EfW DEVELOPMENT GUIDANCE - Wrap

WRAP – EfW DEVELOPMENT GUIDANCE – September 2012 

EfW DEVELOPMENT 

GUIDANCE 

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of funding 

Guidance on funding options for 

energy from waste development. 

1.0 London Green Fund (LGF) 

2.0 The Carbon Trust 

3.0 EDF Energy Green Fund 

4.0 Green Investment Bank (GIB) 

5.0 WRAP eQuip Scheme 

6.0 Additional sources of information 

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Potential sources of funding 

There are a number of funding options available to assist companies in the 

development of sustainable energy facilities, including energy from waste (EfW). The 

types of funding available are usually project specific and can differ depending on 

your location. A selection of the funding options currently available is outlined below. 

These funds do not have an advertised end date. However, as sources of funding are 

constantly changing to meet market demands, it is worth checking national and local 

government websites for updates. 

Figure 1: Available funding sources (as August 2012) 

Funding 

London Green Fund (LGF) 

The Carbon Trust 

EDF Energy Green Fund 

Green Investment Bank (GIB) 

WRAP – eQuip 

1.0 London Green Fund (LGF) 

The London Green Fund (LGF) was launched in 2009. This £100 million fund is 

available for investment in schemes that will cut London’s carbon emissions. 

The fund consists of £50 million from the European Regional Development Fund 

Programme (ERDF), £32 million from the London Development Agency (LDA), and 

£18 million from the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB). The fund is part 

of the Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas initiative 

(JESSICA) that was developed by the European Commission and the European 

Investment Bank. The LGF is managed by the European Investment Bank. 

The LGF is divided between two smaller urban development funds, which are 

managed independently and invest directly in waste and energy efficiency projects. 

The UDFs are the Waste Urban Development Fund (WUDF) with funds of £35 million 

and the Energy Efficiency Urban Development Fund, (EEUDF) with funds of £50 

million. The fund managers decide the amount to invest in selected projects, based 

on an investment policy agreed by the London Green Fund Investment Board. The 

fund managers also expect to attract further investment into their UDFs from other 

investors. The Waste UDF is managed by Foresight Group LLP and is known as the 

‘Foresight Environmental Fund’. It is commercial funding. 

The WUDF finances the construction or expansion of waste to energy facilities, value 

added re-use, recycling or re-processing facilities and facilities which displace 

the use of fossil fuels. To apply for the funding and further details contact the UDF 

managers who are responsible for assessing project proposals. Contact details can 

be found at: 

http://www.lwarb.gov.uk 

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2.0 The Carbon Trust 

2.1 Interest free loans. 

Small and medium enterprise (SME) businesses in Wales and Northern Ireland can 

apply for 0% interest loans of £3,000 - £100,000 from the Carbon Trust to help them 

finance and invest in energy saving projects. The repayment period of the loans is 

dependent on the individual projects. In Northern Ireland £1,000 can be borrowed for 

every 1.5tCO2 saved per year. In Wales, £1,000 is available for every 2.5t CO2 saved. 

To be eligible for the loan, SMEs must have incorporated businesses that have 

been trading for at least 12 months or non-incorporated businesses trading for at 

least 36 months (this will include charities, friendly societies, clubs and similar). 

For the purpose of this funding, an SME is defined as a company with ‘fewer than 

250 full time or equivalent employees, an annual turnover not exceeding €50m 

(approximately £42.5m) and/or assets not exceeding €43m (approximately £36.5m) 

and no controlling interest of more than 25% by a non-SME’. More details can be 

found at: 

2.2 Energy efficiency financing (UK) 

In partnership with Siemens, the Carbon Trust offer financing options including 

leases and loans from just £1,000 with no maximum limit. Financing is available to 

all types of organisations. The repayments are calculated to tie in with the anticipated 

energy production and resulting cost savings making the financing option pay for 

itself. 

To qualify for finance, companies are subject to a credit check and trading history 

as this will assist in determining the available finance. Businesses must have been 

trading for at least 36 months. In addition to this, an energy saving assessment will 

be completed by the Carbon Trust to ensure sufficient savings can be made. More 

details can be found at: 

http://www.energyefficiencyfinancing.co.uk 

http://www.carbontrust.co.uk 

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3.0 EDF Energy Green Fund 

In 2001 EDF Energy set up the Green Fund using the funds from their Green Tariff. 

Every customer contributes an amount to green projects which the company match 

pound for pound. The fund is used to help promote the development and installation 

of renewable energy technology in communities. 

The fund is mainly used to help non-profit organisations set up micro-generation 

technologies. Any technology that produces heat and electricity will be considered 

and innovative technologies are supported, as long as evidence of successful trials 

can be provided. 

The fund will provide up to £30,000 (excluding VAT) for a single scheme. The funding 

is usually only awarded to schemes that have secured funding from other sources of 

an equal or greater amount, and the applicant is also expected to contribute to the 

overall cost. The scheme will not be eligible to receive EDF funds if they have already 

secured funding from other energy companies. 

There are two rounds of funding per year with the closing dates being 28th February 

and 31st August. Currently there is no known end date for the fund. All applicants 

are scored in two stages against pre-set criteria. Unsuccessful applicants are not 

allowed to re-apply for the project in the next funding round, however they can apply 

for subsequent rounds. Further details and the application form can be found at: 

http://www.edfenergy.com/products-services/for-your-home/our-services/greenenergy-fund.shtml 

4.0 Green Investment Bank (GIB) 

The Green Investment Bank is being set up by the government to provide the 

significant investment that will be required to establish a ‘green economy’ in the UK. 

In December 2011 the Department for Business, Skills and Innovation (BIS) published 

the criteria for deciding where the bank will be based and what the bank’s first 

priorities will be until 2016, which includes energy from waste generation. 

A new team will be set up within BIS to drive investment in the UK’s green 

infrastructure until the Green Investment Bank is formally established. The UK Green 

Investments (UKGI) team will have access to the £100 million made available by the 

Government to invest in smaller waste infrastructure projects on a fully commercial 

basis. A further £100 million has been provided for investment in the non-domestic 

energy efficiency sector for the next financial year. £80 million has been awarded to 

fund managers Foresight and Greensphere. UKGI will also be available to co-invest 

in offshore wind projects. It is proposed that the GIB project will evolve over three 

phases as below: 

• UK Green Investments – from 2012 until state aid approval for GIB is granted, 

BIS’ UK Green Investments project will make direct investments in green 

infrastructure projects. 

• Establishment – GIB will be established as a stand-alone institution following 

state-aid approval. It is expected that state aid approval will be granted in autumn 

2012. 

• Full borrowing – from April 2015, the GIB will be given full powers to borrow, 

subject to public sector net debt falling as a percentage of GDP and further state 

aid approval being granted. 

To keep up to date with the GIB developments please visit: 

http://www.bis.gov.uk/greeninvestmentbank 

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5.0 WRAP eQuip Scheme 

The eQuip leasing scheme has been set up by WRAP to help companies secure 

financial assistance for new and second hand recycling plants and machinery, 

through guaranteeing the future value of plant machinery which is leased. Financial 

benefits from the scheme include: 

• VAT is charged on each individual rental payment, removing the need for it to be 

paid up front; 

• lease facilities are generally not payable on demand or subject to annual reviews; 

and 

• all rental payments made by the company can be set against tax liabilities 

To qualify for the scheme, a business must sort, reprocess, recycle or manufacture 

products using one of a range of materials that include plastic, organics (In-Vessel 

composting or Anaerobic Digestion only), textiles, glass or wood (only treated/ 

contaminated wood). eQuip can support waste to energy applications but it must be 

clearly demonstrated that there is no higher value use for the material. 

The eQuip scheme has been designed to process applications quickly - with 

applications for equipment up to £250,000 processed in less than one month, and 

applications over £250,000 taking a maximum of eight weeks from receipt of the 

completed application form. Further details and the application form can be found at: 

6.0 Additional Sources of Information 

6.1 The Knowledge Transfer Network 

Provides advice on funding and networking and recently launched the Energy 

Generation and Supply Knowledge Transfer Network which is a useful on line 

resource to find funding and partners. 

https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/energyktn/overview 

6.2 The British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association 

The industry body for the private equity and venture capital industry in the UK. 

http://www.bvca.co.uk 

6.3 The Green Grants Machine 

A source of information on grants, loans, awards and other funds available to help 

businesses go green. 

http://www.greengrantsmachine.co.uk 

http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/equip-leasing-made-easy-0 

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Feasibility, due 

diligence and good 

practice in EfW project 

development 

1.0 Introduction 

2.0 Developing a business case 

3.0 Energy from waste technologies 

4.0 Site selection 

5.0 Due diligence 

Guidance to help in the feasibility assessment of EfW 

facilities to facilitate the design and feasibility processes 

of EfW plants. 


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The purpose of this guidance is to provide a source of information for waste 

producers and businesses who are interested in developing small scale energy from 

waste (EfW) plants. This guidance focuses on the feasibility study stage of the project 

process. 

There are a number of different EfW technologies available, including combustion, 

AD, gasification and pyrolysis, which can provide an energy recovery option for those 

wastes which cannot be re-used, recycled, composted or digested. Projects of this 

nature frequently take a period of time to develop and implement so it is prudent to 

periodically review the initial feasibility work in light of any changes to feedstock, 

legislation/regulations, funding options, progression of new technologies and 

observation of lessons learned on similar projects. 

An initial, robust feasibility assessment should help to lay the foundations for a 

successful project. This document covers the areas of business case development, 

site selection, technology options and due diligence. In addition to providing a quick 

overview of key project considerations, it also provides useful contacts and sources to 

assist with this process. 

2.0 Developing a business case 

Developing a business case should help to ensure a successful, well planned project, 

prior to investing any funds. The business case should help answer the following 

questions: 

• What are the key legislative and policy issues: should the waste be managed in 

an EfW facility 

• What will the feedstock be 

• What is the ‘need’ for the facility in respect to waste management and/or low 

carbon energy production 

• What are the local waste management options and alternatives 

• What is the most appropriate technology for the waste feedstocks being 

considered 

• Do I have a suitable site 

• What size should the facility be 

• How much will a facility cost to construct (including the feasibility of heat and 

energy off-take/connection to electricity grid and combined heat and power 

(CHP)) 

• How much will the facility cost to operate 

• How long will the project take from planning to operation 

• Is the project economically viable and how will it be funded 

• Have I carried out appropriate project due diligence 

• Who will be the project partners 

• What legal matters need to be considered 


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2.1 Technical feasibility 

The first crucial step for a potential EfW proposal will be to develop a business model 

to determine the most appropriate technology. The specific elements as shown in 

Figure 1 will need to be considered within the feasibility assessment before choosing 

a technology: 

Figure 1 – Typical project feasibility assessment diagram 

Planning 

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Location 

Feedstocks – 

type of 

waste 

2.1.1 Location 

Before an EfW plant can be built, you will need to establish how much land is 

required, as technology footprints vary for each type and design of EfW plant (see 

section 4 – Site selection). The proposal will also need to consider land allocation 

for feedstock, waste reception, processing requirements, storage requirements and 

other ancillary equipment. Dependant on the outputs of the process (in terms of 

heat, steam and/or electricity) you may need to consider heat users, access to an 

electricity sub-station or local electricity distributor. Where will the process residues 

be managed and is the location well situated to facilities which can manage bottom 

ash and flue residues or does this need to be accommodated in your site 

Further information can be found in section 4. 

Gate Fees 

and 

revenues 

Feasability 

assesment 

Feedstock 

Security 

Government 

incentives 

Energy 

production 

CAPEX and 

OPEX 

Operation of 

facility 


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2.1.2 Feedstock – waste 

A market assessment of waste facilities is crucial at the feasibility stage. This would 

include a waste forecast, a consideration of policy targets (for example LA recycling) 

and evaluation of existing and planned waste capacity within a specified distance 

from the proposed location. 

The availability of waste feedstock and its variability are key parameters when 

determining which technology will be the most suitable for the proposal, as well as 

the long term economic viability of a project. The feasibility assessment will need to 

include a detailed analysis of the availability and physical & chemical characteristics 

of the feedstock. The larger “mass-burn” technologies are less sensitive to 

variations in feedstock, however others, such as gasification are more sensitive, 

requiring pre-treatment of feedstock. 

The physical and chemical properties of the fuel can have an impact on the energy 

efficiency, operation and emissions of an EfW facility. See forthcoming WRAP 

guidance on feedstocks and fuel classification for more detail, but typically the 

following factors will need to be evaluated to determine the overall fuel quality: 

• biogenic content; 

• moisture content; 

• ash content; 

• net calorific value; 

• size and density; and 

• chemical content (including chlorine, mercury, cadmium and other heavy 

metals). 

2.1.3 Fuel preparation 

The feedstock may also require further processing before it can be thermally treated. 

The type of fuel preparation techniques used would depend on the input fuel and 

the EfW technology being used. Some of the most commonly used fuel preparation 

techniques include: 

• sorting; 

• biological treatment; 

• crushing, grinding, shredding; 

• separating; 

• screening; 

• washing; 

• drying, cooling; 

• pelletising; 

• compacting; and 

• dust removal. 

2.1.4 Feedstock security 

The work involved in the concept, feasibility, design, commissioning and operational 

stages of an EfW facility represents a large capital investment over a long period of 

time. A cost/benefit analysis needs to demonstrate to funders that sufficient suitable 

waste feedstock is available over that period to ensure the facility can run at or near 

capacity and generate the revenues or savings expected. Developers will also need 

to demonstrate feedstock security and consider any changes to their business that 

might impact on the quantity or composition of the waste they require. 


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2.1.5 Electricity and heat production 

The UK Government has set an ambitious target to reduce 60% of carbon emissions 

by 2050 and has identified the importance of energy recovered from waste in 

displacing fossil fuels. EfW technology can convert the low entropy chemical energy 

in waste derived fuels into high entropy heat, electricity or both. 

The ‘amount’ of energy produced depends upon the composition of the feedstock, 

the technology used, the boiler and turbine efficiency and how long the facility will 

need to operate. The technology selection and set up of the facility will depend 

on the desired outputs, which in most cases can be set up to produce direct heat/ 

steam (most efficient), electricity (least efficient) or a combination of both. For small 

and medium enterprises (SMEs) which require a significant supply of heat and/or 

power, a nearby EfW facility can represent a secure source of power and protect the 

business against potential rising energy costs. 

2.1.6 Operation of the facility 

The operation of EfW facilities, particularly advanced thermal treatment plants, 

require a greater level of skill and operator knowledge compared to conventional 

incinerators. The availability of staff with the required skills will need to be 

considered, along with the number of additional staff required to operate the facility. 

The feasibility assessment will also need to consider any maintenance costs and 

emissions monitoring costs within the business case. 

2.1.7 Outline CAPEX and OPEX 

A key parameter for the development of a business case is the capital expenditure 

(CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX) that is required to purchase and run 

the EfW equipment over its lifetime. The capital cost represents the estimated total 

plant costs, which include but are not limited to: main equipment costs; direct plant 

costs; purchase of the land; costs associated with obtaining planning permission; 

environmental permits and indirect plant costs. The operational cost includes, but 

is not limited to: raw materials; labour; electrical energy consumed; maintenance; 

materials consumed; consultant services; general insurance; expenses; local tax; 

unforeseen expenses and ash disposal. 

2.1.8 Government incentives 

There are a number of policies supporting the delivery of EfW technologies that fit 

within the waste hierarchy. The UK Government is committed to sourcing 15% of its 

energy from renewable sources by 2020 and has stated where appropriate that EfW 

can make a contribution to the renewable energy target. 

