The Waste Management Licensing Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003
Northern Ireland Statutory Rule 2003 No. 493 — creates 9 criminal offences.
- Made
- 28 November 2003
- In force from
- 19 December 2003
- Extent
- Not stated
- Subject
- Health and safety, environment, waste and fisheries
- Made under
- European Communities Act 1972, Food and Environment Protection Act 1985
Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Regulations.) — published with the instrument by the department that made it. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
These Regulations make provision related to the bringing into operation of the waste management licensing system under Part II of the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (“the 1997 Order”) and for the purpose of implementing certain Council Directives relating to waste. Regulations 2 to 5 and Schedule 1 make provision in connection with determining whether an applicant for a licence is a fit and proper person. Regulations 6 to 8 contain procedural provisions in relation to appeals under Articles 17 and 36 of the 1997 Order. Regulations 9 and 10 make provision in relation to the contents of public registers maintained under Article 34 of the 1997 Order. Regulation 11 prescribes what is to be treated as mobile plant for the purposes of Part II of the 1997 Order. Regulation 12 prohibits the imposition of conditions in waste management licences for the purpose of securing the health of persons at work. Regulation 13 makes provision, pursuant to Council Directive 75/439/EEC on the disposal of waste oils (O.J. No. L194, 25.7.1975, p. 23, as amended by Council Directive 87/101/EEC, O.J. No. L42, 12.2.1987, p. 43), as to conditions which are to be included in a licence which relates to waste oil. Regulation 14, for the purpose of implementing Council Directive 80/68/EEC on the protection of groundwater against pollution caused by certain dangerous substances, makes provision for the method of dealing with applications for licences in respect of waste activities which could lead to the discharge into groundwater of the substances in lists I and II of that Directive. Regulation 15 amends the Groundwater Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998. Regulations 16 and 17 exempt certain activities from the need to have a waste management licence. Regulation 16 disapplies Article 4(l) of the 1997 Order in the case of certain waste activities controlled by other systems. Regulation 17 disapplies Article 4(1)(a) and (b) of the 1997 Order in the case of the activities set out in Part I of Schedule 2. Parts II and III of Schedule 2 deal with information to be supplied in relation to certain exempt activities. Regulation 18 provides a system of registration for the activities exempted by regulation 17 and regulation 19 sets out the additional obligations on operators of those activities. Regulation 20 provides for the refusal, revocation and cessation of exempt activities. Regulation 21 and Schedule 3 contain provisions which implement Council Directive 75/442/EEC on waste (as amended) (“the Waste Framework Directive”). Part I of Schedule 3 modifies Part II of the 1997 Order, the Industrial Pollution Control (Northern Ireland) Order 1997, the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999, Part II of the Pollution Control and Local Government (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, Part II of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985, and planning legislation, and requires certain functions under those enactments to be discharged with the objectives set out in the Waste Framework Directive. Part I of that Schedule also provides for the preparation of offshore waste management plans, registration of waste collectors, transporters, brokers and dealers who would otherwise not be subject to registration, and the inspection of, and record keeping by, establishments or undertakings carrying out waste disposal or recovery. Parts II and III of that Schedule list waste disposal and recovery operations. Regulation 22 and Schedule 4 provide for the registration of waste brokers and dealers in respect of their activities on or after 19th August 2004. Schedule 4 makes provision as to the keeping of registers, and in respect of applications for registration, the duration and revocation of registration, and related appeals. Regulations 23 to 25 amend the Deposits in the Sea (Exemptions) Order (Northern Ireland) 1995, the Special Waste Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 and the Controlled Waste (Registration of Carriers and Seizure of Vehicles) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999. Regulation 26 and Schedule 5 transpose the requirements of Directive 2002/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on end of life vehicles (the End of Life Vehicles Directive) by ensuring that all activities that constitute treatment of end of life vehicles are licensed so as to meet the requirements of Article 6 and Annex 1 of that Directive. Regulation 27 revokes the Waste Collection and Disposal (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 and the remaining extant provisions of the Waste Collection and Disposal Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992.
Offences created by this instrument
- Subject to sub-paragraph (3), it shall be an offence for an establishment or undertaking falling within sub-paragraph… paragraph 12(1) of SCHEDULE 3 · Status not determined · Strict liability
- Subject to sub-paragraph (3), it shall be an offence for an establishment or undertaking falling within sub-paragraph… paragraph 12(2) of SCHEDULE 3 · Status not determined · Strict liability
- Record keeping paragraph 14(5) of SCHEDULE 3 · Status not determined · Strict liability
- Record keeping paragraph 14(7) of SCHEDULE 3 · Status not determined · Requires proof of a state of mind
- Record keeping paragraph 14(8) of SCHEDULE 3 · Status not determined · Requires proof of a state of mind
- Registration in connection with exempt activities regulation 18(1) · Status not determined · Strict liability
- An offence is prescribed for the purposes of Article 3(3)(a) of the 1997 Order if it is an offence under any of the… regulation 2 · Status not determined · Strict liability
- Registration of brokers regulation 22(1) · Status not determined · Strict liability
- Registration of establishments and undertakings carrying on exempt operations 5 1 It shall be an offence for an… regulation 23(3) · Status not determined · Strict liability
What Parliament said about it
Contributions, debates and written statements mentioning this instrument by name. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.
- Draft Waste and Environmental Protection (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Commons · General Committees · 22 October 2019 · Rebecca Pow
The UK has committed to maintaining environmental standards and to ensuring that the current best available technique conclusion implementing decisions, which set out the relevant requirements and emission limit levels for installations—just in case anyone was wondering what these best available techniques were, they refer to the emission limit levels for installations—will continue to have effect in UK law after the UK’s exit from the European Union. Best available techniques for waste treatment have been set out and issued under Commission implementing decision (EU) 2018/1147, in…
- Draft Waste and Environmental Protection (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Commons · General Committees · 22 October 2019 · Rebecca Pow
I thank the shadow Minister for his very clear points about how there have been a great many amendments. I am sure none of us wants to see any muddling of amendments, because these are really serious bits of legislation that affect business in a fundamental way. However, we can take heart that the technicality was spotted and we have made the changes, which shows that our scrutiny systems work. We have a Scrutiny Committee in the House of Lords and a similar one in the Commons. This legislation has been passed by them with a microscope and they are now happy with the changes that we have…
- Waste and Environmental Protection (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Lords · Lords Chamber · 23 October 2019 · Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen (Con)
My Lords, the regulations make corrections to three other Northern Ireland EU exit instruments and amend one piece of Northern Ireland primary legislation to address failures of retained EU law to operate effectively with regard to Northern Ireland waste legislation, arising from the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. Part 2 of the instrument amends the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997. Part 3 amends three Northern Ireland EU exit SIs to correct some earlier operability changes made to primary and secondary waste legislation in Northern…
- Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
Lords · Grand Committee · 15 December 2025 · Lord Katz (Lab)
I thank all noble Lords for their valuable contributions. I am glad to have the opportunity to close this important debate and to have heard a range of views. It is clear that we are all passionate about this topic and I acknowledge that the principles behind PEPR, which began in 2024 before this Government but which we are carrying on, are taken as a good thing across the Committee. We are trying to meet its aims with sincerity, working with industry, local authorities and waste collectors. I turn to the comments and questions raised. The noble Baroness, Lady Redfern, asked about the impact…
How Parliament handled it
Parliament's Statutory Instruments service records procedure from May 2017 onwards, and this instrument predates it. That is a limit of the source, not a statement that nothing happened.
Check the source
- This instrument on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text, including amendments made since
- Other instruments from 2003