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ARTICLE · 01 JULY 2019

Disposing Of Agricultural Waste – A Burning Issue

Shepherd and Wedderburn
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From 1 January 2019, farmers in Scotland are no longer permitted to burn farm plastics and most types of agricultural waste under the environmental exemptions to the Waste (Scotland)

United KingdomEnvironment
Emma De Sailly
Emma De Sailly
Richard Leslie
Richard Leslie
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From 1 January 2019, farmers in Scotland are no longer permitted to burn farm plastics and most types of agricultural waste under the environmental exemptions to the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2005.

Although the practice was banned in England in 2006, farmers in Scotland were allowed to incinerate farm plastics, including silage wrap, crop covers, fertiliser bags and containers under an exemption to the environmental regulations.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has now ended this exemption, so farmers will need to look at alternative methods of handling farm waste.

SEPA hopes that by ending the exemption on waste burning, bringing the agricultural market into line with other Scottish industries, this will in turn increase the recycling rates of plastics and reduce the environmental impact of farm waste.

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