to be heated as part of that activity is carried on, other than a location where scrap is loaded into a furnace, is to be ignored.

2.  In Part B, “ non-ferrous metal alloy” means an alloy which is not a ferrous alloy, as defined in Section 2.1.