The BHS welcomes Defra's clarification on composting regulations
The British Horse Society today welcomed Defra's clarification
on the new Horse Waste Management regulations.
The BHS intervened last month when the threat from the new
Regulations became clear, and expressed its deep concern that
Defra had not consulted the Society in 2003 when the rules
were drafted.
Many horse owners - and particularly the owners of riding
and livery establishments - were concerned about the Regulations
which, at first sight, appeared to represent a new tax on
equestrianism.
The BHS's Chief Executive Graham Cory said: " The BHS
has been in constant discussion with Defra, both to get clarity
on what the Regulations really mean for horse owners, and
also to ensure that new burdens were not heaped on an already
heavily pressed sector of the economy.
" We are pleased that Defra has now provided clarification
on the implications of the Regulations. The key points appear
to be that the new Regulations apply only to businesses, not
individual horse owners; the storage of waste pending collection
will not entail a charge; but collecting and storing waste
for the purpose of producing compost may attract a charge.
"
Mr Cory added: " It appears - and we are checking this
with Defra - that there must be an intention to turn the waste,
by appropriate management, into compost for commercial purposes.
Simply stacking up waste in a way that will inevitably lead
to biodegrading, i.e. composting, will not amount to composting
for the purposes of the Regulations.
" We have recently heard from a riding school proprietor
that the farmer who currently removes horse waste from the
riding school will no longer do so because he believes the
Regulations will prevent him from doing so. We are actively
pursuing this point with Defra, too. "
The full Defra statement can be seen at
http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/horses/topics/composting.htm
.
|