To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for his Department's assessment of the effectiveness of the existing legislative framework on agricultural waste management.

In the past, agricultural waste was not covered by general waste controls. However, the same regulations that apply to commercial and industrial waste now also apply to agricultural waste. Therefore a farm business that produces waste has duty of care obligations for that waste which means that a farmer must ensure that:

the waste does not escape their control and that it does not cause pollution or harm while they hold it;

they can demonstrate that they have taken into account the waste hierarchy when making decisions on the management of their waste;

they only pass waste to someone who is authorised to take it. If they do not check, and the person they have passed their waste to disposes of it illegally, they may be held responsible, prosecuted and fined.

they must keep records of all transfers of their waste.

The duty of care has no time limit. A farm business is specifically responsible for its waste from when it is produced until it has been transferred to an authorised person. If the farm business believes that its waste is not being managed correctly it must take action to check and prevent this.

In terms of the effectiveness of the existing legislative framework I can confirm that my officials in the Northern Ireland Environment Agency are content that the legislation governing agricultural waste is sufficient for their regulatory function.