The landfill tax escalator is also acting to reduce the amount of waste sent to 

landfill. Gate fees, current disposal costs, and energy/transport requirements are all 

considerations which will need to be considered within a business case. 

Within the policy framework there are a number of funding opportunities to generate 

revenue from energy production that SMEs can now access to build into a business 

case for investment in small scale EfW technology. These include: 

• the Renewables Obligation (RO); 

• Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI); 

• Combined Heat and Power (CHP); and 

• Feed in Tariffs (FiTs). 

Where projects involve the export of power to the National Grid, there is the potential 

to gain additional revenue through the sale of Renewables Obligations Certificates 

(ROCs). ROCs are issued by Ofgem to producers of renewable electricity. As all 

energy suppliers have an obligation to provide a certain amount of their electricity 

from a renewable source, those suppliers who do not produce renewable energy can 

purchase the certificates from those who do, so the ROCs themselves have a market 

value, which can add significantly to the income of a renewable energy supplier. 

Similarly, where a plant provides direct heat to a heat user the supplier can apply 

for payments through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). This works in a similar 

manner to the ROCs regime, but supports non-fossil fuel produced heat delivery, 

rather than electricity. See WRAP guidance on Financial Incentives for more detail. 


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Combined Heat and Power (CHP) is a form of plant design which produces electricity, 

but in addition then captures and utilises the waste heat from the process. In this 

case, the supplier can choose whether to claim under ROCs for the electricity or to 

claim under RHI for the heat, but they cannot claim for both. 

Feed in Tariffs (FiTs) are a similar scheme to ROCs but aimed very much at the small 

scale. Eligible installations need to be less than 5MW capacity, which would exclude 

many EfW facilities. 

2.1.9 Gate fees and revenue 

One of the important factors that determine the projected revenue from an EfW 

facility is its gate fees. This is the fee which is paid by the waste fuel supplier for the 

treatment and disposal of waste. The revenue generated from gate fees depends on 

the location of the site, the type of process and the capacity of the plant, as well as 

other economic factors. 

Gate fees are levied on each tonne of waste accepted at site for treatment in order to 

offset the total operating cost of the systems. It is customary for operators to include 

the profit within the cash flow for calculation of gate fees. The gate fees levied would 

also depend on the projected revenues from electricity sales, ROCs, RHI and the 

sales of other outputs and residues such as secondary aggregates made from bottom 

ash. 

2.1.10 Planning and permitting 

Planning permission and an Environmental Permit will need to be obtained for 

the construction and operation of the facility. It is important to factor in the cost of 

preparing a planning and permit application, as well as the time taken to prepare 

and determine these applications. 

Securing planning is a key project hurdle and it is advisable to carry out initial 

planning feasibility work for the proposed site and development at the business case 

development stage. 

For further information see the WRAP guidance on planning. 

For further information see the WRAP guidance on environmental permitting. 

2.1.11 Legal agreements 

New projects will need to consider contractual arrangements and legal warranties. 

It is important that legal advice is sought early within the project development to 

scope any potential legal barriers and determine any risks to the business. The 

overall business case will need to consider issues such as the utilisation of waste 

materials, electricity generation, grid connection agreements, planning conditions 

and technology warranties. 

Any joint venture or partnerships may have to be warranted, and legal support 

may also be required to ensure contracts are in place. Seeking legal advice within 

the feasibility phase will provide the necessary evidence for any commercial 

commitments that may be required from project concept to delivery. 


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3.0 Energy from waste 

technologies 

There are a number of EfW technologies which can 

process waste to generate energy in the form of 

electricity, heat or cooling. The most well-known 

type of commercial EfW plant is the modern waste 

incinerator which burns wastes at high temperatures 

to produce heat which converts water to steam. The 

steam is then used to drive a turbine, generating 

electricity which is exported to the National Grid. 

There are also other EfW technologies generally 

referred to as advanced thermal treatments (ATT) or 

as advanced conversion technologies (ACT) though 

many remain unproven on a commercial scale for 

specific feedstock use. Examples across the range of 

EfW thermal processes include: 

• incineration; 

• gasification; 

• pyrolysis; and 

• plasma gasification. 

Figure 2 – Incineration plant flow diagram (Otto Simon Ltd) 

3.2 Incineration 

The most well known thermal process is incineration 

and a variety of EfW incineration technologies are 

available such as fluidised bed or moving grate. 

During incineration the waste is burnt in the presence 

of oxygen at a high temperature – normally above 850 

°C. The process produces steam which can be used 

to generate electricity and heat; wastes that are not 

incinerated remain as a solid residue. 


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3.3 Gasification 

Figure 3 – Gasification plant flow diagram (Otto Simon Ltd) 

Gasification is considered a commercial technology 

in the coal and chemicals industry and a variety of 

gasification designs are available such as up draft, 

down draft, entrained flow and fluidised bed reactors. 

Gasification is another thermal process during which 

a controlled amount of oxygen, air or steam is passed 

through the waste preventing full combustion. The 

process occurs at high temperatures, normally above 

750 °C, producing syngas (‘synthetic gas’, which 

typically contains Carbon Monoxide, Hydrogen and 

Methane) and a solid residue or char. The syngas can 

be burnt to produce steam or converted via a prime 

mover such as a gas engine or turbine which can 

be used to produce electricity and heat. Gasification 

is considered as an advanced thermal treatment 

technology, and although not yet commercially 

proven in the UK using MSW, there are wood biomass 

gasification plants being established across the UK. 

The advantages of gasification plants are that they 

can be modular and the operating parameters can be 

varied to match the variety of feedstock composition. 


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3.4 Pyrolysis 

Figure 4 – Pyrolysis plant flow diagram (Otto Simon Ltd) 

Historically the pyrolysis process has been used in the 

chemical industry to produce charcoal and coke from 

wood. During pyrolysis no oxygen is used; the waste 

undergoes thermal degradation at temperatures 

between 300 °C to 850 °C. The process typically 

produces a hydrogen rich syngas (which typically 

contains Carbon Monoxide, Hydrogen and Methane), 

a liquid oil and a solid char. The relative proportions 

of these products can be altered by the speed of the 

process and the temperatures at which the reactor 

runs. The syngas can be burnt to produce steam or 

converted via gas engines to produce electricity and 

heat or condensed to produce more oils. Pyrolysis is 

not yet developed at a commercial scale within the UK, 

although developmental projects are up and running 

and reference plants have been built within the EU to 

recover organic wastes. 

3.5 Plasma gasification 

Plasma gasification techniques use an electric 

current, an inert carrying gas and powerful electrodes 

to create plasma - an ionised gas (not dissimilar to 

lightning). In plasma gasification, fuel or waste is 

fed to a reactor vessel where it comes into contact 

with electrically generated plasma and is heated to 

temperatures of up to 6,000ºC. Organic molecules are 

converted into a syngas that can be used to generate 

electricity and liquid fuels, while most metals melt 

or are vaporised and other inorganic solids are 

converted into a glass-like substance that can be 

marketed to the construction industry as an aggregate 

replacement. 


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4.0 Site selection 

4.1 The site selection process 

Choosing the right site can minimise planning delays and help ensure project 

success. 

The planning system is plan-led and finding a site which is allocated for an EfW 

facility in an adopted Development Plan will increase the likelihood of success. 

Modern EfW facilities are industrial in nature and often fit well within an industrial 

setting. 

The site selection process is very important in determining the correct and most 

suitable location for the proposed facility. There is national guidance contained within 

Planning Policy Statement 10 (PPS10), its Companion Guide and Supplement to 

Planning Policy Statement 1: Planning and Climate Change which deal with location 

criteria for such developments. Annex E of PPS10 provides locational criteria which 

assist in the site selection process. 

4.2 Site selection process check list 

The list below provides a check list that should be considered when locating a 

potential EfW facility. 

4.2.1 Availability, location and feedstock 

• Is the feedstock readily available in a format that the chosen technology can 

treat 

• Is the feedstock located within a cost effective distance from the site Road 

based transportation should ideally be no more than a 1 hour drive. 

• Is the site located close to the primary road network, thereby avoiding residential 

and school routes 

• Is the site access suitable for HGV movements 

• Is the site available and deliverable for the proposed use 

• Has there been sufficient consideration for the location where the waste residues 

from the EfW process will end up, either to be re-processed or disposed of at a 

suitably licensed (hazardous) landfill site 


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4.2.2 Development plan policies: 

If you are looking for a site: 

• Is there an up to date adopted Waste Core Strategy and supporting development 

plan document with sites allocated for waste uses 

• Are any of these allocated sites suitable and available for your proposal (see 

checklist below) 

• If no, does the development plan include a policy for EfW proposals on 

“unallocated” sites If yes, ensure the site you select adheres to this policy 

(checklist below may also assist). 

• If there is no up to date waste development plan, is there an emerging waste 

plan If so, check if any sites have been nominated for waste uses or nominate 

your site for waste use. 

If you have a site which you think is suitable for an EfW facility: 

• check that your site complies with the policies in the adopted development 

plan; and 

• where there is an emerging plan (one which hasn’t yet been adopted) make 

representations to the Planning Authority that your site is available and suitable 

for waste uses (use checklist below to help with the assessment). 

4.2.3 Location of nearby utilities and grid connection point 

• Is there a suitable and viable substation/grid connection point nearby for export 

to grid 

• Are there any utility constraints that may restrict the construction or operational 

elements of the proposed facility 

4.2.4 Location of nearby possible heat/cooling customers 

• Is there a suitable customer nearby that could utilise either heat or cooling from 

the EfW process 

4.2.5 Land classification/location 

• avoid greenbelt - otherwise you will need to demonstrate the very special 

circumstances for proposing inappropriate development in green belt land; 

• try to utilise previously developed land; 

• ideally locate within an industrial setting; and 

• try to identify the potential to co-locate with existing or planned waste 

management facilities. 

4.2.6 Location of sensitive receptors 

Ideally the site should not be located within close proximity to: 

• residential properties; 

• school or colleges; 

• Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs); 

• national parks; 

• areas or sites of historic interest (e.g. listed buildings World Heritage Sites, 

Conservation Areas); and 

• areas of nature conservation interest, e.g., Sites of Special Scientific Interest 

(SSSI), Special Area for Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Area (SPA), Local 

Nature Reserve (LNR), National Nature Reserve (NNR), Biosphere Reserves or 

Global Geoparks etc. 


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4.2.7 Other site sensitivities 

Figure 5 – A suitable site location for an EfW facility 

Sites should ideally not be located within: 

• an area liable to flooding; 

• an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA); and 

• a Ground Water Source Protection Zone (SPZ) 1 as defined by the Environment 

agency. 

Careful consideration should also be given to the following: 

• the impact of the development on aerodrome safeguarding areas depending on 

the stack height of the facility; 

• the potential of the site to support protected species (ecology) and any 

implications that may have for the development; and 

• the potential impact of the proposed EfW on Special Protection Areas (SPA) and 

Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) located near the site. There would need to be 

a compelling case in the public interest if the proposed EfW is likely to harm the 

SPA or SAC through emissions to air and other impacts. It is advisable to review 

the Air Pollution Information System information www.apis.ac.uk and contact the 

Environment Agency and Natural England on this matter. 


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5.0 Due diligence 

5.1 What is due diligence 

Due diligence is a process often undertaken at a time of business acquisition, 

restructuring or major project development. The purpose of due diligence is to review 

the profile of a company or project to understand any potential risks. 

5.2 What does it include 

A due diligence audit is normally undertaken to gather information and evidence. 

This can include auditing different aspects across a company or project such as 

an assessment of liabilities, potential impact on value, environmental compliance, 

health and safety and technology. 

Figure 6 – Examples of the different audits that can form part of due diligence 

Due 

Dilligence 

5.3 Why is it useful 

A due diligence audit can be used to act as a guarantee when undertaking a new 

project. Financial institutions, insurance companies and business partners will 

want information and evidence to demonstrate investment potential and understand 

liabilities. 

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Planning 

Guidance to explain the planning process and how it 

affects energy from waste developments 


2.0 The planning system 

3.0 Development plan led system 

4.0 Changes to the planning system 

5.0 Design 

6.0 Key stages of the planning process 

7.0 Health 

8.0 Other consents 

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Following the development of a business case and initial feasibility work, securing 

planning permission is the next key step in the delivery of an EfW facility. 

Understanding the planning process will help you develop a realistic project 

programme taking account of: 

• time required to prepare a planning application; 

• the likely time taken for the planning authority to determine the application; and 

• the time required to seek discharge of pre-commencement style planning 

conditions which are needed before you can commence construction. 

This guidance focuses on EfW planning proposals determined under the Town and 

Country Planning regime for proposals with a power generation capacity of less than 

50MW 1 . 

A robust planning application prepared in parallel with an Environmental Permit 

application 2 can be cost effective, assists in securing the necessary consents and 

minimises the risk of legal challenge to decisions made either by the planning 

authority or the EA. 

The planning system helps ensure that development takes place in a way which 

balances environmental, social and economic impacts in the public interest. 

1.1 Planning - quick checklist 

Planning can seem a challenge but you can minimize costs and avoid project delays 

by understanding the system and following some key steps: 

• Make sure your proposal is consistent with the adopted local development plan. 

• Establish the key planning considerations – traffic increase, impact on nature 

conservation, landscape, local residents etc., and make sure these impacts 

are minimised as much as possible through good quality design of the proposal 

[Design Council website and BREEAM guidance]. 

• Consult the planning authority and key statutory consultees, for instance: 

EA; Natural England; Design Council; Highways Agency. 

• If your site is in an area where a new development plan is being prepared, contact 

the LPA, promote your site for inclusion in the development plan and make 

representations to ensure that emerging policies support your proposal. 

• Consult local people – The Localism Act has introduced a statutory requirement 

to consult on certain projects, available from the Communities and Local 

Government Guidance It is advisable to discuss the approach to community 

consultation with the LPA. 

• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): in most cases an EIA is mandatory but 

you should check with the planning authority at an early stage. 

• Allow enough time to prepare a comprehensive Planning Application: agree 

with the planning authority the information required in support of the planning 

application to avoid delays at a later stage. 

1 

Energy facilities which generate over 50MW of energy are considered nationally significant 

infrastructure projects and will be determined by the National Infrastructure Planning Unit. 

2 

See WRAP guidance on Environmental Permitting Regulations 

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2.0 The planning system 

The planning system helps to ensure that development takes place in a way which 

balances environmental, social and economic impacts thereby securing sustainable 

development. 

The core elements of the planning system are: 

• preparing development plans; and 

• managing the development itself. 

These activities are mainly led and undertaken at the local authority level by the 

LPA. The LPA is responsible for deciding whether a proposed development should be 

allowed to go ahead. In areas where there are two tiers of local authority (county and 

district councils), planning applications for waste development, including energy from 

waste facilities, should be made to the higher level (county council rather than district 

or borough). 

Where an LPA: 

• refuses planning permission; 

• attaches an unreasonable planning condition to a planning approval; or 

• delays decision-making beyond a statutory period (13 weeks for a non EIA type 

proposal and 16 weeks for an EIA type development (See Section 6.2), 

then applicants will have the right to appeal to the Secretary of State. Appeals are usually 

considered by a Planning Inspector who is appointed by the Secretary of State. 

3.0 Development plan led system 

LPAs prepare development plans through consultation with local communities which 

set the broad framework for acceptable development in their local area. County 

Council Waste Planning Authorities (WPA) will prepare waste core strategies and 

development plan documents which guide waste development in the larger county 

areas. Unitary authorities will perform both roles. Development plans may allocate 

specific sites for waste development and should provide guidance as to the type of 

sites which are considered most suitable. 

