Burning Factory Waste (MDF & Chip Board)

I don’t want to go full local authority on this just yet

You're gonna have to suck it up, then.

The EA is who you need to be talking to here. I got my neighbours to stop burning acrid shit after just seventeen complaints over a period of two years. ics@environment-agency.gov.uk

Guy on our yard started burning commercial waste and boom, big fine from SEPA (we're in Scotland)

One fire. One phone call.

I don’t want to go full local authority on this just yet

get it done.

Thats dick mode of the highest order. its not just about when it blows in your direction. he pumping mankiness into the air to avoid paying landfill fees.

He is saying that the type of burner they have is certified for burning mdf and chipboard. Part of the issue is that some of the waste is faced with melamine, or similar and the odd bit has been edge banded, I suspect that the edge band is pvc. 😡 I can’t find anything online about burning waste in an incinerator type thing, only burning in the open.

Ultimately I will go to the relevant authorities if they don’t address the issue. I have a duty of care for my own staff, myself and everyone else to consider!

Sorry, it's a Local Authority thing. They permit small burners see

ttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environmental-permitting-guidance-the-waste-incineration-directive/environmental-permitting-guidance-waste-incineration

How big is this company? Above a certain power threshold then things like continuous monitoring is now required. Edge banding is unlikely to be PVC these days, unless he's burning end of life stuff.

Even if he has the appropriate permit, he's causing a nuisance. Might be more the environmental health people at the council rather than the EA.

I used to be involved in this stuff but its years now so no longer on top of the regs. There's every chance what he is doing is legal but the nuisance aspect will override that.

Saw one of these burners for the first time earlier this year, be interested to know more details?

I don’t want to go full local authority on this just yet as the company are also a customer and I would like to keep things civil and neighbourly.

**** them and the horse they rode in on. Those products contain formaldehyde (mdf) and produce dioxins when burned at too low a temparature. Unless their burner has a very tall chimney and oxygen blowers it is unlikely to be appropriate for the job.

Report and let them explain to EA why they are polluting the area.

Thanks for the info everyone. Think a call to EA may the first step.

**** them and the horse they rode in on. 

This because of

The smoke is acrid smelling and is making us feel unwell. It is quite unpleasant.

And this

I have a duty of care for my own staff, myself and everyone else to consider!

Good luck, it may cause issues with the neighbours but theyre already being dicks.

I have a duty of care for my own staff

Get them stopped - however.

They're poisoning you.

its unlkkely to be an E.A.issue. its a statutory nuiscance call to the local authority intially as their process is breaching site boundaries.

keep a log of incidents with photos or videos of possible as well

It might come under EA jurisdiction. If they are burning stuff, they could well have an environmental permit which sets out limits on emissions, which are not necessarily limited to measurable exhaust gasses, but could cover things like noise and odour too.

I guess either one would direct you to the other in the event you chose the wrong one. It'd be worse to be on the wrong side of the EA. You get charged for their visit these days if they come and find any small thing wrong, even if there's no real financial penalty.

It is an EA issue, they will need an exemption for disposing of wood waste by incineration ( https://www.gov.uk/guidance/d6-waste-exemption-disposal-by-incineration ) it shouldn't allow them to burn any treated wood however.

Report it via the incident hotline and they'll pass it to someone in the waste team to take a look.

I had a very useful chat with a nice man from the EA this morning. He was respectful of the fact I don't want to escalate this into a neighbourly dispute and was diplomatic.
Checked for exemptions on our estate and as bikesandoats stated there is no exemption for burning this type of waste.
I have sent the guy a courteous email saying that I don't think they can burn what they are burning, even though the kit they have says you can..
The exemption they have is for using waste as fuel for heat not for disposal of waste so there is that angle to use if needed.. They probably have this thing going flat out in winter. It's probably burning so hot that there is little to no emissions that we notice. Right now its mid 20's so expect the thing is not at optimum burning temp and giving off more filth than it should..

Its likely an issue for both the LA (small scale combustion permits) and the EA, because its illegal to dispose of commercial waste by burning unless you are a farmer or have a permit/exemption.

From an engineering perspective, if it's producing smoke or you can smell it, then it's not really 'incinerating' whatever it is properly as you've obviously then got particulates and aromatics* in the flue gas.

*likely in both the chemistry and colloquial meanings.

Is it that crap Vieolla wood processing place in Avonmouth ?

Good man for reporting, i went to a BBQ a few weeks ago, where as it turned cooler a friend who is a plumber started chucking on waste chipboard and other off cuts, as an asthmatic it killed me, hacking cough and chest infection for the fortnight after, along with sore eyes, it really does affect people.

@redthunder. No not them. Christ I wouldn’t be the only one complaining if that place went up! They just process waste woood into chips for power stations, luckily they don’t use it.
That’s what it slightly annoying, there must be numerous places within 5k that process this type of waste properly, I can name 4 without Google!