AQW 20842/17-22


Mr Andrew Muir
Alliance Party
North Down


Tabled Date: 23/06/2021
Answered On Date: 05/07/2021
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to outline the responsibilities and enforcement powers of (i) his Department; and (ii) local councils in relation to the burning of tyres.


Answer:
Both the NIEA and Local Councils have enforcement powers to deal with the burning of waste, including waste tyres.
My Departments powers in relation to the burning primarily fall under Article 4 of the Waste and Contaminated Land (NI) Order 1997, where it is an offence to treat, keep or dispose of controlled waste in a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health.
Where there is sufficient evidence, my Department will take enforcement action in line with its Enforcement Policy. This may include the issuing of fixed penalty notices up to a value of £400 per offence or criminal prosecution through the courts.
On summary conviction for Article 4 offences, the offender is liable to a fine of up to £50,000, and/or two years’ imprisonment. On conviction on indictment, the offender is liable to an unlimited fine and/or five years imprisonment.
Given the obvious difficulties in identifying those responsible for the burning of tyres at bonfire sites, my Department focuses its resources on preventing the unauthorised disposal of used tyres, be that to bonfires or as illegally dumped waste. In doing so, NIEA officers carry out visits to tyre retail premises, inspecting waste storage and duty of care documentation to ensure that waste tyres are properly secured and are being disposed of at appropriately licensed facilities. While COVID restrictions constrained this activity during 2020, to date this year NIEA has completed 84 tyre retailer inspections.
A District Council (DC), under Article 28 of the 1997 Order, may direct those responsible for the deposit of illegal waste, including tyres, to remove such wastes in order to prevent pollution of land, water or air or harm to human health. In the event of non-compliance, or if those responsible cannot be identified, a DC may remove the waste from the land or take other steps to eliminate or reduce the consequences of the deposit as the case may require.
If a person on whom a requirement has been imposed under Article 28 fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with the requirement he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale. A DC may also seek cost recovery.
Both my Department and DCs work collaboratively within multi-agency partnerships in tackling the range of issues associated with bonfires including the burning of tyres. As part of this partnership working NIEA will, when it is safe to do so, and with support of its partners, remove waste tyres from bonfires or associated sites to prevent their burning. Since April 2020, NIEA has secured the safe removal and collection of approximately 29 tonnes of waste tyres, at a cost of £11,447.