The planning system is a development plan led system. Planning applications have to 

be decided in line with the development plan unless there are very good reasons not 

to (e.g. the plan is out of date or other material considerations should be given more 

weight). Ensuring a planning proposal is consistent with up to date development plan 

policies minimises the risk of planning delay or failure. 

The Planning Advisory Service and Planning Portal websites provide guidance on the 

plan making process. 

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4.0 Changes to the planning system 

The Government introduced significant changes to the planning system when the 

Localism Act received Royal Assent in November 2011. 

4.1 What is new 

The Act makes a number of key changes to the planning system: 

• a statutory requirement for pre-application consultation; 

• neighbourhood planning; 

• allows councillors to discuss a planning proposal before it reaches the planning 

committee; 

• abolishes the Infrastructure Planning Commission which previously determined 

applications for energy facilities over 50 MW; and 

• abolishes the regional tier of planning policy. Regional Spatial Strategies will no 

longer be part of the development plan. 

4.2 National Planning Policy Framework 

The Government has streamlined national planning guidance by the introduction of 

the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which sets out the government’s 

planning policies for England. It replaces the previous Planning Policy Statements 

(PPSs)/Planning Policy Guidance Notes (PPGs). 

The NPPF states that there is a presumption in favour of sustainable development, 

as well as containing general planning policies which will be relevant to energy from 

waste development, such as nature conservation, cultural heritage, climate change 

etc. 

Annex 1 of the NPPF explains how it should be implemented. It specifically excludes 

detailed waste policies as a national waste planning policy and will be published 

alongside the National Waste Management Plan for England. In the meantime 

Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 10: Planning for waste management will remain the 

relevant national policy for waste. 

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5.0 Design 

Good design is now a core part of Government planning policy. When determining 

planning applications local authorities are required to consider design quality. Where 

energy from waste proposals involve new buildings or structures a Design and Access 

Statement will need to be submitted along with the planning application. 

Design is a process which should be a defining part of any project and will evolve as 

the project develops. Good design balances the function, quality and impact of the 

facility. Further detailed guidance is provided in Designing Waste Facilities- a guide to 

modern design in waste. 

Further information is available on the BREEAM website: http://www.breeam.org 

Guidance on preparing Design and Access Statements is provided in: 

Circular 01/2006 Guidance on changes to the development control system: 

http://communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/144854.pdf 

Design and Access Statements - How to read, write and use them – CABE 2006: 

http:/www.cabe.org.uk/publications/design-and-access-statements 

Good quality design which incorporates sustainability principles can minimise 

planning delay, particularly if the location for the EfW facility is located in a visible 

and/or sensitive location. 

The design needs to be appropriate for the particular site and location. Some 

planning authorities will have design guidance for planning proposals – this can be 

checked during pre-application discussions with the relevant authority. 

Achieving sustainable design of waste facilities is an important part of the design 

process. Many local authorities now require sustainability to be considered in planning 

applications. The Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment 

Method (BREEAM) is a recognised process to guide the design and assess the facility’s 

performance in terms of environmental sustainability. Some Local Authorities may have 

policies requiring developments to achieve a certain BREEAM rating. 

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6.0 Key stages of the planning process 

The Planning Portal www.planningportal.gov.uk provides detailed information 

on the planning process and allows applications to be submitted online. 

It is advisable to develop a realistic planning programme, preferably at the feasibility 

stage of the project. The period for preparing and determining a planning application 

can vary significantly according to the level of complexity of the proposal. For 

example a development requiring an EIA requires a longer period of time for the 

planning application to be prepared. 

Other key factors which will impact on planning programmes include carrying out 

ecology surveys in the appropriate season or gathering bespoke air quality data 

which can be required for EfW projects, particularly if the application site is near 

sensitive ecology sites. 

Figure 1- Key Stages of the Planning Process 

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community 

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Impact 

Assesment is 

required 

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Authority 

Consultation 

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if applicable 

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6.1 Initiate pre-application discussions 

At the outset, proposals should be discussed with the relevant LPA prior to 

submitting the planning application. The LPA will be able to provide advice on the 

requirements for the planning applications including the forms, certificates, plans 

and supporting information which is required to be submitted with the application. 

They should also be able to advise on any key planning issues which are relevant to 

the proposed site for the development, and also provide advice on consulting with the 

local community and stakeholders prior to the application being submitted, which is 

now a legal requirement for certain proposals. All LPAs should be happy to engage 

in pre-application discussions. However, it is now becoming common for planning 

authorities to charge for this service. It is advisable to check relevant websites or call 

the authority planning reception for assistance on this matter. 

For proposals in London with a waste capacity over 50,000 tonnes per annum it would 

be advisable to also consult the Greater London Authority (GLA). The GLA provides 

pre-application advice to developers although there is a charge for this service. 

6.2 Confirm whether an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required. 

Certain waste proposals will require an EIA to be carried out. Essentially there are 

two categories of development for the purposes of EIA: 

• ‘Schedule 1’ developments are those where an EIA is always required. This would 

include incineration of hazardous waste or incineration of more than 100 tonnes 

per day of non-hazardous waste; and 

• ‘Schedule 2’ developments may require an EIA if they fall above certain 

thresholds and are likely to have a significant effect. This would include 

development which involves incineration (other than that specified in schedule 1 

above) or exceeds 0.5 ha or is in a sensitive area e.g. a National Park or Area of 

Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Guidance states that an EIA is less likely to 

be required on waste facilities with a capacity under 50,000 tonnes per annum. 

The developer can submit a screening opinion request in order to confirm 

whether an EIA would be required. 

The EIA Regulations require an EIA to be submitted in support of a proposal which 

is likely to have potential significant impacts on the environment. A waste proposal 

could have transport, ecology, air quality, noise, archaeology, ground condition, 

landscape/visual and flood risk impacts. Where considered significant these will 

need to be assessed, with assessments submitted with the planning application to 

allow the LPA to consider the potential impacts. 

If no EIA is needed then supporting information may still be required, such as a 

transport assessment and ecology surveys. 

It should be noted that the proposed connection of the EfW facility to allow electricity 

or heat off-take does not need to form part of the planning application. However, 

if the proposal is an EIA type development, any environmental impacts of the 

transmission line must be assessed separately. 

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6.3 Undertake pre-application consultation with the local community 

EfW proposals can be controversial and cause delays during the planning phase. 

Local communities can be concerned about a number of issues including: 

• increased traffic; 

• visual impact; 

• noise generation; and 

• dust and odour. 

Effective communication with the local community and other stakeholders can help 

significantly reduce the risk of a planning application being refused and is now a legal 

requirement of the planning process for certain proposals. 

It is important to consider consultation early in the process in discussion with the 

LPA. They may have ideas about who should be consulted and how best to carry out 

the consultation. Most authorities will have a Statement of Community Involvement 

(SCI) which will set out guidance on pre-application consultation for developers. 

There a number of key points to consider: 

• Develop a consultation plan: At the outset it is useful to put together a 

consultation plan which sets out what you are trying to achieve, who should be 

consulted, when and how. 

• Deciding who to consult: Different people and organisations will have differing 

interests in the proposals. In the case of neighbours to the scheme and Parish/ 

Town Councils it can help build trust if they are made aware of the proposals 

early in the process. 

• Deciding how and when to consult: The timing and method of consultation needs 

to be appropriate for the audience. It is advisable to give careful consideration to 

the way the consultation is carried out, the timing and venue for any events. 

• Feedback: It is important to show that you are listening to the local community. 

Consultation feedback will need to be analysed and results communicated back 

to those involved. Showing how you have taken account of comments and made 

changes if possible can be very helpful. 

• Managing expectations: The local community may have their own view of what 

they can achieve from the consultation process. It is important to manage 

expectations and be clear about how they can input into the scheme; and 

• Reporting: Most authorities will require a statement to be submitted with the 

planning application detailing what pre-application consultation has been carried 

out and with whom. The results should therefore be written up and submitted as 

supporting information to the application. 

The government provides guidance on consultation good practice. 

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6.4 Submitting a planning application 

LPAs encourage planning applications to be submitted electronically via the Planning 

Portal – www.planningportal.gov.uk 

A planning application fee will be payable to the LPA on submission of the application. 

The fees will vary according to the type of application made. Guidance can be found at 

the Planning Portal: 

When the application is submitted the LPA will go through the process of validating 

the applications. This involves checking the forms, plans and the planning fee to 

make sure the application is complete and valid. If there are any problems the 

application is unlikely to progress until the necessary details have been received. If 

the application is complete it is confirmed as valid and formally registered, given a 

reference number and an acknowledgement letter is sent out. 

6.5 Local authority consultation, planning decision & right of appeal 

The application is then advertised and internal/external consultations are carried 

out by the planning authority. The Town and Country Planning (Development 

Management Procedure) Order 2010 sets out the requirements to publicise and 

consult on planning applications. The statutory period for consultation is 21 days. The 

application is also made publically available, and occupiers of properties immediately 

adjacent to the site should be notified, giving them the opportunity to comment 

(if they wish). Any written comments received from the public or consultees are 

available for anyone to see via the authority. 

Energy from waste proposals are classed as a “major development” and should 

therefore be determined within 13 weeks or 16 weeks if an EIA is required. It is not 

unusual for these statutory periods to be exceeded. 

6.6 Community Infrastructure Levy 

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) allows local authorities in England and 

Wales to raise funds from developers undertaking new build projects in their 

area. The money can be used to fund a wide range of infrastructure that is needed 

as a result of the development. This includes new roads or safer road schemes, 

flood defences, schools, hospitals and other health and social care facilities, park 

improvements, green spaces, leisure centres, etc. 

More information about the CIL can be found via the Department for Communities 

and Local Government. 

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6.7 Planning application decision 

A decision notice will be issued by the LPA to either approve or refuse the application 

which details the reason for the decision. Where permission is granted the decision 

notice will include a list of conditions with which the developer must comply. In the 

case of a refusal, the decision notice will include reasons for refusal. 

It is possible to appeal against a refusal or an unreasonable condition within 6 

months of the decision notice being issued. The appeal process is dealt with by the 

Planning Inspectorate. Guidance on the appeal system can be found at the Planning 

Portal. 

6.8 Discharge of pre-commencement planning conditions 

Conditions can be attached to planning permissions which are considered necessary, 

reasonable, enforceable and relevant to the development permitted. The LPA must 

give reasons when attaching conditions to consent. 

These could be pre-commencement conditions which require additional information 

to be submitted. Conditions should not be imposed which duplicate other regulatory 

controls, for example environmental permitting. LPAs do however sometimes impose 

conditions which duplicate those covered by the Environmental Permit e.g. covering 

details of odour or litter management. 

You should be aware that planning decisions can be challenged by judicial review. 

For a challenge to be successful the court would need to be satisfied that the local 

authority, Planning Inspector or Secretary of State had made an error in law e.g. 

misinterpreting or misapplying a policy, or failing to take account of an important 

consideration. 

The risk of judicial review can be reduced by ensuring that the planning application 

is prepared in line with advice received from the planning authority and statutory 

consultees. It may also be beneficial to have the planning application and EIA 

documents reviewed by a legal adviser to ensure they are legally robust. 

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7.0 Health 

Health impacts are frequently cited in connection with proposals for EfW facilities, 

with the key health concern being the potential risk from emissions to air. Health 

protection is an inherent feature during the design, assessment and permitting of 

such facilities, and subject to the most stringent of environmental standards. 

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) provides advice on the potential impacts of EfW 

facilities to government agencies and departments, public health professionals and 

members of the public. They conclude that: 

“while it is not possible to rule out adverse health effects from modern, well 

regulated municipal waste incinerators 3 with complete certainty, any potential 

damage to the health of those living close-by is likely to be very small, if 

detectable”. 

Modern EfW plant have a negligible impact on ambient air quality, and operate to 

environmental standards 4 that significantly reduce potential risks to health. 

7.1 Planning, permitting and health 

Health protection is an inherent feature of the design, assessment and permitting 

of EfW facilities. A key issue is the sheer weight of technical information produced, 

and the ability for the lay person to effectively navigate and comprehend it. As an 

example, due to the complex multidisciplinary nature of health, it is typically not 

covered under a single heading within Environmental Statements (ESs), but covered 

by each technical discipline (i.e. air quality, noise and vibration, transport, socioeconomics, 

water, etc.) to standards set to protect both the environment and human 

health. Health Impact Assessments (HIA), although not a regulatory requirement to 

the UK planning process, are increasingly commissioned to help address this issue. 

These draw out, signpost and build upon technical assessment outputs to more 

effectively convey health matters to key stakeholders and communities alike. 

In order to operate, EfW facilities require a permit that is issued by the EA. The EA 

considers permit applications through comparing the data for a proposed facility with 

the strict emission limits set out in the EU Waste Incineration Directive (2000/76/ 

EC). This includes key pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, dioxins 

and total dust (including PM10s), the limits for which have been set to protect both 

the environment and human health. Should a permit be granted then subsequent 

monitoring reports must be provided to the EA to ensure ongoing compliance. 

Community health protection is therefore an underlying design feature for such 

facilities, enforced through both the regulatory planning and permitting process, 

and monitored by the Environment Agency. 

1 

The HPA position statement adopts a generic EfW term to cover all residual waste recovery facilities. 

2 

See WRAP guidance on WID 

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8.0 Other consents 

Depending on the chosen site location and its surroundings, various licences may 

need to be applied for or considered. Some of the consents, if required, can take a 

considerable time to obtain or implement. Such as: 

• protected species licences; 

• grid connection consent; 

• building control consent; and 

• environmental permit. 

8.1 Protected species licences 

A licence is required by anyone who wishes to carry out an activity prohibited under 

wildlife legislation. Examples which may affect a development include: 

• licences to carry out surveys or conservation work; 

• licences to disturb or damage the habitat of certain strictly protected 

species; and 

• licences to possess or keep certain wildlife. 

There are different types of licences for a developer, depending on the activity 

involved and level of risk to a particular protected species. The licences that need 

to be applied for relating to developers and commercial companies are listed on the 

Natural England website. 

8.3 Building control consent 

The building regulations apply to most building work, therefore it is important to 

know when approval is needed. 

The responsibility for checking that the Building Regulations are met falls to 

Building Control Bodies (BCBs) - either from the local authority or the private 

sector as an Approved Inspector. If you choose to use an approved inspector then 

you should jointly notify the local authority that the approved inspector is carrying 

out the building control function for the work. This notification is called an “Initial 

Notice”. If you choose to use a local authority, the procedures are set out in the 

Building Regulations. Some of them relate to pre-site procedures and others relate 

to procedures once work is underway on site. Further information is available at the 

Planning Portal website. 

8.4 Environmental Permit (EP) 

An EP must be secured from the EA in order to operate an EfW facility in England 

and Wales. See WRAP guidance on Environmental Permitting Regulations for more 

detail. 

8.2 Grid connection consent 

The connection application is the first step of the regulated process to gain a 

connection agreement. The connection application results in a Distribution Network 

Operator (DNO) offer of terms for connection. DNOs are obliged under their licence 

conditions to process a connection application and issue a formal connection offer 

within 65 working days. 

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Environmental 

Permitting 

Environmental Permits (EP) are required to operate 

an energy from waste facility within England and Wales. 

1.0 Environmental Permitting 

2.0 Waste inputs 

3.0 Process control 

4.0 Emissions to the environment 

5.0 Management and performance monitoring of 

the facility 

6.0 Commissioning and operation 

7.0 Further information 

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1.0 Environmental Permitting 

Environmental Permits (EP) are required to operate an energy from waste (EfW) 

facility within England and Wales 1 . 

