Waste Management Act, 1996

Interpretation generally.

5.—(1) In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—

“the Act of 1963” means the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963 ;

“the Act of 1987” means the Air Pollution Act, 1987 ;

“the Act of 1992” means the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992 ;

“aftercare” means, in relation to a facility which has been used for the purpose of waste recovery or disposal, any measures that are necessary to be taken in relation to the facility for the purpose of preventing environmental pollution following the cessation of the activity in question at the facility;

“the Agency” means the Environmental Protection Agency established under section 19 of the Act of 1992;

“any Minister of the Government concerned” means any Minister of the Government (other than the Minister) who, having regard to the functions vested in him or her, in the opinion of the Minister might be concerned with or interested in the matter in question;

“authorised person” means a person who is appointed in writing by the Minister, a local authority, the Agency* or such other person as may be prescribed to be an authorised person for the purposes of this Act or any Part or section thereof;

“authorised waste collector” means a holder of a waste collection permit that is in force;

“broker” means, in relation to waste, any person who on behalf of or as a service to any other person buys, sells or arranges for the purchase, sale or transfer from one person to another of waste or for the collection, recovery or disposal of waste;

“collection” means, in relation to waste, the gathering, sorting or mixing of waste for the purpose of its being transported, and includes the transport of waste and the acceptance of control of waste;

“commercial waste” means waste from premises used wholly or mainly for the purposes of a trade or business or for the purposes of sport, recreation, education or entertainment but does not include household, agricultural or industrial waste;

“Community act” means an act adopted by an institution of the European Communities;

“contravention” includes, in relation to any provision, a failure or refusal to comply with that provision, and “contravene” shall be construed accordingly;

“dealer” means, in relation to waste, any person who buys or sells waste on his or her own behalf or arranges on behalf of or as a service to any other person for the purchase, sale or transfer from one person to another of waste or for the collection, recovery or disposal of waste;

“emission” has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 1992;

“emission into the atmosphere” means the emission of a pollutant, within the meaning of the Act of 1987, into the atmosphere;

“environmental impact statement” means a statement prepared under and in accordance with a requirement of, or made pursuant to, regulations under section 25 (as amended by the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations, 1989 and 1994) of the Act of 1963 or regulations under section 45 , of the effects, if any, which proposed development, if carried out, would have on the environment;

“environmental medium” has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 1992;

“environmental pollution” means, in relation to waste, the holding, transport, recovery or disposal of waste in a manner which would, to a significant extent, endanger human health or harm the environment, and in particular—

(a) create a risk to waters, the atmosphere, land, soil, plants or animals,

(b) create a nuisance through noise, odours or litter, or

(c) adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest;

“established activity” means—

(a) in relation to an activity the carrying on of which requires a waste licence, an activity—

(i) in respect of which a permission under Part IV of the Act of 1963 is granted before the date prescribed under section 39 (1) in respect of that activity (“the relevant date”) and which permission on that date has not ceased to have effect in accordance with the provisions of sections 2 and 4 of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1982 , or

(ii) which is, immediately before the relevant date, being carried on or was, at any time during the period of 12 months ending on the said date, carried on, other than an activity which involves or is associated with an unauthorised structure or an unauthorised use within the meaning of the Act of 1963, and

(b) in any other case, an activity which was being lawfully carried on immediately before the commencement of the provision concerned of this Act that requires the use of the best available technology not entailing excessive costs;

“European Communities” has the meaning assigned to it by the European Communities Act, 1972 ;

“European Waste Catalogue” means the list of waste set out in Commission Decision 94/3/EC of 20 December, 19931 , (made pursuant to Article 1 (a) of Council Directive 75/442/EEC2 on waste) and includes such list as amended from time to time;

“facility” means, in relation to the recovery or disposal of waste, any site or premises used for such purpose;

“functions” includes powers and duties and references to the performance of functions include, as respects powers and duties, references to the exercise of the powers and the carrying out of the duties;

“holder” means, in relation to waste, the owner, person in charge, or any other person having, for the time being, possession or control, of the waste;

“household waste” means waste produced within the curtilage of a building or self-contained part of a building used for the purposes of living accommodation;

“industrial waste” includes waste produced or arising from manufacturing or industrial activities or processes;

“land” includes any subsoil thereunder and structure thereon and land covered with water (whether inland or coastal);

“landfill” means a waste disposal facility used for the deposit of waste onto or under land;

“leachate” means any liquid percolating through deposited waste and emitted from or contained within a landfill;

“local authority” means—

(a) in the case of a county borough, the corporation of the county borough, and

(b) in the case of any other administrative county, the council of the county,

and references to the functional area of a local authority shall be construed accordingly;

“the Minister” means the Minister for the Environment;

“monitoring” includes the inspection, measurement, sampling or analysis, whether periodically or continuously, for the purpose of this Act, of waste, a premises at which waste is produced, or a facility at

which waste is held, recovered or disposed of, and of any emissions therefrom, or any environmental medium which is affected by or which, in the opinion of the local authority concerned or the Agency may be affected by, such emissions;

“municipal waste” means household waste as well as commercial and other waste which, because of its nature or composition, is similar to household waste;

