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What we don't do

SEPA often receives environmental event notifications for issues for which are the statutory responsibility of other organisations. To help you get to the right place quickly the table below provides a quick guide to a number of issues, together with how you can contact the right organisation. Responsibilities by topic Responsibilities Organisations Abandoned vehicles Your local authority Y

Reporting definitions and terms

Links Acronyms and abbreviations Glossary of terms European Waste Catalogue – for coding waste NACE and SIC codes Recovery and Disposal codes* Scottish Government guidance on applying the waste hierarchy Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics (NUTS) areas(14kb) Waste strategy areas(86kb) *Recovery and Disposal codes Waste management activities are classed as recovery (R) or disposal (D

Guidance and forms for operators

SEPA regulates waste management activities in Scotland through Waste Management Licences (WMLs) and Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) permits. Lower risk activities, such as some reclamation and recycling activities, are exempt from full waste management licensing, but must still be registered with SEPA. Further information on SEPA’s regulatory role is available from our waste regulation page

Soil

Scotland’s soils are an important natural resource providing a wide range of benefits for people, the environment and the economy. It is essential to protect soils to ensure they are able to continue to provide these benefits for future generations. Why are soils important? Soils are a vital natural resource as they carry out a wide range of essential functions, such as growing food and timber, co

Exempt activities

SEPA gathers data annually on the type, quantity and geographical origin of the waste handled from operators of the following ‘complex’ exempt activities. Paragraphs 7, 8(2), 10, 46 and 50. Paragraphs 9 and 19 where the volume of waste used exceeds 2,500 cubic metres Paragraph 12 where the volume of waste used exceeds 10 tonnes per year. Operators are asked to submit their data returns usin

Licensed and permitted sites

All operators holding a Waste Management Licence and some site operators holding a Pollution Prevention and Control permit are required to submit waste data returns to SEPA on a quarterly or annual basis. Late submission or submissions of poor quality data may affect compliance scores. Reporting periods and submission deadlines Quarter Reporting Period Deadline for submission to SEPA

Frequently asked questions

To make this section of our website easier to use, we have broken down the questions most commonly asked of us into two sections: Section A gives an introduction to the regulations and how they are enforced and may be of use to smaller businesses and contractors. Section B goes into more detail and describes definitions, concepts and processes and is a useful resource for consultants, regulators and larger businesses and contractors. It also gives more information about how the regulations differ between Scotland and England.

To make this section of our website easier to use, we have broken down the questions most commonly asked of us into two sections: Section A gives an introduction to the regulations and how they are enforced and may be of use to smaller businesses and contractors. Section B goes into more detail and describes definitions, concepts and processes and is a useful resource for consultants, regulators and larger businesses and contractors. It also gives more information about how the regulations differ between Scotland and England. To make this section of our website easier to use, we have broken down the questions most commonly asked of us into two sections: Section A gives an introduction to the regulations and how they are enforced and may be of use to smaller businesses and contractors. Section B goes into more detail and describes definitions, concepts and processes and is a useful resource for consultants, regulators a

Landfill

Landfill is the disposal of waste which cannot be reused, recycled or recovered, into or onto land. It forms the lowest aspect of the European Waste Framework Directive’s waste hierarchy. The EU’s Landfill Directive aims to reduce the amount of waste to landfill by finding ways to recover value from waste and develop more sustainable management practices. Disposal to landfill is the least preferre

Local authorities

Local authorities are also required to report to SEPA about waste collected and managed by or on behalf of them. This is done through an online reporting system called WasteDataFlow (WDF). Reports are submitted to SEPA annually, with a submission deadline of 28 February. Local authority waste data are verified on an annual basis by the Dataflows Unit and are used to help fulfil Scotlan

Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM)

We are responsible for regulating the keeping and use of radioactive substances and the accumulation and disposal of radioactive wastes. These pages describe the development of the UK strategy for managing wastes containing naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM).

We are responsible for regulating the keeping and use of radioactive substances and the accumulation and disposal of radioactive wastes. These pages describe the development of the UK strategy for managing wastes containing naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM). Naturally occurring radioactive materials exist in the earth’s crust as a result of the decay of heavy elements produced by cosmic processes. In their natural state they are not considered waste. NORM waste is produced when activities including mining and the processing of minerals and contaminated earth concentrate NORM. It is also produced as a result of maintenance and decommissioning of equipm

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