They are the overarching mechanism for regulating EfW facilities and are issued 

by the Environment Agency (EA) or the facility’s Local Authority (LA). The facility 

regulator, and therefore the issuing authority, will depend upon the scale of the 

proposed facility and where the activity sits within the confines of the Environmental 

Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations (EPR) 2010. Generally, facilities 

accepting waste as a fuel and with a capacity in excess of 1 tonne per hour will be 

regulated by the EA, and anything less than this by the LA. 

For consistency, the term Regulating Authority is used within this guidance note to 

mean both the EA and LA where relevant. 

If you are considering operating an EfW facility you will need to consult with the 

appropriate regulator on the scope and extent of the EP you will require. The 

appropriate regulator will require a considerable amount of information about the 

activity you are proposing to carry out in order to grant an EP. This guidance sets 

out some of that information and the process you must undergo to achieve one. The 

Regulating Authority requires a considerable amount of information about the activity 

you are proposing to carry out in order to grant an EP. 

For consistency, this document makes reference to ‘combustion’ and ‘combustion 

conditions’ when describing the process under which waste is thermally degraded, 

with or without the presence of oxygen, or to generate gases that are subsequently 

processed to generate energy. It is recognised that not all thermal treatment 

processes are combustion. However, to ensure consistency with Environment Agency 

Technical Guidance Notes, which also make the above distinction, combustion and 

combustion conditions are used when referencing the thermal breakdown of waste 

and the design conditions which lead to the thermal breakdown of such wastes. 

1 

EPs are issued in Scotland exclusively by SEPA and in Northern Ireland by NIEA. 

2 

Apply to the EA via http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/permitting/32318.aspx or 

contact your Local Authority. Fuel usage of over one tonne per hour will require an EA permit, less than 

1 tonne per hour an LA permit. 

1.1 What is an Environmental Permit 

An EP is a permit to operate a facility governed by the requirements of the 

Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 (EPR). The 

regulations cover a range of types of facilities including waste management facilities 

such as recycling and recovery facilities and EfW. 

The EPR were introduced into UK law within England and Wales in 2007 and 

combined the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations and the Waste 

Management Licensing Regulations, thereby introducing one environmental 

regulation system that covers all aspects of environmental regulation. In 2010 the 

EPR were further updated to include water discharges and groundwater activities, 

radioactive substances and provisions for a number of other Directives such as the 

Mining Waste Directive. 

The principal aims of the EPR are to: 

• bring Environmental Regulation across England and Wales onto a level playing 

field; 

• provide protection for the environment by controlling and regulating pollution 

control and emissions to air, water and land; and 

• emphasise the polluter pays mechanism by making operators liable for the 

condition of the land on which they operate. 

The EPR introduced a tiered approach to environmental regulation based on the 

potential risk to the environment of the proposed activities. Authorisations can be in 

the form of registered exemptions; standard rules EPs and bespoke EPs. Exemptions 

cover those activities at the lowest risk end of the spectrum while bespoke EPs will 

cover higher risk activities - see Section 7 for further information on permit levels. 

All EfW activities require an EP so operators will need to apply to the relevant 

Regulating Authority for an appropriate authorisation 2 . The permit will have 

conditions which must be followed to prevent business activities from harming the 

environment or human health. 

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1.2 What are the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 

The EPR 2007 brought into force the first phase of the Environment Agency’s 

environmental permitting system and established a common permitting programme. 

The EPR 2010 brought into force the bulk of the second phase of environmental 

permitting and extended this common permitting system to cover a wider range of 

permitted activities and exemptions 3 . 

1.3 Who needs an Environmental Permit 

You must have an EP if your business carries out any activity or operation that is 

covered by the term Regulated Facility within the context of the EPR. This includes all 

EfW facilities, but in addition: 

• any ‘waste operation’, including waste activities which are technically linked and 

could include the treatment and storage of waste, e.g. MRF or waste derived fuel 

processer; 

• a ‘mobile plant’ used to carry out a waste operation; 

• a ‘water discharge activity’; or 

• a ‘groundwater activity’. 

1.4 Who can apply for an Environmental Permit 

The person /organisation in charge of the day to day operation of the facility will be 

the ‘Operator’ and therefore will be the person required to apply for the EP 

(see footnote 2 re: how to apply for a permit). 

3 

Environmental Permitting now governs the regulation of facilities that were previously regulated under 

the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations 2000, the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 

1994 & its associated Waste Exemptions Scheme, the discharge consenting requirements of the Water 

Resources Act 1991, the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 and the Groundwater Regulations 2009. 

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2.0 Waste inputs 

2.1 What controls can a permit set with regards to waste inputs 

EPs set controls on the operation of a facility with regards to the throughput, storage 

and types of wastes that can be accepted. 

Varying levels of control apply to EfW with regards to the nature of the waste 

proposed to be utilised as the plant fuel. Facilities can accept both hazardous and 

non-hazardous waste. However, it is common practice for facilities to be dedicated 

to one or the other and given that this guidance is aimed at non-hazardous facilities, 

further consideration of hazardous waste facilities is not provided herein. 

The major controlling factor on the acceptability of fuel types at an EfW facility is the 

ability of the fuel to meet the design criteria for the facility and therefore provide the 

appropriate technical, economic and environmental fuel mix for the plant 4 . As part of 

the EP application process operators will be required to provide detailed calculations 

about the net calorific value and chemical composition of the proposed fuel. 

2.2 What waste is typically acceptable at EfW facilities 

The typical waste stream for most current EfW facilities is ‘residual waste’, which 

is that fraction remaining following the removal of recyclables, either by source 

segregation or separation at a treatment facility, such as a MRF. 

Typically, the waste is generated by the municipal sector for large scale, local 

authority contracted facilities, topped up with wastes from the commercial and 

industrial sectors of a similar nature (i.e. office waste). 

The EP application needs to include a list of proposed waste for acceptance at the 

facility based on the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) code list of wastes. 

Smaller scale facilities that do not have the capacity to manage large local authority 

contracts are generally operated utilising commercial and industrial wastes of 

a similar nature to household wastes, with some facilities aimed specifically at 

individual waste types (e.g. waste biomass). 

4 

See forthcoming WRAP “A classification system to define the quality of waste derived fuels”. 

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3.0 Process control 

3.1 What are process controls 

Within your EP application you will be required to provide a full description of the 

proposed process that will be carried out at the facility. This will include details of 

each of the controls to be in place to manage and mitigate the activities on site i.e. 

how the flow of waste through the process is controlled to ensure that complete 

combustion 5 of the waste stream is achieved and how the fuel is regularised to 

ensure a homogenous blend of waste types for calorific value consolidation. 

Your EP will set limits for emissions to air, land and water, where relevant. In order 

to set suitable limits it is essential that the proposed process to be adopted is 

understood and assessed to provide a full understanding of the potential impacts of 

the process. 

If such identified impacts are considered unacceptable then the Relevant Authority 

may require further process controls/evidence of process controls. 

When defining process controls, operators are required to take into account technical 

compliance standards for their sector as laid out in the European BAT Reference 

Documents 6 (BREF’s). These documents set out the accepted/proven methodologies 

for pollution control in accordance with the principals of Best Available Techniques 

(BAT), as defined by: 

• best – means the most effective techniques for achieving a high level of 

protection of the environment as a whole; 

• available – means techniques developed on a scale which allows them to be 

used in the relevant industrial sector, under economically and technically viable 

conditions, taking into account the costs and advantages; and 

• techniques – includes both the technology and the way the installation is 

designed, built, maintained, operated and decommissioned. 

From the start of the application process, through the commissioning phase and 

throughout operation the operator will need to consider the most appropriate BAT 

process controls for their facility. 

3.2 Use of raw materials on site 

As part of your EP conditions you will be required to keep a record of the raw 

materials stored and used on site to demonstrate that you are complying with 

appropriate legislation and have adequate risk mitigation measures in place to 

manage such materials. 

3.3 Interactions with other legislation 

Where EfW facilities accept waste classified as animal by-products, they are required 

to also gain approval under the Animal By-Products Regulations 2011 (ABPR). 

EfW facilities that only process animal carcasses, or parts of carcasses are exempt 

from the WID and are instead regulated by the ABPR. However, plants which process 

other types of ABP, such as former foodstuffs, catering waste and manure must be 

authorised under the Waste Incineration Directive (WID) 7 . 

If more than 1 tonne per hour of ABP is processed, approval is via the EA in England 

- less than 1 tonne per hour would require approval through the LA. 

5 

See Appendix 1 for ‘Environment Agency Technical Guidance Note’ definition of combustion. 

6 

European Commission Joint Research Centre: http://eippcb.jrc.es/reference 

7 

See WRAP guidance on WID. 

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4.0 Emissions to the environment 

4.1 What emissions are covered 

There are two types of emissions that are regulated by the Relevant Authority under 

the EPR. These are point source emissions and fugitive emissions. 

Point source emissions are single, identifiable, localised emissions to air, water or 

land, (such as a stack or a discharge consent to surface water), whereas fugitive 

emissions are the diffuse emissions generated as part of the operation of the facility 

and can also be to air, water or land (e.g. traffic fumes or dust). 

4.2 Emissions to air 

In general, EfW facilities will generate point source emissions to air (e.g. stack 

emissions) and potentially fugitive emissions to air (e.g. dust/odour). The EP is used 

to regulate such emissions. 

For fugitive emissions, permits generally contain conditions to reduce as far as 

practically possible the impacts of any such emissions and in the case of odour, 

may require the operator to maintain a management plan detailing the risks and 

mitigation measures identified to manage those risks. 

Increasingly, operators are also being required to maintain Management Plans for 

the control of fugitive emissions of dust both on and off the site. These Management 

Plans are also required to consider the potential fire risk caused by dust build up 

within operational areas. 

For point source emissions to air, operators are generally required to submit 

evidence of impacts from the emissions, in the form of air quality assessments and 

models to demonstrate that the proposed operation will not have a negative impact 

on sensitive locations surrounding the site. 

Additionally, the Air Quality Assessment will be required to demonstrate that the 

proposed facility can meet the required emission limit values (ELV’s) as defined by 

WID for emissions to air from stacks. These ELV’s will be included within the EP 

as conditions of operation and the facility will not be permitted to discharge to air 

concentrations in excess of the ELV’s set. ELV’s will be set for several key substances 

and at a range of operational periods (i.e. 30 minute average/daily average etc). 

4.3 Emissions to water 

Where facilities are proposing to discharge to either surface water or groundwater, 

they will require permission to discharge from the Relevant Authority. This 

permission can usually be incorporated into the Environmental Permit. 

In accordance with the requirements of the Groundwater Directive, there are 

restrictions in place on the type and volume of emissions that can be discharged to 

groundwater, and the Relevant Authority will instigate the limits. 

Permission to abstract either surface water or groundwater will need to be acquired 

from the Environment Agency, where proposed, but cannot be included within the 

Environmental Permit. Discharges to foul sewer will need to be applied for directly 

from the appropriate Waste Water Treatment Company. 

4.4 Emissions to land 

Where the EfW facility is proposing to send waste products (e.g. incinerator bottom 

ash and/or activated powdered carbon residues) to landfill, the type and quantities 

of such emissions will be closely monitored by the Environment Agency in order to 

ensure that appropriate facilities are used for the type of waste produced. 

5 

See page 1 for ‘Environment Agency Technical Guidance Note’ definition of combustion. 

6 

European Commission Joint Research Centre: http://eippcb.jrc.es/reference 

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5.0 Management and performance 

monitoring of the facility 

5.1 Environmental Management Systems (EMS) 

Operators of EfW facilities are required to operate within the confines of an 

Environmental Management System. Systems such as the ISO14001 Standard for 

EMS are considered by the Environment Agency to provide the greatest level of 

environmental management as well as ensuring that operators review performance 

on an ongoing basis. 

Generally EMS’s will incorporate site procedures and policies for the management of 

the operations, and as such usually cover areas including: 

• staff training; 

• management structure; 

• facility energy consumption and generation; 

• use of raw materials, including waste and water; 

• key performance indicators; 

• Accident Management Plan 8 and reporting; and 

• technically competent management. 

In England, waste facility managers are required to demonstrate that they are 

technically competent by complying with the requirements of the Waste Management 

Industry Training and Advisory Board’s (WAMITAB) technically competent 

management scheme 9 . 

5.2 Performance monitoring 

As part of the EP monitoring requirements operators will need to monitor and record 

their performance including the total amounts of energy consumed and generated at 

the site, the water utilisation at the site, including volumes of any water discharged 

and the volumes of other raw materials consumed. 

Performance data will be collected over differing timescales for different 

environmental aspects. For example some air quality monitoring will be continuous 

for certain stack emissions whereas groundwater/surface water monitoring, where 

required, can be undertaken at monthly frequencies or less. Annual performance 

reporting is required to be submitted to the Relevant Authority at the start of the 

calendar year and will include a full evaluation of all site monitoring data. Site waste 

acceptance/removal data will be required to be submitted to the Environment Agency 

on a quarterly basis, by the end of the first month of the next reporting quarter (i.e. 

Q1 to be reported by the end of April). 

As such it is essential that any EMS in place at the facility captures all of the 

performance reporting requirements and therefore manages the monitoring and 

reporting of these items. 

It will also be necessary for operators to review the sustainable operation of the 

facility with reference to continual improvement against any key performance 

indicators set e.g. use of water on site, as well as demonstrating energy efficiency 

within the site’s operations across the facility. 

8 

The presence of a site Accident Management Plan and method for reporting of incidents is required 

as part of the Environmental Permit. The scope of the Accident Management Plan needs to include all 

potential accidents /incidents that could occur within the permit boundary. 

9 

http://www.wamitab.org.uk/pg/competence/technical-competence-arrangements-in-england-and-wales- 

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6.0 Commissioning and operation 

As part of the EP application process the operator will have had to describe in 

detail the process to be carried out on site, including the mitigation measures 

designed to ensure the facility does not breach its EP conditions. During initial 

commissioning (section 6.1) the operator will need to operate the facility in order to 

test these process controls and provide updates/reports to the Relevant Authority 

on the progress of the commissioning. It is considered best practice to produce 

a Commissioning Plan detailing the key milestones and anticipated completion 

timescales for these so that progress can be measured. 

Once commissioning is complete and the facility is ready to become permanently 

operational, all of the relevant Pre-Operational Conditions as set out in the EP must 

have been completed. 

6.1 Commissioning 

The construction phase of the plant is followed by the commissioning stage. This 

is the process by which the facility is tested to verify it functions according to its 

design objectives or specifications. The commissioning stage brings the plant up to 

operating condition for the first time so as to measure the various parameters which 

are monitored during operation. 

The various factors considered during this stage include: 

• validation: the combustion conditions set at the design stage will need to be 

monitored at all stages to ensure they meet the required emission limits; 

• emissions: air pollutants including Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Carbon Monoxide 

(CO), total dust, Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Hydrogen Chloride (HCl), Hydrogen 

Fluoride (HF), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), heavy metals and dioxins are continuously 

monitored to determine the amount of abatement material to be used for 

meeting the limit values in WID during the operational phase. Water emissions 

are monitored for possible pollutants and the operator will conduct a continuous 

monitoring of residence time, minimum temperature and oxygen content of the 

exhaust gas in the furnace; efficiency of operational equipment: the performance 

of various industrial equipment is tested against the performance guaranteed by 

the technology provider. The performance is tracked against the cost estimate; 

• work plan: a work plan is prepared following the identification of commissioning 

systems and the scheduled commissioning activities are executed during this 

stage; 

• start-up efficiency: the design requirements of the plant are identified and 

improved during this stage to enable an efficient start-up; 

• guidance to operators: the operating procedures of the plant are provided to the 

operators and guidance on training processes is defined; and 

• noise monitoring: noise monitoring is carried out at this stage and the location, 

time, frequency and methods of noise monitoring will be as agreed in the 

Environmental Permit issued by the Regulatory Agency. 

