Waste

The exclusion in section 75(7)(c) of agricultural waste from the 1990 Environmental Protection Act is the subject of infraction proceedings against the United Kingdom by the European Commission on the Waste Framework Directive and the Landfill Directive. The Government has accepted that the exclusion contravenes the Directives and has given a commitment to repeal it and to introduce, after consultation, the Regulations necessary. This means that from March agricultural waste will become a controlled waste, and so proposed industry lobbying to have horse waste reclassified as agricultural will no longer be appropriate. Horse manure is still on the Environment Agency’s low risk register and the Agency has signaled that they have no wish to involve themselves with horse waste issues unless there is a groundwater pollution issue or public complaints.

For more detailed information, visit http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/horses