Improve your chance of approval - beneficial use of dredged materials

摘要

The focus of this paper is the requirement under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) or the other appropriate regulators, consider practical, alternative disposal options when applying for consent to dispose of materials at sea. The aim is not primarily beneficial disposal but that of ensuring that the minimum amount of material is eventually disposed of at sea.rnThis approach is in line with that adopted in a wide range of disposal operations, often referred to as the 3 Rs: Reduce, Re-use, Recycle - before considering treatment if necessary and disposal of what remains. This paper will briefly review the legislative framework and the present policies of Government departments, and will consider alternatives to disposal at sea under the broad headings of reduce, re-use and recycle. It will cover areas which are present DEFRA policy and also suggest some ways in which the approach could possibly be widened in the future.