6.2 Operation 

The commissioning phase of the plant is followed by the operational phase. The EfW 

operations will be carried out in accordance with Section 5.1A (2)(c) in Schedule 1 of 

the EPR 2010. 

During the operational phase, the operator should ensure the following: 

• validation: as for the commissioning stage, the combustion conditions are 

monitored throughout the delivery to ensure they meet the limits set for the 

operational stage. The gas generated by the processing of wastes must be kept 

above 850˚C for a minimum of 2 seconds to comply with WID. Emissions from the 

plant should not exceed the continuous/periodic emission limits, as described in 

Annex II and Annex V of WID; 

• measurement: conduct measurement of the noise and vibration of the facility as 

mentioned in the noise and vibration plan in the permit; and 

• records: keep a record of all the monitoring carried out which includes taking 

and analysing samples, instrument measurement (periodic and continual), 

calibrations, examinations, tests and surveys and any assessment or evaluation 

made on the basis of such data. 

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7.1 What types of Environmental Permits can I apply for 

There are three levels of environmental authorisation that operators can apply for: 

exemptions, Standard Rules EPs and Bespoke EPs. 

7.1.1 Exemptions 

Exemptions to Environmental Permitting are authorisations under the requirements 

of the EPR that cover those activities that are considered to represent the lowest 

level of risk to the environment and human health in the context of the EPR. These do 

not require a full EP but they do need to be registered by the EA. 

7.1.2 Standard Rules Environmental Permits 

Standard Rules Environmental Permits are issued by the Environment Agency and 

contain fixed conditions for operators. These permits also contain fixed compliance 

requirements that operators must confirm that their facilities will comply with (i.e. 

proximity to dwellings etc). 

7.1.3 Bespoke Environmental Permits 

Bespoke Environmental Permits are site specific permits which require full site 

specific risk assessment and consideration. These permits cover those activities 

considered to represent the highest level of risk to the environment and human 

health and include energy from waste installations. 

7.2 Do I need to pay for an Environmental Permit 

Yes. The Relevant Authority aims to make the level of regulatory effort, and therefore 

the charges that it levies, proportionate to the environmental risk of the permitted 

activity. The EA does this via its Operational Risk Appraisal scheme (Opra) 10 . The level 

of risk and therefore the required regulation is divided into three charging tiers - the 

greater the perceived level of risk of the activity, the greater the regulatory effort 

required by the Environment Agency and therefore the higher the charging tier. 

EfW plant will almost always come under Tier 3 and will therefore require full Opra 

assessment to ascertain the cost of the EP. 

Local Authority EP charges are set annually by Defra and are generally lower than EA 

charges (see footnote 2 to determine if you will need an EA permit or LA permit). 

7.3 Where can I get further information 

Further information on environmental permitting can be found at the following links:- 

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/permitting/default.aspx 

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/permitting/ 

A copy of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 can be 

found at the following link:- 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2010/9780111491423/contents 

10 

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/regulation/31827.aspx 

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Feedstock 

Guidance on the issues which will affect the accessibility, 

security and suitability of waste materials as fuel for 

energy from waste processes 


2.0 Feedstock types 

3.0 Fuel preparation 

4.0 Feedstock security 


Feedstock 

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This guidance examines the variables and properties of waste derived fuel materials, 

how they can influence the type of processing technology chosen and the different 

outputs. 

The characteristics of the waste feedstock and its variability are key parameters 

when determining which technology will be the most suitable for the EfW proposal. 

Understanding the composition and variation in the potential feedstocks/fuels will 

help operators select the right EfW technology, plant design and determine the 

overall energy efficiency that is achievable. 

A consideration of the potential waste feedstocks which will be available and suitable 

for the proposed energy from waste (EfW) facility is a key aspect of the development 

of the business case for a proposal 1 . A process designed to utilise waste biogenic 

content or a processed Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) would suffer operational problems 

if suddenly faced with unsorted Commercial and Industrial (C&I) wastes or material 

heavily contaminated with food rich material. 

The overriding objective of the waste hierarchy is to drive material up the hierarchy 

as far as is possible, when it is possible, so as to maximise the potential to divert 

waste from landfill. The remaining waste, following recycling, re-use and composting, 

should then be managed in recovery facilities such as an EfW. These facilities have a 

key role to play within the hierarchy to divert residual waste from landfill. 

2.0 Feedstock types 

The characteristics of the waste feedstock and its variability are key parameters to 

examine when determining which technology would be the most suitable for the 

proposed facility. The feasibility assessment will need to include a detailed analysis 

of the physical and chemical characteristics of the feedstock. Understanding the 

composition and variation in the feedstock will help select the right EfW technology 

at the plant design stage. This will need to be reviewed over the life of the contract 

as feedstock composition may change. The larger mass burn technologies are less 

sensitive to variations in feedstock, but the smaller-scale, more efficient processes 

such as gasification and pyrolysis, are much more sensitive to fuel change, generally 

requiring pre-treatment of feedstock. 

The physical and chemical properties of the waste can have an impact on the energy 

efficiency, operation and emissions of an EfW facility, as can factors such as moisture 

content, ash content and bulk density. Variety in these factors will define that fuel 

and its end usage, and lead to its determination as one of a number of pre-defined 

Waste Derived Fuels. Generally, they would be classed under one of the following 

headings, due to the factors listed beside them. 

Generic fuel type 

‘RDF’ – Refuse 

Derived Fuel 

Biogenic content 

‘SRF’ – Solid 

Recovered Fuel 

Typical calorific 

value 

10-12 Mj/Kg 

15-18 Mj/Kg 

18-22 Mj/Kg 

Defining factor 

Residual material left over following the 

separation of recyclable materials in a MRF, 

Mechanical Biological Treatments (MBT) or 

transfer station 

General woody waste material, including 

forestry thinnings, joinery waste and clean 

or treated wood products 

A processed material specifically targeted 

for the higher CV fraction of the waste. 

Commonly used in cement kiln operations 

10 

See WRAP guidance on Feasibility and Good Practice 

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3.0 Fuel preparation 

The feedstock may require further processing before it can be thermally treated in 

some of the technologies. For instance, some machinery which pyrolyses wood chip 

requires the chip to be of a certain and consistent size. The type of fuel preparation 

techniques used would depend on the input fuel and the EfW technology being used, 

but some commonly used fuel preparation techniques include: 

• Sorting. Either manual sorting or mechanical sorting in order to identify and 

remove any metals, rigid plastics, other recyclable materials or unusable 

contaminated materials which aren’t wanted within the fuel. Mechanical sorting 

techniques can include over-band magnets, density separators, infra-red optical 

scanners or wind blowing sifters. 

• Crushing or shredding. This reduces the material to a standard, general, or 

given size or can be used to homogenise the physical characteristics. 

• Screening. Screens (rotating drum screens, oscillating screens, star screens, 

etc.) can help remove aggregates or soil products from the feedstock, leaving a 

more usable, higher CV material to make up the fuel. 

• Washing. Removes contaminants stuck to the material. 

• Drying. Reduces moisture content. 

• Homogenisation. Generally the final stage in fuel preparation, these are 

processes designed to bulk the material, assist in its transport and storage 

or to present the fuel in a certain manner e.g. mixing, blending, compacting, 

pelletising or baling. 

4.0 Feedstock security 

The whole process in setting up an EfW facility from concept, feasibility, design, 

commissioning to operation represents a significant capital investment over a long 

period of time. A cost benefit analysis needs to demonstrate to funders that sufficient 

suitable waste feedstock is available over that period to ensure the facility can run 

at or near capacity and generate the revenues or savings expected. Developers 

will therefore need to demonstrate feedstock security and consider any changes 

to their business that might impact on the quantity or composition of the waste 

feedstock they use. In some circumstances, it may be found that numerous EfW 

facilities in a small, concentrated area would lead to those facilities competing for 

waste feedstocks. This could lead to higher values for the fuels as the plants are 

prepared to pay more for the material (or reduce their gate fees) in order to continue 

operation. The signing of long term contracts or other business relationships 

such as partnerships, joint ventures, vertical integration, etc., can go a long way to 

guaranteeing fuel security and feedstock availability. 

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The WRATE (Waste and Resources Assessment Tool for the Environment) can be used 

to provide feedstock information useful for determining information for electricity 

generation e.g. the moisture content, calorific value, carbon and biogenic carbon 

content. 

www.environment-agency.gov.uk/research/commercial/102927.aspx 

BS EN 15440:2011 – ‘Solid recovered fuels. Methods for the determination of biomass 

content’ lists methods to determine the carbonaceous element of the solid recovered 

fuel. The biogenic content is required if renewable energy incentive payments are 

to be claimed. ROCs or RHI can only be paid on the biogenic element of the fuel, so 

plastics for instance will not count toward those payment levels. The determination of 

the biogenic element is therefore vital for a number of reasons. This document must 

be purchased from the BSi website. 

http://shop.bsigroup.com/en/ProductDetail/pid=000000000030255009 

Phyllis is a European database able to provide analysis data and information on the 

composition of wastes. Available for individual wastes or for a combination of wastes, 

it can provide historic data on samples previously analysed and the results stored. It 

can provide ultimate analysis (carbon, nitrogen, fluorine, etc), proximate analysis (ash 

content, moisture content, etc) biological composition, metal content etc. for a range 

of waste materials, grouped into different types. 

http://www.ecn.nl/phyllis/info.asp 

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EfW Outputs 

and Residues 

1.0 Energy from waste outputs 

2.0 Energy from waste residues 

Guidance on the management of energy outputs and 

residues including air pollution control residues and 

incinerator bottom ash 

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1.0 Energy from waste outputs 

The choice of technology, fuel and plant design will generate varying quantities of 

energy output and residual material at the end of the treatment process. Operators 

will need to consider and evaluate the following within the business case for their 

chosen EfW technology: 

• electricity production; 

• heat or cooling potential; 

• syngas production, 

• management of the outputs and waste residues; and 

• current and future markets. 

1.1 Electricity production 

The most common output from EfW facilities will be heat to drive a steam cycle, 

which drives a turbine, spinning a magnet against a wire coil to produce electricity. 

This will most often be sold to the National Grid, although some facilities will sell 

their electricity output directly to industrial users. Electricity produced in this manner 

will qualify for ROCs payments 1 for the biogenic fraction of the fuel input 2 . 

1.2 Heat production or cooling 

1.3 Combined Heat and Power (CHP) 

Operators may also want to consider an assessment for potential combined heat 

and power (CHP) where electricity is produced as in section 1.1, and then the waste 

heat is captured and re-used in a manner similar to section 1.2. This increases the 

efficiency of the thermal process significantly. Operators also have the option to 

consider exporting the heat to an alternative end market. For example, heat can be 

used to generate cooling through a heat exchange system for refrigeration processes. 

Heat, steam or cooling energy is relatively complex to export to off-takers and is 

dependent on the location and reliability of a suitable consumer. The installation and 

management of a network of insulated pipes can considerably increase the cost of a 

development. 

1.4 Transport Fuels 

Although markets are minimal at present, the production of transport fuels from 

waste is a technically feasible process garnering much interest on a global stage. 

Fuels from unrecyclable plastics, for instance, could help address both landfill and 

energy issues. Fossil based plastics, derived from oil, can be broken down into their 

constituent elements in order to be refined and processed into diesel fuels. 

Industrial users may want to consider producing their own heat by utilising their 

own wastes to produce their own fuels. This can provide direct heat for industrial 

processes, thereby reducing the dependence on fossil fuels and reducing fossil 

carbon releases. Heat produced in this manner could be eligible for incentive 

payments under the RHI 3 . 

1 

See WRAP guidance on Incentives 

2 

See WRAP guidance on Fuel and Feedstocks 

3 

See WRAP guidance on Incentives 

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2.0 Energy from waste residues 

Thermal treatment processes do not destroy material. Fuel input is converted, via 

an exothermic chemical reaction, to break the bonds of atoms within the fuel and 

release certain elements and compounds (e.g. hydrogen, methane, and carbon 

monoxide). These chemical compounds can then be combusted to produce heat. 

Inevitably, there are compounds which are not usable in this manner and which will 

produce wastes and residues. The residues will generally be ashes, aggregates and 

particles within the flue gases (see section 2.1). Some of these can be recovered 

and recycled and others need to be disposed of in a landfill. Gasification and 

pyrolysis processes typically produce a syngas (see Section 2.4), an oil and a solid 

char residue. During the plant design process provision should be made within the 

site infrastructure for storage of the residues, as well as their treatment, removal, 

transport and disposal. Developers should consider how these will be managed 

either at the site or taken off site for further recovery or disposal. Operators should 

consider the quantities and costs of managing all the outputs and residues within a 

recovery plan. 

2.1 Fly ash and air pollution control (APC) residues 

Fly ash and APC residues are the by-products of the flue gas cleaning process and 

are commonly combined. These wastes can become a dust hazard and operators 

will need to put in place specific arrangements for their storage, handling and 

transportation. APC residue is typically a mixture of ash, carbon and lime. It is a 

hazardous waste which is currently disposed of at a hazardous waste landfill or 

undergoes further processing such as washing or stabilisation to send to a nonhazardous 

landfill. Fly ash, which is a lighter weight ash, can be recovered and used 

in a manufacturing process, such as cement manufacture. 

2.2 Incinerator bottom ash (IBA) 

Following the combustion process non-combustible ash of varying particle size is 

produced, often containing mineral material and metals. The ash which falls to the 

bottom of the process is typically dry and dusty and operators will need to ensure that 

it is appropriately stored in covered containers to prevent emissions to air. Operators 

will need to consider dust suppression, containment, transport and recovery or 

disposal options. An ‘Incinerator Bottom Ash Quality Protocol’ is currently being 

considered through the Waste Protocols project, in an attempt to define an end-ofwaste 

point for the material, therefore allowing its further use as, for instance, an 

aggregate replacement. 

Current waste data shows that over half a million tonnes of IBA goes to landfill each 

year in England and Wales. However, as recovery processes have improved this 

material can now be processed and recycled back into applications such as aggregate 

replacement for sub base road construction, bulk fill, concrete block manufacture or 

concrete grouting. 

The IBA aggregate produced from municipal waste contains glass, brick, stone, 

concrete, ceramics and fused clinker. Processed IBA can comply with EN and 

British Standards and the aggregate product has been shown to exhibit engineering 

properties which are similar to natural aggregates. Across the UK established 

markets for IBA are now opening up which are replacing primary, virgin aggregates 

with processed IBA in specific civil engineering applications. 

The Highways Agency has been accepting processed incinerator bottom ash (IBA) 

as an aggregate in bound and unbound layers in road construction where it meets 

aggregate requirements. 

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2.3 Products and residues from thermal processes 

The types of residues will be dependent on the waste fuel used, its composition 

and quantity. A modern municipal waste incinerator will typically produce IBA at 

around 25% of the input mass. There may also be rejected feedstocks and recovered 

waste fractions such as ferrous metals. Operators should separate these two waste 

streams (usually with an overband magnet) in order to recycle and recover them. 

New processes are being driven by industry such as plasma arc gasification which 

utilises an electrically powered plasma stream to raise the temperature to 1500˚C. 

This process releases releases a syngas and additionally vitrifies the waste remnants 

to provide a safe, stable by product, which can be used as an aggregate replacement. 

