Regulations for prescribed waste

Topics on this page

• Overview
• Recent amendment to the Environment Protection (Prescribed Waste) Regulations 1998
• Prescribed waste exemptions

 

Overview

EPA applies strict controls to the transport and management of prescribed wastes. The Environment Protection (Prescribed Waste) Regulations 1998 set out these requirements. The Regulations have undergone two amendments since their inception. The following links provide further background on the Regulations.

• Environment Protection (Prescribed Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2000 - Regulatory Impact Statement (Adobe PDF file, 152KB)
• Environment Protection (Prescribed Waste) Regulations 1998 - Outline of regulations ( Adobe PDF file, 64KB).
• Draft Environment Protection (Prescribed Waste)(Amendment) Regulations 2007 ( Adobe PDF file, 222KB)

Recent amendment to the Environment Protection (Prescribed Waste) Regulations 1998

The Prescribed Waste Regulations were recently amended to define prescribed industrial wastes based on the hazard they pose to human health and the environment. The Environment Protection (Prescribed Waste)(Amendment) Regulations 2007 ( Adobe PDF file from Victorian Government Gazette website) take effect 1 July 2007 and support the recent changes to the the Environment Protection (Amendment) Act 2006, where the Government increased the landfill levies for the disposal of prescribed industrial waste (PIW) from 1 July 2007. Different levies apply depending on the hazard of the waste.

EPA consulted on the draft Regulations with waste generators, treatment facilities and landfills to provide clarity on classifying PIW, including contaminated soils, as either hazard category A (highest hazard), B or C (lowest hazard). Based on the submissions received on the draft Regulations, no major changes were required during the making of the final Regulations.

The current Regulations came into operation on 22 July 1998 and are due to sunset in 2008. The Environment Protection (Prescribed Waste) Regulations 1998 are available online at the Victorian Law Library. Hard copies (paper) are available from the Information Victoria Bookshop and for viewing at the EPA Victoria Library.

Top

Prescribed waste exemptions

Exemptions under the Environment Protection (Prescribed Waste) Regulations 1998 promote and facilitate legitimate diversion of prescribed wastes to productive uses such as reuse, recycling or energy recovery.

The Regulations allow a person or class of people to apply to EPA to have their waste exempted from any or all of the following:

• The requirement to be transported under the transport certificate system. Where an exemption is granted, it applies to each party involved in the transport of the waste, that is the producer, transporter and receiver.
• From licensing, works approval and financial assurance for the premises (or that part of the premises where the activity is to take place).
• From vehicle permitting (for the purposes of transporting prescribed waste).

The main criterion for granting an exemption is the safe management of the material and not simply that it be diverted to some productive purpose, so as to ensure that the exemption does not result in an unacceptable risk to human health and the environment.

Both the Application for Exemption from Works Approval or Licence Form and instructions for applying for an exemption are available from our list of forms and permits. 

 

Top