03 Waste codes

03 Wastes are from wood processing and the production of panels, furniture, pulp and paper. Your permit lists the 03 waste codes you can use. You must follow the guidance given in the Before you start section.

03 01 Waste codes

03 01 wastes are from wood processing and the production of panels and furniture.

Wood waste

You must follow this information if you are using the 03 01 wastes codes. It also applies to composted wood under the 19 05 waste codes.

You will need to consider:

  • issues from landspreading waste wood produced from wood processing and associated activities
  • the nature, origin and former uses of the waste wood
  • that diseased material could infect the next crops
  • that there may be contaminants present

You must consider this in your waste analysis and benefit statement.

Benefits and risks

Consider these benefits:

  • waste wood can be used as a soil conditioner as it contains high organic matter
  • chipped wood and bark can be used directly as a mulch to suppress weed growth and conserve moisture – see also the information for mulch

Consider these risks:

  • material containing old fencing and waste wood may include preservative chemicals such as pentachlorophenol, lindane or copper chrome arsenate
  • timber yard by-products may contain persistent preservative chemicals which have dangerous or hazardous substances – this could cause metal contamination
  • panel board manufacturing involves the use of resins and bonding agents; these can contain contaminants, depending on the type and quantity of the bonding agent
  • rotten wood may have tree pest and diseases such as honey fungus (armilleria), which can destroy trees and shrubs
  • landspreading wood products with a high carbon to nitrogen ratio can temporarily remove plant available nitrogen from the soil – to compensate or to avoid reducing crop yield and quality you can add additional nitrogen to the soil

See BSI PAS 111 processing wood waste which provides a specification for recovering and processing waste wood.

03 01 01 Waste bark and cork

You can use this waste if you hold SR2010 No 4 – see table 2.2A.

You must not use 03 01 04* Sawdust, shavings, cuttings, wood, particle board and veneer containing hazardous substances.

You must follow the information given for wood waste.

You must follow the guidance in Landspreading: how to manage soil health for how to manage:

  • pests and diseases
  • tree and plant pathogens

03 01 05 Untreated sawdust and wood shavings other than those mentioned in 03 01 04* only

You can use this waste if you hold SR2010 No 4 – see table 2.2A.

You must not use 03 01 04* Sawdust, shavings, cuttings, wood, particle board and veneer containing hazardous substances.

You must follow the information given for wood waste.

You must follow the guidance in Landspreading: how to manage soil health for how to manage:

  • pests and diseases
  • tree and plant pathogens

03 01 05 Untreated sawdust, shavings, cuttings, wood, and biodegradable veneer other than those in 03 01 04*

You can use this waste if you hold SR2010 No 4 – see table 2.2B.

You must not use 03 01 04* Sawdust, shavings, cuttings, wood, particle board and veneer containing hazardous substances.

You must follow the information given for wood waste.

You must follow the guidance in Landspreading: how to manage soil health for how to manage:

  • pests and diseases
  • tree and plant pathogens

03 03 Waste codes

03 03 wastes are from pulp, paper and cardboard production and processing.

Paper and pulp treatment processes

You must follow the information given in this section if you use any of the wastes under the 03 03 code.

You must consider the following waste treatments:

  • biological
  • non-biological
  • physical
  • chemical

You will need understand the manufacturing and the waste treatment processes to:

  • confirm the benefits and risks
  • assess the potential for other contaminants
  • know the nutrient content

Paper sludges consist of organic matter mainly in the form of cellulosic paper and lignin wood fibres. Sludges will contain:

  • short or rejected fibres unsuitable for further processing
  • varying amounts of fillers and coating compounds

Fillers and coating compounds include clays, ash, chalks, starches and some residual metals from printing inks such as copper. Generally, less fillers are used in board manufacture than fine papers, but this is variable.

Paper waste applied to land is generally a mixture of primary and secondary treated materials. Nitrogen and phosphorus are added to secondary treatment processes. Biological-treated waste typically has higher nutrient and potential contaminants than chemical and physical-treated waste. These differences are a result of using biologically active materials such as sewage sludge in the biological treatment process.

Data from Landspreading on agricultural land: nature and impact of paper wastes applied in England and Wales shows that the liming value of paper waste generally ranges between 0.1 and 0.7 pH units rise per 100t/ha fresh weight of waste applied to the land. The total neutralising value of paper sludge is typically between 1% and 21% with a mean of 8% as calcium oxide on a dry matter basis.

Nitrogen lock-up

Nitrogen lock-up can affect crop growth. For example, the Landspreading on agricultural land: nature and impact of paper wastes applied in England and Wales identifies spring barley as a particularly vulnerable crop.

Use the information in this report to:

  • find out the extent, nature and environmental implications of applying paper waste to agricultural land
  • get composition analysis for the different forms of treated paper waste
  • get some information on how much plant nutrient is available

You can use extra inorganic nitrogen to overcome nitrogen lock-up. The application rate is variable. The report gives the mean application rate as 48kg of nitrogen per hectare.