2.4 Syngas, tars, char and ash 

Advanced Conversion Technologies (ACTs) such as gasification and pyrolysis produce 

what is known as syngas. This typically consists of hydrogen, methane and carbon 

monoxide which can be combusted or turned into a fuel to run a turbine to generate 

electricity. Another by-product of ACTs is char, which can be recovered from the 

residue and used as a fuel. The tars, char and ash can also be processed for use in 

the petrochemical industry and in concrete or asphalt applications. The gases and 

oils produced by ACT can be combusted in an engine, gas turbine or boiler to produce 

electricity and or heat. Alternatively they can be further processed into a liquid fuel 

which can be stored, transported and refined. 

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Financial incentives 


2.0 Types of incentives available 

Guidance on the financial incentives currently 

available to support renewable energy generation 

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This guidance note details the range of financial incentives currently available to 

assist companies in the development of energy from waste facilities e.g. Renewable 

Obligation Certificates (ROCs), or Renewable Heat Incentive payments (RHI). 

Understanding the potential of financial incentives can prove vital when evaluating 

the economic viability of a project and can help construct the feasibility and business 

case stages 1 . For example, ROCs payments for electricity generation could prove 

to be the deciding factor between a successful project or a loss-making one. 

RHI payments could displace the usage of thousands of tonnes of fossil fuels by 

promoting the direct utilisation of heat from biogenic content. Exemption from the 

Climate Change Levy could prove the deciding factor for moving to renewable energy 

generation. However, caution should be advised regarding over-reliance on securing 

incentives, some of which may be subject to change prior to facilities coming online 

and many of which have review periods planned where values could fall. 

To help meet the UK’s target of 15% of the total energy generation from renewable 

sources by 2020, a number of financial incentive mechanisms were introduced to 

encourage the uptake of renewable energy in the UK (excluding Northern Ireland). 

Their purpose was to ‘bridge the gap’ between the cost of the often more expensive 

renewable projects when compared to traditional fossil fuel based energy generation. 

Due to the varying cost of the different technologies (EfW, biomass, on-shore/offshore 

wind, etc), different ‘bands’ of payments were introduced, dependent upon 

the technology used and the size of the project. As technologies become more 

affordable and the requirement for incentives reduces, they are moved from one band 

to another and the value of the payments reduce accordingly. 

As financial incentive payments could contribute a significant proportion of income 

from a project, those that could be secured by the project should be considered at the 

feasibility stage 2 . A summary of the current incentives available is provided below. 

However as incentive schemes are revised and additional schemes introduced to 

meet market demands, it is always worth researching the latest incentive schemes to 

ensure the most up to date information is accessed. 

Figure 1: Available incentives 

Renewable 

energy 

incentives 

Heat 

Electricity 

Combined Heat and Power Quality Assurance Schemes 

(CHPQA) 

Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) 

Feed-In Tariffs (FITs) 

The Enhanced Capital allowance Scheme (ECA) 

Climate Change Levy (CCL) 

Combined Heat and Power Quality Assurance Schemes 

(CHPQA) 

Feed-In Tariffs (FITs) 

Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) 

(CHPQA Only) 

The Enhanced Capital allowance Scheme (ECA) 

Climate Change Levy (CCL) 

The following paragraphs look at each technology in turn and the financial incentives 

which would currently apply. 

1 

See WRAP Guidance on Feasibility and Good Practice. 

2 

See WRAP Guidance on Feasibility and Good Practice. 

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2.0 Types of incentives available 

2.1 Combined heat and power quality assurance schemes (CHPQA) 

Combined heat and power (CHP) facilities utilising waste derived fuels (WDF) 

can apply for a number of incentives if they are compliant with the CHPQA. These 

incentives include Enhanced Capital Allowances (ECAs), the Climate Change Levy 

(CCL) exemption and Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs). The ECA and CCL do 

not currently have an end date whereas the Renewable Obligation (RO) was initially 

introduced as a 25 year instrument ending in 2027. In 2010 this was extended for 10 

years for new projects and the RO is now scheduled to end in 2037. These incentives 

are described in greater detail below. 

Good quality CHP is defined under the CHPQA scheme. This provides a methodology 

for assessing the quality of CHP schemes in terms of the energy efficiency and 

environmental performance of the plant. To comply with ‘good quality’ the threshold 

criteria must be met or exceeded. Threshold criteria are set for quality index (QI) 

and power efficiency, and both can be determined from just three sets of data: fuel 

used, power generated and heat supplied. Most schemes are expected to meet the 

threshold criteria but where either or both the power or QI criterion is not met, only a 

portion of the scheme’s fuel input or power output qualifies as good quality CHP. 

2.2 Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) 

As the UK uses more energy on producing heat than either electricity or fuel, the UK 

Government set up the RHI to encourage the uptake of renewable heat technologies 

in domestic and non-domestic sectors by providing a financial incentive. It is 

anticipated that the RHI will help the UK Government reach their target of 12% of 

heating from renewable sources by 2020. 

The scheme will be rolled out in 2 phases: 

• Phase 1 opened the RHI to generators in non-domestic sectors (industrial, 

commercial, public sector, and not-for-profit) and producers of bio-methane, 

then introduced the Renewable Heat Premium Payments (RHPP) scheme to 

households in November 2011. 

• Phase 2 opens the RHI to domestic installations and is expected to be introduced 

in the summer of 2013. 

Once a renewable heat system has been installed you must measure the amount 

of heat produced and will receive a fixed amount of money for the amount of heat 

generated based on the technology type and size. The scheme is administered by 

Ofgem who maintain the register of accredited and eligible systems and the tariffs 

paid. 

Facilities must be accredited by Ofgem before they can apply for the RHI. To become 

accredited applicants must demonstrate that they meet eligibility criteria i.e. the 

installation is an eligible technology, of an eligible type and size, that the heat is used 

for an eligible purpose, metering arrangements are appropriate, and that grants have 

not been received. 

Only the biogenic fraction of waste is eligible, and only then if it is classed as 

‘municipal solid waste 3 ’. Other wastes (fossil based plastics, for instance) are not 

eligible. The tariffs currently paid are shown below. Small and medium plants will 

receive Tier 1 payment for the first 15% of their annual rated output; the remaining 

output will receive the lower Tier 2 rate. 

1 

Or ‘is like’ Municipal Solid Waste 

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Table 1: RHI Tariff rates 

Tariff name Eligible technology Eligible sizes 

Small biomass 

Medium biomass 

Large biomass 

Solid biomass; or 

Municipal Solid 

Waste (incl. CHP) 

Less than 

200 kWth 

200 kWth and 

above; less than 

1000 kWth 

1000 kWth and 

above 

Tariff rate (p/kWh) 

from April 2012 

Tier 1: 8.3 

Tier 2: 2.1 

Tier 1: 5.1 

Tier 2: 2.1 

It is intended that the RHI scheme will run until 2031 and installations will receive 

tariffs for 20 years from their installation date. The scheme will be reviewed every 

four years with the first review planned for 2014, with any changes implemented in 

2015. A consultation on additional technologies and fuel uses is scheduled to take 

place in September 2012. 

Full guidance on eligibility and how to apply can be found at: 

http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/e-serve/RHI/Pages/RHI.aspx 

1.0 

2.3 Feed-In Tariffs (FITs) 

Feed-In Tariffs (FITs) are the Government’s incentive for small-scale (up to 5MW) 

renewable electricity generation. From an EfW perspective, only micro CHP is eligible 

for FITs, however other EfW technologies may be introduced in the future. 

2.4 The Enhanced Capital Allowance Scheme (ECA) 

The ECA scheme is a key part of the government’s programme to manage climate 

change and there is currently no planned end date for the scheme. It provides 

businesses with enhanced tax relief for investments in equipment that meet 

certain energy-saving criteria. An ECA provides 100% tax relief on investments in 

energy-saving equipment, providing the application is made in the same year as the 

purchase. 

The eligibility criteria are reviewed annually and can be used by both businesses and 

manufacturers to choose a product with enhanced specifications. A list of eligible 

products is available at http://etl.decc.gov.uk/etl/criteria. Certain products which are 

not on the list can also be eligible. These are not listed as additional criteria but must 

also be met for ECAs to apply. CHP falls under the non-listed product list. 

Eligibility for ECAs is one of the fiscal benefits available to good quality CHP certified 

under the CHPQA programme. To qualify for the allowances in respect of a CHP 

Scheme the operator must have been issued with a Certificate of Energy Efficiency 

from the Secretary of State, which is a separate document to the CHPQA Certificate. 

For more details on the ECA visit http://etl.decc.gov.uk/ 

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2.5 Climate Change Levy (CCL) 

The CCL is a tax on the supply of specific energy products used as fuel for lighting, 

heating and power by business consumers in: 

• industry; 

• commerce; 

• agriculture; 

• public administration; and 

• other services. 

The taxable commodities include electricity, natural gas, liquid petroleum gas 

(LPG), other gaseous hydrocarbons in a liquid state, coal, coke, and lignite. The CCL 

is charged at a specific rate per unit of energy depending on the fuel category and 

the energy content of the fuel. If you make taxable supplies of energy, including 

self-supplies, you must register for the CCL. There is no threshold for registration, 

however some suppliers are exempt and are therefore not required to register. 

Renewable electricity sources are exempt from the CCL if the electricity is generated 

from sources of energy other than fossil fuels. Municipal and C&I wastes are 

regarded as a renewable source for the purposes of the exemption, provided fossil 

fuel (e.g. plastic) does not make up 90% or more of its energy content. 

Electricity utilities purchase quantities of renewable electricity from renewable 

generators over an agreed period of time and enter into separate agreements with 

customers to supply them with electricity designated as coming from a renewable 

source (e.g. “green” tariffs). The CCL exemption works on an ‘equivalent amount’ 

basis to take account of the practicalities of distribution. The exempt renewable 

supply of electricity must be the same as the amount purchased from renewable 

sources. Renewable Levy Exemption Certificates (Renewable LECs) provide part of 

the audit trail to demonstrate that the amount of renewable electricity supplied to the 

final consumer equals the amount generated from renewable sources. If it does then 

that (otherwise taxable) supply is exempt from the CCL. 

In England, Wales and Scotland the Office of the gas and electricity markets (Ofgem) 

is responsible for accrediting renewable generators and issuing and transferring 

renewable LECs. 

To be considered exempt under the CCL, a supply of renewable electricity must be 

made under a contract that contains a renewable source declaration given by the 

supplier and which meets the prescribed conditions. The supplier and generator 

of any renewable source of electricity must notify H&M Customs in writing that the 

prescribed conditions have been met to qualify as exempt. 

For more information on the CCL exemption visit: www.ofgem.gov.uk 

2.6 Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) 

The Renewable Obligation (RO) is the main support mechanism for larger-scale 

renewable electricity projects across the UK; smaller scale generation is mainly 

supported through the FITs scheme. It places an obligation on UK electricity 

suppliers to source an increasing proportion of the electricity they supply to 

customers from renewable sources. The RO will run until 2037, but will close to new 

applicants in 2017. 

Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) are certificates issued to operators 

of accredited renewable generating stations for the eligible renewable electricity 

they generate. Operators can then trade the ROCs with other parties, with the 

ROCs ultimately being used by suppliers to demonstrate that they have met their 

obligation. The number of ROCs received is banded depending on the technology 

and takes into account the technologies’ costs, relative maturity and the potential for 

future deployment. 

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Table 2: ROC Banding 

Renewable electricity technologies 

Current support 

ROCs/MWh 

Advanced gasification 2 

Advanced pyrolysis 2 

Dedicated energy crops 2 

Dedicated biomass with CHP 2 

Dedicated energy crops with CHP 2 

Microgeneration 2 

Co-firing of energy crops with CHP 1.5 

Dedicated biomass 1.5 

Energy from waste with CHP 1 

Co-firing of biomass with CHP 1 

Co-firing of energy crops 1 

Standard gasification 1 

Standard pyrolysis 1 

Co-firing of biomass 0.5 

The bands are reviewed every four years with the current level of support shown in 

Table 2. Revised bands will be introduced from 1st April 2013 until the scheme closes 

in 2017 - these will be available at www.decc.gov.uk 

ROCs are tradable and were introduced to generate a market, and be traded at 

different prices than the set buy out price, which is set each year. An excess of ROCs 

would mean that the price would fall below the buy-out price. Since its introduction 

in 2002 the price has fluctuated with the average lowest price at £38 and the average 

highest at £53. The buy-out price for 2011/12 is £38.69. 

To qualify for ROCs an EfW facility must be compliant with the CHPQA. There is no 

power efficiency threshold for ROC eligibility; instead this is based on Quality Index 

(QI) and Qualifying Power Output (QPO). Eligible electricity generated from a fuel 

mix with an energy content derived from plant or animal matter of less than 90% 

should get ‘energy from waste with CHP’ ROCs i.e. 1 ROC per MWh, according to the 

renewable content of the waste and the QPO/TPO (Total Power Output) ratio, with 

nothing on the remainder. 

2.7 FITs Contract for Difference 

As set out in the Electricity Market Reform White Paper, the Feed in Tariff with 

Contract for Difference (FiT CfD) will replace the ROC scheme following its closure 

in 2017. The FiT CfD is expected to open in early 2014, giving generators the option 

to choose between FiT CfD and ROCs for three years. Applications for new ROC 

accreditations can be made up to 31st March 2017. 

‘The FiT CfD is a long term contract set at a fixed level under which variable 

payments are made to top-up the level of payment to the generator to the agreed 

tariff. The FiT payment would be made in addition to the generator’s revenues from 

selling electricity in the market. The FiT CfD is a two-way mechanism that has the 

potential to see generators return money to consumers if electricity prices are higher 

than the agreed tariff’ 4 . Further information can be found at: http://www.decc.gov.uk 

2.7.1 Renewable Heat Premium Payments (RHPP) 

The Renewable Heat Premium Payment scheme opened in August 2011 and has 

been extended, with a second phase running from 1st May 2012 to 31st March 2013, 

depending on available funding. The RHPP is a one off payment towards the cost 

of renewable technologies’ installation in the home, until the full domestic RHI is 

introduced. The RHPP is only available to the domestic sector. 

2.7.2 RHI Phase 2 

The second phase of the RHI focuses on supporting domestic installations. The UK 

Government is due to consult on proposals in September 2012, following which the 

domestic element of the RHI will open in Summer 2013. A consultation on additional 

technologies and fuel uses will also take place in September 2012. 

4 

http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/policy-legislation/EMR/2210-emr-white-paper-full-version.pdf 

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Waste Incineration 

Directive 

1.0 The Waste Incineration Directive 2000/76/EC 

2.0 The Industrial Emissions Directive 

(IED) 2010/75/EU 

Guidance on the requirements of the Waste Incineration 

Directive and the implications for waste wood biomass 

and small scale energy from waste projects 

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Introduction 

The Waste Incineration Directive (WID) looks to achieve significant levels of 

environmental and human health protection by setting very strict operational and 

technical limit values within which facilities are not only required to operate but to 

demonstrate their compliance through verification testing and sampling. This is 

designed to ensure that thermal treatment and waste to energy facilities across 

the European Community are operating within the same operational and technical 

constraints, assisting understanding not only for Operators but for Regulators as 

well. 

WID was recast within the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) in December 2010, 

but is not required to be transposed into UK law until January 2013. Defra consulted 

on the required changes to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) 

Regulations 2010 (EPR) that the implementation of the IED will bring about, including 

changes to the permitted emission limit values for emissions to air. 

