Farmers warned against storing baled waste

Farmers in Cumbia and Lancashire are being warned not to accept bales of waste for storage on their farms, or they risk prosecution and could be left with an expensive clean-up bill.

Over the past two months, several landowners in the North West have been offered £600-£1,200 to store baled, mixed municipal waste for a three-month period.

The farmers are told they will need to store the bales until an “energy plant” is in place, at which point they will be collected.

See also: Waste disguised as bales in huge fly-tip case

But the authorities have warned that, without the right permits in place, the arrangement is illegal. There is also a strong suspicion that the bales will never be collected, thus leaving the landowners with an expensive clearance bill.

Andy Coleman from the Environment Agency said the offer of payment to store waste might sound appealing to farmers, but it was not legal.

“There are no permits in place to regulate this activity. The bales are poorly wrapped and are often split when delivered, causing the contents to spill out. There is a high risk of waste fires and fly infestations due to the waste not being stored in the correct manner.

“Consequently, farmers are putting themselves at risk of enforcement action being taken against them.”

Adam Briggs, Lancashire NFU county adviser, said: “Farmers need to keep in mind their duty of care with regards to waste and the paperwork requirements.

“An environmental permit or waste exemption is needed to store or use waste material. If farmers are asked to store baled mixed municipal waste even on a short-term basis, they should refuse the material and contact the Environment Agency to seek further advice.”

Any farmer who has been approached to store such waste, or is currently storing such waste, is urged to contact the Environment Agency on its 24-hour incident hotline 0800 807060.”