The government has launched a waste directory to show farmers and horticultural businesses where to find licensed sites for recycling or disposing of their waste.
The NetRegs Waste Directory is free, interactive and simple. Users can search online by postcode or town and waste type, and will be directed to appropriate local waste management sites.
The sites can be located using an electronic map that shows which are closest and highlights those offering recycling facilities.
The Directory allows farmers and horticultural businesses to search by waste type. Growers may be particularly interested to find out about waste silage wrap, waste pesticides and their containers, end-of-life vehicles, scrap machinery, waste oils, batteries, and waste veterinary medicines from farms.
The launch marks the start of NetRegs’ new campaign to help small businesses find out about environmental legislation, comply with the regulations and avoid the risk of prosecution.
The campaign encourages the UK’s 135,000 small agricultural businesses to visit the website to check out environmental regulations, evaluate their responsibilities and keep their businesses up to scratch. Once online, users can also sign up to receive email alerts specific to their business type and keep up-to-date on environmental legislation.
“Over 300 businesses were prosecuted in 2005 because they did not meet environmental regulations,” says Richard Martin, NetRegs programme manager. “Farmers and horticultural businesses may not realise the harm they are doing by failing to comply. What seem like minor infringements on their own can add up to cause real harm when lots of small businesses are making them.
“It is also important that businesses operate with a view to the long term. For example, in some areas of England it is estimated that there are now fewer than five years of landfill left, so if we continue at the current rate, we will clearly hit problems. We know that many farmers and horticultural businesses are working really hard to do their bit and our Waste Directory will support them in that - we’re giving them everything they need to know about how to find licensed waste management sites.”
