Review of waste incinerator permits completed
Environmental permits for Wales’ large waste incineration sites have been reviewed during 2022 and updated by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to ensure the sites are performing to the highest environmental standards.
The exercise involved reviewing permits against the latest industry best practice, called Best Available Techniques (BAT). It is a requirement of the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) and ensures that industry continue to use the best techniques for preventing or minimising emissions and impacts on the environment. These techniques could include the technology used and the way an installation is maintained, operated and decommissioned.
Wales has five waste incineration sites, including two municipal waste incinerators, two biomass incinerators and a clinical waste incinerator, and each one will have to meet tighter limits on pollutant emissions as well as additional monitoring following the review.
Across all sites the emission limit for particulate matter has been reduced by 50%, at the two municipal waste incinerators the new mercury emission limit secures a 60% reduction, and at one site the limit for oxides of nitrogen has been tightened by 55%.
Through an improvement condition added to all permits, operators are now required to investigate the reduction of oxides of nitrogen beyond the BAT limit and all sites are required to implement new management plans in relation to abnormal, start-up and shut-down operations.
Overall, the new conditions ensure that the permits for this sector continue to be an efficient regulatory tool, driving ongoing future improvements.
You can view the updated permits and our decision documents via our public register:
- Parc Adfer Energy Recovery Facility Deeside
Public register - Customer Portal (naturalresources.wales) AB3092CV - Cardiff Energy Recovery Facility Viridor Park
Public register - Customer Portal (naturalresources.wales) LP3030XA - Barry Energy Production Facility
Public register - Customer Portal (naturalresources.wales) AB3790ZB - Margam Green Energy Plant
Public register - Customer Portal (naturalresources.wales) DP3137EG - Wrexham Clinical Waste Treatment Facility (Incinerator)
Public register - Customer Portal (naturalresources.wales) WP3836ZF
Background on the BAT process can be found here Establishing the Best Available Techniques for the UK (UK BAT) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and the Waste Incineration BAT reference documents can be downloaded from here Waste Incineration | Eippcb (europa.eu)