There is evidence of paper waste application reducing nitrate leaching as a result of nitrogen lock-up. However, some of the locked-up nitrogen may be re-mineralised and leached, particularly in warm, damp weather.

De-inking

Find out if the paper or pulp has been de-inked. This will depend on the product. For example, packaging paper generally does not require de-inking while newsprint does. The paper waste may also contain de-inking substances or ink particles as well as detergents and surfactants. The ink residue from the recycling process is the primary source of potentially toxic elements in the sludge. Potentially toxic elements and the limits that must be met are given in the Sewage sludge in agriculture: code of practice. These limits apply to this waste not just sewage sludge.

Food packaging regulations have however, led to significant reductions of potentially toxic elements content in ink.

You will need to analyse for the potential presence of the chemicals used in the colouring process.

De-inking and bleaching can make the paper sludge vary in colour. It is typically light grey through to blue-grey but other colours such as pink are possible depending on the types of paper used in the recycling process. This may indicate what type of colourings you need to analyse for.

03 03 01 Waste bark and wood, pulp from virgin timber

You can use this waste if you hold SR2010 No 4 – see table 2.2A.

For this waste you must follow the information for:

03 03 05 De-inked paper sludge and de-inked paper pulp from paper recycling only

You can use this waste if you hold:

  • SR2010 No 4 – see table 2.2B
  • SR2010 No 5 – see table 2.2

You must follow the information for paper and pulp treatment processes under 03 03.

Benefits and risks

Consider these benefits. It can:

  • have a liming value subject to there not being unnaturally high receiving soil pH
  • supply nutrients particularly phosphorus, potassium and sulphur
  • provide organic matter for soil conditioning properties such as porosity, moisture retention, structural stability
  • improve soil bulk density
  • increase biological activity in the soil
  • improve the biodiversity of the soil

Consider these risks:

  • high surface application rates to grassland may cause smothering and stock rejection
  • high carbon to nitrogen ratio
  • organic contamination may be present
  • it can result in a visual impact if not ploughed in
  • it can result in odour
  • the soil structure can deteriorate by elevated sodium content greater than 2,500mg/kg in certain paper sludges
  • paper sludge can contain potentially toxic elements particularly copper in de-inking sludges from the printing inks

The high carbon to nitrogen ratio may temporarily remove crop available nitrogen from the soil. You can add nitrogen to the soil to:

  • compensate for lost nitrogen
  • avoid reducing crop yield and quality

Potentially toxic elements and the limits that must be met are given in the Sewage sludge in agriculture: code of practice. These limits apply to this waste not just sewage sludge.

Operational considerations

When you apply paper sludge to grassland, split the application and allow time between spreading for the waste to incorporate into the sward. If you harrow after you landspread to grassland it can:

  • reduce the visual impact of the activity
  • increase soil contact by incorporating the waste into the base of the sward
  • reduce the possibility of stock eating the material when grazing

Application rates

Typical application rates for biologically treated waste are around 40t/ha fresh weight or lower based on the nutrients added from the effluent treatment plant. Mean application rates for chemically and physically treated waste are higher at 75t/ha. However, application rates must vary depending on the:

  • current or proposed cropping regimes
  • liming requirement
  • waste composition
  • soil characteristics

You can use a higher application rate where you incorporate the material through the plough layer for grass re-seeding or arable cultivations.

You must use a lower application rate when you spread to the surface of grassland. This is to avoid smothering and stock rejection.

Winter-sown crops

Currently, of the paper wastes spread to land, over half is on land where winter-sown crops will be grown. This is because:

  • ground conditions are usually more favourable from late summer to early autumn
  • landspreading is onto stubble before cultivating to reduce rutting or compaction
  • arable land tends to be low in organic matter
  • the waste is incorporated during cultivation
  • winter-sown crops are generally less sensitive to nitrogen deficiencies than spring-sown crops

Spring sown crops are more susceptible to nitrogen lock-up as soil temperatures rise.

For more information see Landspreading on agricultural land: nature and impact of paper wastes applied in England and Wales.

03 03 09 Lime mud waste

You can use this waste if you hold:

  • SR2010 No 4 – see table 2.2B
  • SR2010 No 5 – see table 2.2

For this waste you must follow the information for:

03 03 10 Fibre rejects and sludges including mineral based fillers and coatings only

You can use this waste if you hold:

  • SR2010 No 4 – see table 2.2B
  • SR2010 No 5 – see table 2.2

For this waste you must follow the information for:

03 03 11 Sludges from on-site effluent treatment other than those mentioned in 03 03 10

You can use this waste if you hold:

  • SR2010 No 4 – see table 2.2B
  • SR2010 No 5 – see table 2.2

You must not use 03 03 10 Fibre rejects and sludges including mineral based fillers and coatings only for this waste.

For this waste you must follow the information for: