Waste Management Act, 1996

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Requirement to hold waste licence.

39.—(1) Subject to subsections (4) and (7), a person shall not dispose of or undertake the recovery of waste at a facility, on or after such date as may be prescribed, save under and in accordance with a licence under this Part (in this Act referred to as a “waste licence”) that is in force in relation to the carrying on of the activity concerned at that facility.

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), different dates may be prescribed in respect of different waste disposal or recovery activities, different classes of facility and different classes of waste.

(3) The recovery or disposal of waste shall, in the period before a waste licence in relation to such recovery or disposal is granted or refused, be deemed not to have contravened the provisions of this Part if, before the date prescribed under subsection (1) in respect of the activity concerned—

(a) an application has been made for a waste licence in respect of that activity and the requirements of regulations under sections 45 and 50 in relation to the application for a waste licence have been complied with by the applicant therefor, and

(b) in the case of a disposal of waste, other than one carried out by a local authority, the corporation of a borough that is not a county borough, or the council of an urban district, it is carried out in accordance with a permit issued under the European Communities (Waste) Regulations, 1979, or the European Communities (Toxic and Dangerous Waste) Regulations, 1982, as appropriate.

(4) The Minister may by regulations provide that subsection (1) shall not apply in respect of—

(a) the disposal in a specified manner of a specified class or classes of waste at its place of production, or

(b) the recovery in a specified manner of a specified class or classes of waste,

if and for so long as the person carrying out the disposal or recovery of the waste, as the case may be, complies with specified conditions in relation to the carrying out of such disposal or recovery.

(5) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (4), regulations under that subsection may specify conditions in relation to the following matters—

(a) the quantity of waste concerned which may be recovered or disposed of in a particular period,

(b) the use of the best available technology not entailing excessive costs to prevent or eliminate or, where that is not practicable, to limit, abate or reduce, an emission from the recovery or disposal activity concerned,

(c) such other matters as the Minister considers are appropriate to ensure that the recovery or disposal activity concerned will not cause environmental pollution, which may include a requirement that the person concerned obtain the prior written consent of the relevant local authority to the carrying on by him or her of the activity concerned and the specification of controls to be exercised or measures to be taken by that local authority in relation to the carrying on of that activity (which that local authority is hereby empowered to exercise or take).

(6) The Minister may by regulations—

(a) require the producer of a specified class or classes of waste, other than household waste, to—

(i) comply with specified conditions in relation to the treatment or temporary storage by him or her of the waste at the premises where it is produced, including the obtaining of the prior written consent of the relevant local authority to such treatment or storage,

(ii) make a plan with respect to the taking of such measures, in the event of an incident occurring that involves the loss or release of the waste, as will prevent or minimise the risk of environmental pollution therefrom,

(iii) effect and maintain a policy of insurance insuring him or her to a specified extent as respects any liability on his or her part to pay damages or costs on account of injury to person or property arising from the production or holding of the waste,

(b) enable a local authority to attach specified conditions to a consent granted by it pursuant to regulations under paragraph (a) (i) and to revoke such a consent where any of the conditions so attached are not complied with,

(c) specify a maximum period for which the waste may be stored as aforesaid and deem storage of the waste beyond that period to be a disposal or recovery, as appropriate, of the waste.

(7) In addition to the exemption from its terms provided for by section 51 , subsection (1) shall not apply in respect of—

(a) the recovery or disposal of waste at a facility connected with an activity in respect of which a licence or revised licence under Part IV of the Act of 1992 is in force, where such recovery or disposal is subject to the said licence or revised licence,

(b) household waste produced and disposed of within the curtilage of the same dwelling,

(c) the deposit of litter in a litter bin,

(d) the deposit of waste at a civic waste facility,

(e) the transfer of waste to a local authority, the corporation of a borough that is not a county borough, the council of an urban district or any other person for the purpose of its being recovered or disposed of in accordance with this Act or a licence or revised licence under Part IV of the Act of 1992,

(f) the disposal of animal by-products within the meaning of the European Communities (Disposal, Processing and Placing on the Market of Animal By-Products) Regulations, 1994, and

(g) such other activities as may be prescribed.

(8) The Minister may make regulations amending the First Schedule to the Act of 1992 by the addition thereto, subject to such modifications, if any, as he or she may determine and specifies in the regulations, of any of the activities specified in the Third Schedule or the Fourth Schedule .

(9) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or a provision of regulations under subsection (4) or (6) shall be guilty of an offence.