Following the introduction of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 2006, which came into place on 15th May 2006, farmers have a period of twelve months to register exemptions that allow them to store or dispose of waste on their holding.

Mark Juniper, Farm Business Consultant of Strutt and Parker is encouraging farmers to progress registration of these exemptions at the earliest opportunity to ensure compliance.

Juniper says “there are likely to be a huge number of holdings registering exemptions in the run up to the twelve month deadline, therefore, now is a good time to start thinking about which exemptions will apply to your farming businesses in order to allow registration over the winter period.”

The most common exemptions likely to be encountered on farms include:

• burning plant waste tissue in the open (including logs, branches, untreated timber, cereal straws)

• deposit of plant tissue at the place of production (including spoiled crops or screenings)

• beneficial use of waste (for example use of tyres on the silage clamp or waste paper as animal bedding)

• storing waste intended for recycling or recovery in a secure place (for old pesticide containers, fertiliser bags etc)

• spreading of waste on land for agricultural benefit or ecological improvement (such as spreading of compost or dredgings).

Exemptions are split between simple exemptions and complex exemptions. Simple exemptions only have to be registered once, whilst for complex exemptions, annual notification to the Environment Agency is required. The registration of complex exemptions can be made simpler by signing up for the Whole Farm Approach via DEFRA’s website, once registered; all exemptions can managed via the internet.

Juniper concludes “I would highly recommend registering exemptions early, as any potential problems with registration can be resolved well advance of the deadline. Failure to register for an exemption for an activity that you are already carrying out will result in farmers committing an offence for which they can be prosecuted”