The structure of the guidance relating to WID and IED is set out below and aims to 

give you an understanding of what each of the directives’ main aims and objectives 

are with reference to thermal treatment activities: 

• Waste Incineration Directive 

Guidance relating to what the directive is, what’s covered, terminology and when 

it applies. 

• Process control 

Guidance relating to the full process involved at the facility, the use of raw 

materials on site and interactions with other legislation. 

• Commissioning 

Guidance relating to how the commissioning of the facility and directives work 

together. 

• Operation 

Guidance relating to how the directives work during the operation of the EfW 

facility. 

• Wood Waste 

There are exemptions within WID and the IED on the types of wood waste that can 

be burnt before these Directives apply. This section provides guidance relating to 

the types of wood that fall within and outside of WID and IED. 

• Industrial Emissions Directive 

Guidance relating to what the directive is, what changes from WID to IED and 

when it applies. 

• Further information 

Signposts to further useful information and guidance. 

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1.0 The Waste Incineration Directive 

2000/76/EC 

The aim of the Waste Incineration Directive (WID) is to prevent or limit, as far as 

practicable, any negative effects on the environment. In particular it relates to the 

pollution of air, soil, surface and groundwater and the resulting risk to human health 

by emissions from the thermal treatment of waste 1 . It looks to achieve significant 

levels of environmental and human health protection by setting strict operational and 

technical requirements which will enable the implementation of emission limit values 

for facilities throughout Europe. 

WID was first implemented in the EU in 2000 and imposed stringent requirements on 

incineration and co-incineration plants within its scope. These requirements covered 

a range of technical and operational aspects including types of waste permitted at 

plants, their delivery mechanisms, design of combustion furnaces, abatement plant, 

residue handling, monitoring equipment and emission limit values 2 . 

WID also required that the above be included within the facility’s operational permit, 

and although the majority of WID facilities will be covered by Environmental Permits 3 , 

some facilities will be covered by Local Authority Permits. Such facilities are not 

subject to the requirements of WID. 

1.1 What is contained within the WID 

The operational and technical requirements introduced by the WID covered a range of 

aspects as identified above. 

These limits included both daily and half hourly limit values for the following 

parameters: 

• total dust/particulates; 

• total organic carbon; 

• hydrogen chloride; 

• hydrogen fluoride; 

• heavy metals; 

• dioxins; 

• sulphur dioxide; and 

• nitrogen dioxide. 

As such, WID facilities are required to have flue gas cleaning plants to ‘scrub’ the 

gases generated and reduce emissions of the above parameters as far as practically 

possible. Such systems must be detailed within the EP application process and 

supported by a technical review of the systems selected on a site by site basis. 

Further to the above, WID introduced minimum requirements for combustion 

conditions at such facilities, including a requirement for combustion gases to be 

heated to 850°C 4 for a minimum of 2 seconds in the secondary combustion chamber 

to ensure complete combustion of all potentially polluting substances. Such technical 

standards are also required to be verified through on site testing/analysis and 

reported back to the Environment Agency (EA). 

The most relevant requirements relate to the introduction of emission limit values 

for facilities applying to thermally treat wastes. WID introduced maximum emission 

levels for emissions to air of the most polluting and environmentally harmful 

parameters generated during the thermal degradation of wastes. 

1 

The ‘thermal treatment of waste’ is used here to describe the chemical conversion of all wastes by 

thermal treatments including gasification, pyrolysis and incineration. See Appendix 1 for full definition. 

2 

See Appendix 2 for full list of emission limit values 

3 

See WRAP Guidance on Environmental Permitting Regulations 

4 

850°C for non-hazardous waste, 1150°C for hazardous wastes 

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1.2 When does WID apply to thermal treatment plants 

WID applies to almost all processes that burn/incinerate wastes and generate 

direct emissions to air from the burning process. Therefore, for advanced thermal 

treatment (such as pyrolysis and gasification) WID will only apply where the purpose 

of the process is the disposal of materials and the combustion of resultant gases 

(rather than the production of vehicle fuel, for instance). 

The EA note that European case law and Commission positions continue to develop 

on the distinction between the incineration of waste and the use of waste as a fuel for 

energy for the purposes (“recovery”) of the Waste Framework Directive. 

There are, however, some notable exclusions from WID under Article 2 for plants 

treating only the following wastes: 

• vegetable waste from agriculture and forestry; 

• vegetable waste from the food processing industry, if the heat generated is 

recovered; 

• fibrous vegetable waste from virgin pulp production and from production of paper 

from pulp, if it is co-incinerated at the place of production and the heat generated 

is recovered; 

• wood waste, with the exception of wood waste which may contain halogenated 

organic compounds or heavy metals as a result of treatment with wood 

preservatives or coating, and which includes in particular such wood waste 

originating from construction and demolition waste; 

• cork waste; 

• radioactive waste; 

• animal carcasses as regulated by Directive 90/667/EEC without prejudice to its 

future amendments; and 

• waste resulting from the exploration for, and the exploitation of, oil and gas 

resources from off-shore installations and incinerated on board the installation. 

1.3 Wood Waste & WID Compliance 

A specific section of WID covers wood waste (Article 2(2)(a)(iv)). In general, plants 

burning ‘clean’ wood waste (containing no evidence of chemical treatments/paints) 

would be excluded from the requirements of WID, but the utilisation of ‘treated’ wood 

wastes (containing treatments or chemicals, either from product manufacture or 

through usage through the wood’s lifetime) would require WID compliance. 

In order to use wood waste as a fuel in a plant not operated to WID technical 

standards, it would have to be demonstrated that the wood waste wasn’t treated. If 

the wood waste contains halogenated organic compounds or heavy metals as a result 

of treatment with wood preservatives or coatings, in particular wood originating from 

construction and demolition sites, then it will fall under the requirements of WID. 

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2.0 The Industrial Emissions Directive 

(IED) 2010/75/EU 

The Waste Incineration Directive (WID) as described above has been recast within the 

Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) as of December 2010. The purpose of this was to 

transpose several pre-existing directives on the control of emissions from industrial 

processes into one directive on industrial emissions. 

The IED was introduced into European law when it was published in the Official 

Journal of the European Community in December 2010 but is not required to be 

transposed into UK law until 6th January 2013. Defra recently consulted on the 

implementation of the IED in England and Wales and are proposing to introduce 

the IED through a recast of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) 

Regulations 2010 in January 2013. 

The consultation on the implementation of the IED stated that there will be minimal 

changes to the requirements of the WID in the IED. However, Article 42(1) of the IED 

removes the waste incineration provisions from gasification and pyrolysis plants “if 

the gases resulting from this thermal treatment of waste are purified to such an 

extent that they are no longer a waste prior to their incineration and they can cause 

emissions no higher than those resulting from the burning of natural gas”. 

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Appendix 1 – Incineration Definition 

The WID makes specific reference to facilities for the incineration and co-incineration 

of wastes and provides the following definitions for these terms in Article 3: 

“Incineration plant means any stationary or mobile technical unit and equipment 

dedicated to the thermal treatment of waste with or without recovery of the 

combustion heat generated. This includes the incineration by oxidation of waste, as 

well as other thermal treatment processes such as pyrolysis, gasification or plasma 

processes insofar as the substances resulting from the treatment are subsequently 

incinerated.” 

It goes on to state: 

“This definition covers the site and the entire incineration plant including all 

incineration, waste reception, storage, on site pre-treatment facilities, waste-fuel 

and air supply systems, boiler, facilities for the treatment of exhaust gases, onsite 

facilities for treatment or storage of residues and waste water, stack, devices 

and systems for controlling incineration operations, recording and monitoring 

incineration conditions.” 

Co-incineration is defined as: 

“any stationary or mobile plant whose main purpose is the generation of energy or 

production of material products and: 

• which uses waste as a regular or additional fuel; or 

• in which waste is thermally treated for the purpose of disposal.” 

It can therefore be determined that references within WID, and therefore this 

guidance note, to incineration and co-incineration refer to all complex thermal 

treatment (EfW) processes not necessarily considered as traditional incineration or 

co-incineration technologies. 

Further to the above, it is noted that not all thermal treatment technologies are 

considered to combust materials, particularly if thermal treatment is carried out in 

the presence of oxygen. 

However, WID and most other thermal treatment guidance notes refer to combustion 

processes when describing the thermal breakdown of waste and as such this 

definition will also be adopted within this guidance. 

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Appendix 2 – Daily emission limit values 

Parameter Unit WID (Annex V) 

Total dust mg/Nm3 10 

HCl mg/Nm3 10 

TOC mg/Nm3 10 

CO mg/Nm3 50 

HF mg/Nm3 1 

SO2 and SO3 mg/Nm3 50 

NOx mg/Nm3 200 

Sb + As + Pb + Cr + Co + 

Cu + Mn + Ni + V 

mg/Nm3 0.5 

Hg mg/Nm3 0.05 

Cd and Tl mg/Nm3 0.05 

Dioxins and furans ng/Nm3 0.1 

Appendix 3 – When does WID apply 

Page 13 - http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/files/pb13639- 

ep2010wasteincineration.pdf 

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Glossary 

Glossary of terms used throughout the WRAP 

EfW development guidance on energy from waste 

technologies. 

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AONB 

Anaerobic Digestion is a treatment process which harnesses 

natural bacteria in the absence of air to produce biogas ( a mixture 

of methane and carbon dioxide) and a nutrient rich residue known 

as digestate. Anaerobic digestion uses waste biodegradable 

materials such as agricultural manure and slurry, food waste and 

sewage sludge. 

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) are areas of high 

scenic quality that have statutory protection in order to conserve 

and enhance the natural beauty of their landscapes. AONB 

landscapes range from rugged coastline to water meadows to 

gentle lowland and upland moors. http://www.naturalengland.org. 

uk/ourwork/conservation/designatedareas/aonb/default.aspx 

Air Pollution Control - methods and technologies to minimise air 

pollution 

Air Pollution Control Residues - Air Pollution Residues are the 

by-products from the flue gas clean up processes from high 

temperature processes such as municipal waste incinerators 

ASCR 

ATT 

Application Site Condition Report is a report required by the 

Environment Agency for any facility that they regulate under the 

Environmental Permitting Regulations where there may be a 

significant risk to land or groundwater or where one is necessary 

to satisfy requirements of the IPPS Directive. The application part 

of the site condition report describes and records the condition 

of the land and groundwater at a site at the point at which an 

Environmental Permit is applied for. 

Advanced Thermal Treatment is a term that applies to a range 

of technologies that use heat to break down the waste into its 

constituent elements . These include gasification, pyrolysis, 

plasma arc gasification and thermal depolymerisation. 

Incinerator Bottom Ash or furnace bottom ash is the residual 

solid material from the combustion process. It is the coarse ash 

recovered from the bottom of the furnace / combustion chamber. 

Best Available Technique – the most effective and advanced stage 

in the development of activities and their methods of operation 

which indicate the practical suitability of particular techniques for 

providing in principle the basis for emission limit values designed 

to prevent/reduce emissions and the impact on the environment. 

Biosphere reserve - Biosphere reserves are areas of terrestrial 

and coastal ecosystems promoting solutions to reconcile the 

conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use. They are 

internationally recognized, nominated by national governments 

and remain under sovereign jurisdiction of the states where they 

are located. They are designated under UNESCO’s Man and the 

Biosphere Programme. 

APC 

APC Residues 

AQMA 

Air Quality Management Area – Since December 1997 each 

local authority in the UK has been carrying out a review and 

assessment of air quality in their area. This involves measuring 

air pollution and trying to predict how it will change in the next 

few years. The aim of the review is to make sure that the national 

air quality objectives will be achieved throughout the UK by the 

relevant deadlines. These objectives have been put in place to 

protect people’s health and the environment. 

If a local authority finds any places where the objectives are not 

likely to be achieved, it must declare an Air Quality Management 

Area there. This area could be just one or two streets, or it could 

be much bigger. http://aqma.defra.gov.uk/ 

BA 

BAT 

Biosphere 

Reserve 

http://www.unesco.org.uk/uploads/biopshere%20reserves%20faq. 

pdf 

An area declared if pollutant concentrations are identified as 

exceeding, or likely to exceed, air quality objectives set out in the 

Air Quality Standards (England) Regulations 2007 and prescribed 

for Local Air Quality Management (LAQM). 

BCB 

Building Control Bodies – are bodies that check that building 

regulation are being complied with. There are two types either 

a Local Authority Building Control or a private sector Approved 

inspector Building control. 

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BIS 

BREEAM 

CEM 

CHP 

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 

Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment 

Method – a voluntary measurement rating for green buildings 

that was established in the UK. It is a tool to measure the 

sustainability of new non-domestic buildings. 

Continuous Emissions Monitoring. 

Combined Heat and Power – is the on-site generation of electricity 

and the use of heat that is produced as a by-product. 

DAS 

Design and Access Statement - A design and access (DAS) 

statement is a report accompanying and supporting a planning 

application. A DAS should explain the design principles and 

concepts that have been applied to particular aspects of the 

proposal – these are the amount, layout, scale, landscaping and 

appearance of the development. Design and access statements 

are documents that explain the design thinking behind a planning 

application. There is a statutory requirement to submit a DAS with 

most planning applications. Guidance on the need for and content 

of DASs is provided by following this link. 

CHPQA 

CIL 

CO2 

Co- 

Incineration 

CV 

Quality Assurance for Combined Heat and Power 

Community Infrastructure Levy – Planning charge that allows 

local authorities to raise funds from developers undertaking 

new building projects for needed infrastructure as a result of the 

development. 

Carbon Dioxide – a greenhouse gas that is the principle form in 

which nearly all of the carbon content in the waste is emitted to 

the environment. 

Co-Incineration - Co-incineration plant is any stationary or 

mobile plant whose main purpose is the generation of energy 

or production of material products and: which uses wastes as a 

regular or additional fuel; or in which waste is thermally treated 

for the purpose of disposal. 

http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/environment/waste_ 

management/l28072_en.htm 

Calorific Value – is a measure of heating power and refers to 

the amount of energy released when a known volume of gas is 

completely combusted under specific conditions. 

DEFRA 

Dioxins and 

Furans 

DNO 

EA 

EEUDF 

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/planning/applications/ 

howtoapply/whattosubmit/designaccess 

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - UK 

government department responsible for policy and regulations on 

the environment, food and rural affairs. 

Dioxins - Dioxins and furans are families of complex chemicals 

containing chlorine. There are several hundred dioxin substances. 

They are crystalline solids which dissolve in organic (carboncontaining) 

solvents, fats and oils - but not in water. 

http://apps.sepa.org.uk/spripa/Pages/SubstanceInformation. 

aspxpid=115 

Distribution Network Operator – Companies licensed to distribute 

electricity in Great Britain. 

Environment Agency – an executive non-departmental public body 

that aims to protect and improve the environment and to promote 

sustainable development. The Environment Agency is the main 

regulator of discharges to air, water and land and it does this 

through the issue of formal consents to discharge or by means of 

a permit. 

Energy Efficiency Urban Development Fund 

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EfW 

ELV 

Energy from Waste - is a general description for all of the 

technologies that can be used to generate energy from the 

treatment of waste. It is commonly used to describe the process 

where waste is burnt to produce heat and/or electricity. However, 

it also covers other thermal technologies such as gasification 

and pyrolysis and non-thermal technologies including anaerobic 

digestion. 

Emission Limit Value – the legally enforceable limit on the 

physical, chemical or biological characteristics of a point source 

emission to water or air. 

Environmental Management Systems – the framework through 

which a business’ environmental performance can be monitored, 

improved and controlled to reduce its environmental impact. 