“occupier” includes, in relation to any premises, the owner, a lessee, any person entitled to occupy the premises and any other person having, for the time being, control of the premises;

“packaging” means any material, container or wrapping, used for or in connection with the containment, transport, handling, protection, promotion, marketing or sale of any product or substance, including such packaging as may be prescribed;

“person in charge” includes, in relation to any premises, the occupier of the premises or a manager, supervisor or operator of an activity relating to the holding, disposal or recovery of waste which is carried on at the premises;

“planning authority” has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 1963;

“plant” includes any equipment, appliance, apparatus, machinery, vehicle, skip, works, building or other structure used for the purposes of, or the provision of which is incidental to, the holding, disposal or recovery of waste;

“the polluter pays principle” means the principle set out in Council Recommendation 75/436/Euratom, ECSC, EEC of 3 March, 19751 regarding cost allocation and action by public authorities on environmental matters;

“premises” includes any messuage, building, vessel, structure or land (whether or not there are structures on the land and whether or not the land is covered with water), and any plant or vehicles on such land, or any hereditament of any tenure, together with any out-buildings and curtilage;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

“producer” means, in relation to waste, any person whose activities produce waste or who carries out pre-processing, mixing or other operations resulting in a change in the nature or composition of waste;

“product” includes any naturally occurring or manufactured thing;

“public authority” means—

(a) a Minister of the Government,

(b) the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland,

(c) a local authority for the purposes of the Local Government Act, 1941 ,

(d) a harbour authority within the meaning of the Harbours Act, 1946 ,

(e) a health board established under the Health Act, 1970 ,

(f) a board or other body established by or under statute,

(g) a company in which all the shares are held by, or on behalf of, or by directors appointed by, a Minister of the Government, or

(h) a company in which all the shares are held by a board, company, or other body referred to in paragraph (f) or (g) of this definition;

“recycling” means, in relation to waste, the subjection of waste to any process or treatment to make it re-usable in whole or in part;

“reserved function” means—

(a) in relation to the council of a county, a reserved function for the purposes of the County Management Acts, 1940 to 1994,

(b) in relation to the corporation of a county borough, a reserved function for the purposes of the Acts relating to the management of the county borough;

“service station” means any installation where fuel is capable of being dispensed to motor vehicle fuel tanks from stationary storage tanks;

“sewage” and “sewage effluent” have the meanings assigned to them by the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act, 1977 ;

“scheduled activity” means any process, development or operation for the time being specified in the First Schedule to the Act of 1992;

“structure” means any building, erection, structure, excavation, or other thing, constructed, erected, or made on, in or under land, or any part of a structure so defined, and, where the context so admits, includes the land on, in, or under which the structure is situate;

“temporary storage of waste” shall be construed in accordance with subsection (3);

“transport” includes, in relation to waste, the movement of waste by road, rail, air, sea or inland waterway but does not include the movement of waste from one place to another—

(a) by means of any pipe or similar apparatus which joins those two places, or

(b) on and within the site at which the waste is held for the time being;

“treatment” includes, in relation to waste, any thermal, physical, chemical or biological processes that change the characteristics of waste in order to reduce its volume or hazardous nature or facilitate its handling, disposal or recovery;

“vehicle” includes—

(a) part of a vehicle,

(b) an article designed as a vehicle but not capable of functioning as a vehicle,

(c) a skip designed or used for carriage on a vehicle,

(d) a load on a vehicle;

“waste collection permit” has the meaning assigned to it by section 34 ;

“waste licence” shall be construed in accordance with section 37 ;

“waters” has the meaning assigned to it by the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act, 1977 .

(2) (a) A reference in this Act to the use of the best available technology not entailing excessive costs to prevent or eliminate, or where that is not practicable, to limit, abate or reduce an emission from an activity, shall be construed as a reference to the provision and proper maintenance, use, operation and supervision of facilities which, having regard to all the circumstances, are the most suitable for the purposes.

(b) For the purposes of this subsection, regard shall be had to—

(i) in the case of an activity other than an established activity—

(I) the current state of technical knowledge,

(II) the requirements of environmental protection, and

(III) the application of measures for these purposes, which do not entail excessive costs, having regard to the risk of environmental pollution that, in the opinion of the Agency, or the local authority concerned, exists;

(ii) in any other case, in addition to the matters aforesaid—

(A) the nature, extent and effect of the emission concerned,

(B) the nature and age of the existing facilities connected with the activity and the period during which the facilities are likely to be used or to continue in operation, and

(C) the costs which would be incurred in improving or replacing the facilities referred to in clause (B) of this subparagraph in relation to the economic situation of activities of the class concerned.

(3) In this Act, a reference to the temporary storage of waste shall, without prejudice to any particular provision that may be made pursuant to section 39 (6), be construed as a reference to the storage of waste for a period not exceeding 6 months.

(4) In this Act, a reference to a Part, section, or Schedule is a reference to a Part or section of, or a Schedule to, this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended.

(5) In this Act, a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision (including a Schedule) in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that a reference to some other provision is intended.

(6) In this Act a reference to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, adapted or extended by or under any subsequent enactment (including this Act).

O.J. No. L 15/5, 7 January, 1994

O.J. No. L 194/39, 25 July, 1975

OJ. No. L 194/1, 25 July, 1975