August 2018 saw the release of the European Union’s review of the Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document (BREF) for Waste Treatments, the conclusions of which are likely to have a big impact on the European waste disposal sector, such as metal recycling and skip hire businesses like us here at Entrec.

Published in the Official Journal of the EU on August 23, the BAT review has committed to helping achieve EU environmental and waste disposal & management policy goals across the sector.

So what are the changes?
There are 54 BAT conclusions in total, but simply put, the review aims to lower the environmental emissions of large waste disposal installations with a new set of emissions and efficiency standards.

The review advises that national authorities should now have a technical basis for setting permit conditions for waste disposal installations. Reviews for whether ‘installations’ includes mechanical shredders are ongoing, but with these changes, the review aims to reduce emissions, accidents, noise, and odour, and to preserve energy and resource efficiency.

The review has also designated BAT-Associated Emission Levels (BAT-AELs), to be implemented within the next four years across the EU. These emissions are focused on those contributing to water and air pollution, and the review claims that these changes have the potential to drive an emissions reduction across the sector.