EN Standards - European Standards 

EPR 

ERDF 

Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations – 

these regulations were created to standardise Environmental 

Permitting and compliance in England and Wales to protect 

human health and the environment. They affect all regulated 

facilities that are installations, mobile plant, water operations, 

radioactive substances activities, water discharge and 

groundwater activities. 

European Regional Development Fund Programme 

EMS 

EN 

Environmental 

Impact 

Assessment 

(EIA) 

EP 

EPC 

Environmental Impact Assessment - Environmental Impact 

Assessment assesses the environmental effects of major 

development proposals. 

It seeks to ensure that any decisions affecting the environment are 

taken with the knowledge of any potentially significant effects. A 

significant effect is determined as a harmful impact of ‘more than 

local importance. 

The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact 

Assessment) Regulations 2011 set out the requirement and 

process for EIA. 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/1824/introduction/made 

Environmental Permit are permits or exemptions that are 

issued under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) 

Regulations 2007by the Environment Agency and regulate 

business activities that could have an impact on the environment 

or human health. 

Engineering, Procurement and Construction 

ESP 

EWC 

FIT 

FBC 

FGR 

FGT 

FGTR 

Electrostatic Precipitator – a device for removing small 

particulates from a flowing gas using the force of an induced 

electrostatic charge. The gas is first passed through an 

electrically charged screen that gives a charge to the particles, 

then between two charged plates where the particles are attracted 

to one surface. 

European Waste Catalogue – this classifies waste materials and 

categorises them according to what they are and how they were 

produced. 

Feed-In Tariff 

Fluidised Bed Combustion – is a combustion technology whereby 

the solid fuels are suspended on upward-blowing jets of air during 

the combustion process. 

Flue Gas Recirculation – a technique or reducing nitrogen oxides 

(NOx) emissions in industrial boilers by recirculating a portion of 

the boiler flue gas into the main combustion chamber 

Flue Gas Treatment – to comply with emission standards, flue 

gases produced by incinerators are treated with activated carbon 

to remove contaminants such as gaseous heavy metals and 

dioxins produced at levels above permissible limits. 

Flue Gas Treatment Residues – are the solid residues from the 

chemical treatment of flue gases. 

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Gasification 

Global 

Geoparks 

Green Belt 

GWP 

H* 

HCl 

HGV 

HHRA 

Gasification - is an Advanced Thermal Treatment technology that 

is characterised by the partial oxidation of the feed stock. Oxygen 

is added, but not in sufficient quantities to allow the substance 

to be completely oxidised and full combustion to occur. The 

partial combustion results in the production of ‘Syngas’ which 

can be used to substitute natural gas, chemicals, fertilisers, 

transportation fuels and hydrogen. 

http://www.ciwm.co.uk/CIWM/InformationCentre/AtoZ/Gpages/ 

Gasification.aspx 

Global Geoparks - A Geopark is defined by the United Nations 

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 

in its UNESCO Geoparks International Network of Geoparks 

programme as follows:A territory encompassing one or more sites 

of scientific importance, not only for geological reasons but also 

by virtue of its archaeological, ecological or cultural value. 

Green Belt – Land identified within Development Plans to help 

control urban growth. Aim of green belt land is to prevent urban 

sprawl by keeping land permanently open. 

Global Warming Potential – is a relative measure of how much a 

given mass of greenhouse gas is estimated to contribute to global 

warming. 

Horizontal Guidance Note * - these notes provide supplementary 

information relevant to all sectors regulated under Environmental 

Permitting Regulations, to assist permit applicants in responding 

to the requirements described in the Sector Guidance Noted and 

the Permit application form. 

Hydrogen Chloride 

Heavy Goods Vehicle – The common term for goods vehicle over 

3.5 tonnes gross Vehicle Weight (The European Union term is 

Large Goods Vehicles (LGVs).) 

Human Health Risk Assessment – are used to determine if a 

particular chemical poses a significant risk to human heath and if 

so under what circumstances. 

HIA 

HPA 

IBA 

IED 

Incineration 

IPPC 

ISO14001 

Health Impact Assessment - Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is 

a means of assessing the health impacts of policies, plans and 

projects in diverse economic sectors using quantitative, qualitative 

and participatory techniques. 

http://www.who.int/hia/en/ 

Health Protection Agency – An agency that provides advice on the 

potential impacts of EfW facilities to government agencies and 

departments, public health professionals and members of the 

public. 

Incinerator Bottom Ash – is processed from the material 

discharged into the burning grate of municipal solid waste 

incinerators. They are useful in construction for example as 

hardcore, road building and concrete. 

Industrial Emissions Directive – combines seven existing 

European directives controlling industrial emission into one new 

directive and will change the way that existing installations will be 

regulated after 2015 and new installations from 2013. 

Incineration - is a waste treatment process that involves the 

combustion of organic substances contained in waste materials 

Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive - The aim 

of the IPPC Directive (Council Directive 96/61/EC) is to prevent, 

reduce and eliminate pollution by prioritizing efforts on the 

most significant industrial and agricultural activities. It involves 

determining the appropriate controls for industry to protect 

the environment through a single Permitting process. To gain a 

Permit, Operators will have to show that they have systematically 

developed proposals to apply the Best Available Techniques (BAT) 

and meet certain other requirements, taking account of relevant 

local factors. 

International Standard for Environmental Management Systems 

- it specifies a framework of control for an Environmental 

Management System against which an organization can be 

certified by a third party. 

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JESSICA 

Judicial 

Review 

Listed Building 

LDA 

LNR 

Local 

Development 

Documents 

LGF 

LOI 

LWARB 

MCERTS 

Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas 

Judicial review is a procedure in English administrative law by 

which the courts in England and Wales supervise the exercise of 

public power on the application of an individual. A person who 

feels that an exercise of such power by a government authority, 

such as a minister, the local council or a statutory tribunal, is 

unlawful, perhaps because it has violated his or her rights, may 

apply to the Administrative Court (a division of the High Court) for 

judicial review of the decision. There is a statutory basis to legally 

challenge planning decisions. 

Listed Building - a building that has been placed on the Statutory 

List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest 

London Development Agency 

Local Nature Reserve - Local Nature Reserve (or LNR) is a 

statutory designation made under Section 21 of the National 

Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, and amended by 

Schedule 11 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities 

Act 2006, by principal local authorities. Local authorities manage 

Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) to maintain and enhance their 

special wildlife and geology and provide access to nature for local 

communities. 

Local Development Documents – are a set of documents specified 

in planning law which a local planning authority creates to 

describe their strategy for development and the use of land within 

their authority. 

London Green Fund 

Loss on Ignition – is a key indication of good combustion and 

equates to the total organic carbon remaining in the residue. 

London Waste and Recycling Board 

Monitoring Certification Scheme – The Environment Agency’s 

Monitoring Certification Scheme for emissions to air, land and 

water. 

MCR 

MG 

MSW 

MW 

MWh 

National Park 

NNR 

NOx 

NPPF 

OCP 

Maximum Continuous Rating – the maximum output that a 

generating station is capable of producing continuously under 

normal conditions over a year. 

Moving Grate – used in incinerators to optimise the movement of 

waste through the combustion chamber to allow a more efficient 

and complete combustion. 

Municipal Solid Waste – waste collected by or on behalf of a local 

authority and it comprises mostly household waste. 

Mega Watt – a unit of power equal to one million watts. 

Mega Watt Hour – the amount of power used if one million watts 

are used for 1 hour. 

National Park - are extensive tracts of country that are protected 

by law for future generations because of their natural beauty and 

for the opportunities they offer for open air recreation. 

National Nature Reserve - Natural England is the body 

empowered to declare NNRs in England, the Reserves being 

a selection of the very best parts of England’s Sites of Special 

Scientific Interest. It is this underlying designation which gives 

NNRs their strong legal protection. The majority also have 

European nature conservation designations. 

http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/ 

designatedareas/nnr/default.aspx 

Oxides of Nitrogen – refers to nitrogen oxide and nitrogen dioxide 

which are produced during combustion. 

National Planning Policy Framework – was published in 2011, 

replacing planning policy guidance and statements. It sets out the 

Government’s planning policy and is a material consideration for 

planning decisions. 

http://communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/nppf 

Ozone Creation Potential – indicates the potential capacity of a 

volatile organic compound to produce ozone. 

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PAC 

PFA 

Planning 

Appeal 

Polyaromatic 

Hydrocarbons 

PM10 

PM2.5 

Powdered Activated Carbon – is used for the treatment of 

wastewater. It is added to act as a buffer against the effects of 

toxic organics in the wastewater. 

Pulverised Fuel Ash also known as ‘fly ash’ is the residual 

solid material from the combustion process.. It is the fine ash 

recovered from the gas stream. 

The Planning Appeal process is designed for anyone who has 

applied to their council or national park authority for planning 

permission, but is unhappy with the resulting decision, or the lack 

of a decision (which should normally be made within 8 or 13/16 

weeks). 

Polyaromatic Hydrocarbon - Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons 

(PAHs are a diverse class of organic compounds. There are several 

hundred PAHs, which usually occur as complex mixtures rather 

than as individual compounds.PAH are flammable, colourless 

solids or crystals at room temperature with no perceptible odour. 

http://www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/ 

HPAweb_C/1227169968068 

Particulate Matter


RHI 

RO 

ROC 

SAC 

SM 

SCR 

Screening 

Opinion 

Scoping 

Opinion 

SGN 

SMEs 

Renewable Heat Incentive 

Renewables Obligation 

Renewables Obligation Certificate 

Special Area of Conservation - areas which have been given 

special protection under the European Union’s Habitats Directive. 

They provide increased protection to a variety of wild animals, 

plants and habitats and are a vital part of global efforts to 

conserve the world’s biodiversity. 


designatedareas/sac/default.aspx 

Scheduled Monument - a scheduled monument is a ‘nationally 

important’ archaeological site or historic building, given protection 

against unauthorized change. 

Selective Catalytic Reduction – is an emissions-reduction 

technology that reduces nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions to very 

low levels. 

Screening Opinion - Before submitting a planning application, 

potential applicants can apply to the local planning authority 

for an opinion on whether a development should be subject to 

Environmental Impact Assessment, as prescribed in the Town 

and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) 

Regulations 2011. This is called a screening opinion. 

Scoping Opinion – an opinion on what information should be 

included within an Environmental Statement; this is obtained 

from the local planning authority in accordance with The Town 

and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) 

Regulations 2011. 

Sector Guidance Note – IPPS Sector Guidance Notes explain, for 

each industrial sector, the information which the applicants for 

IPPC permits must supply and the indicative standards which 

should normally be met in order to demonstrate compliance with 

each of these requirements. 

Small and medium enterprises 

SNCR 

SO2 

SOx 

SOW 

SPA 

SPZ 

Selective Non Catalytic Reduction – is a method of reducing 

nitrogen oxide emissions from power plants that burn biogenic, 

waste and coal. The process involves injecting a reagent that 

reacts selectively with the nitrogen oxides in the flue gas to 

produce nitrogen and water. 

Sulphur Dioxide –one of the major sulphides of sulphur produced 

during the burning of fossil fuels in power stations and other 

boilers. 

Sulphur Oxides – Oxides of sulphur 

Statement of Works - is a formal document that captures and 

defines the work activities, deliverables and timeline a vendor 

will execute against in performance of specified work for a 

client. Detailed requirements and pricing are usually included 

in the Statement Of Work, along with standard regulatory and 

governance terms and conditions. 

Special Protection Areas - are areas which have been identified 

as being of international importance for the breeding, feeding, 

wintering or the migration of rare and vulnerable species of 

birds found within European Union countries. They are European 

designated sites, classified under the ‘Birds Directive 1979’ which 

provides enhanced protection given by the Site of Special Scientific 

Interest (SSSI) status all SPAs also hold. 


designatedareas/spa/default.aspx 

Source Protection Zone – The Environment Agency has defined 

Source Protection Zones (SPZs) for groundwater sources such 

as wells, boreholes and springs used for drinking water supply. 

These zones show the risk of contamination from any activities 

that might cause pollution in the area. The closer the activity, the 

greater the risk. The maps show three main zones (inner, outer 

and total catchment) and a fourth zone of special interest, which is 

occasionally applied, to a groundwater source. 

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/37833. 

aspx 

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SRF 

SSSI 

Solid Recovered Fuel – is fuel produced from non-hazardous 

Municipal Solid Waste and Commercial and Industrial wastes in 

accordance with the requirements of Technical Standard CEN / TC 

343. 

Site of Special Scientific interest - Sites of Special Scientific 

Interest (SSSIs) give legal protection to the best sites for 

wildlife and geology in England. They include some of the most 

spectacular and beautiful habitats; wetlands teeming with wading 

birds, winding chalk rivers, flower-rich meadows, windswept 

shingle beaches and remote upland peat bogs. Natural England 

now has responsibility for identifying and protecting the SSSIs 

in England under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as 

amended). 

Waste 

Acceptance 

Criteria 

WAMITAB 

Waste Core 

Strategies 

Waste Acceptance Criteria Procedures are set out in the Council 

Decision (2003/33/EC) and in Schedule 10 of the Environmental 

Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. Waste 

producers must sample and characterise their wastes to enable 

the correct waste management option. 

Waste Management Industry Training and Advisory Board 

(WAMITAB) 

Waste Core Strategy – is a development plan document prepared 

by the planning authority which aims to provide spatial vision, 

strategic objectives and core policies for managing waste 

throughout an authority 

Statement of 

Community 

Involvement 


designatedareas/sssi/designation.aspx 

Statement of Community Involvement - are produced by Local 

Authorities to explain to the public how they will be involved 

in the preparation of Local Development Documents and the 

determination of planning applications 

WID 

Waste Incineration Directive – governs the thermal treatment 

(including combustion, gasification and pyrolysis) of solids or 

liquids and aims to limit the risks that waste incineration poses to 

the environment and human health. The directive is implemented 

through the Environmental Permitting Regulations in England and 

Wales 

TOC 

tpa 

tphr 

UoS tariffs 

VOC 

Waste 

Total Organic Carbon – the amount of carbon bound in an organic 

compound. 

tonnes per annum 

tonnes per hour 

Use of System tariffs – are fees paid to the distribution network 

operators by suppliers fro the use of the network infrastructure. 

Volatile Organic Compounds – are organic chemicals with a high 

vapour pressure that are released into the air. 

Any substance or object in the categories set out in Annex 1 of 

the Waste Framework Directive (91/156/EEC), which the holder 

discards or intends or is required to discard. 

World 

Heritage Site 

WRAP 

WTS 

WUDF 

World Heritage Site - a place (such as a forest, mountain, lake, 

desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that is listed by the 

UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_Site 

Waste & Resources Action Programme they work with businesses 

and individuals to help them reap the benefits of reducing waste, 

develop sustainable products and use resources in an efficient 

way. 

Waste Transfer Station – a building or site for the temporary 

deposition of waste prior to onward transport for further 

treatment or disposal. 

Urban Waste Development Fund 

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For further information about 

energy from waste please visit: 

www.wrap.org.uk/EfW 

While we have tried to make sure this guide is accurate, we cannot accept responsibility or be held legally responsible for any loss or damage arising out of or in connection 

with this information being inaccurate, incomplete or misleading. This material is copyrighted. You can copy it free of charge as long as the material is accurate and not used 

in a misleading context. You must identify the source of the material and acknowledge our copyright. You must not use material to endorse or suggest we have endorsed 

a commercial product or service. Please note that this information was correct at the time of writing, but the regime is liable to change with government policy. WRAP will 

endeavour to update this document when changes are made to the regime. 

For more details please see our terms and conditions on our website at www.wrap.org.uk 

www.wrap.org.uk 

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