13 January 2009
The Planning and Environment Department has reached an agreement with the UK Environment Agency allowing the export of the Island’s hazardous wastes to the UK for disposal.
The agreement means that parties exporting hazardous wastes for disposal to the UK can legally do so, providing they have also followed the requirements of the Waste Management (Jersey) Law 2005.
Under this law a notification system is in place to control the shipment of wastes from the Island. It also requires that both the Planning & Environment Department and the UK Environment Agency must approve the shipments of hazardous wastes before export can take place.
The types of hazardous wastes which require disposal in the UK at specialist waste management facilities include agrochemicals and pesticides, laboratory chemicals, contaminated oils, organic solvents and refrigerant gases.
This agreement is of practical benefit to the Island as it will allow the export of Hazardous Wastes which have been stored at States facilities since 2002.
The Assistant Minister for Planning and the Environment, Deputy Anne Pryke said: “Hazardous wastes need to be disposed of in an environmentally sound manner and this agreement will permit the export of these wastes to suitable disposal facilities in the UK. This will reduce the potential future stockpiling of hazardous wastes on the Island and give the States of Jersey comfort that the disposals are in accordance with internationally accepted best practice.”
-ends- Notes to Editors:
For further information, please contact:
Willie Peggie – Assistant Director – Environmental Protection - 441600
David Monks – Head of Waste Regulation - 441600
Deputy Anne Pryke – Assistant Minister for Planning and Environment - 07797 740263
The export of hazardous wastes from Jersey to the UK for disposal stopped in 2002.
Jersey is outside the European Community, and imports into the Community of waste destined for disposal are
prohibited except those from countries which are parties to the Basel Convention.
The Basel Convention is a Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal. In order to restart the export of such wastes it became necessary for the Basel Convention to be extended to Jersey by the UK Government. This requirement was satisfied in September 2007 with the introduction of the Waste Management (Jersey) Law 2005.
Subsequent discussions with the UK Environment Agency concerned the hazardous wastes which are produced in Jersey and the specialist disposal facilities required to dispose of the waste in an environmentally sound manner, such as high temperature incineration. Jersey cannot reasonably be expected to acquire such specialist facilities for the relatively small quantities of hazardous wastes generated in the Island.
The culmination of these discussions has resulted in the agreement, and the ability of the Island to legally export its hazardous wastes for disposal. The Island has always been able to export wastes for recycling and recovery.
The Waste Management (Jersey) Law 2005 controls both waste management operations and waste movements within and beyond Jersey to minimise environmental pollution from these activities.
gov.je