Orders & Exemptions
For more than 20 years the Ash Development Association of Australia (ADAA) has worked closely with state and federal bodies to develop resource recovery orders and exemptions for commonly recovered and reused CCPs. The purpose of these documents is to ensure that fair, understandable and practical documents are created which result in CCPs being used in safe, environmentally friendly applications.
You can use an order and exemption without EPA approval but, all conditions of an order and exemption must be met for the reuse of the resource recovery waste to be lawful. You must also have, if necessary, development consent and permission from the owner and occupier of the place where the CCPs will be re-used.
Frequently Asked Questions
What orders and exemptions are already in force?
Orders and exemptions already in force are published on the EPA website. If you fully comply by meeting all their conditions, you can use them without further EPA approval.
What if no suitable exemption or order is available now?
If a resource recovery order or exemption is not currently available for your intended use of a waste material, you can apply to the EPA for an order and exemption specific to your operations. Your application must address all the necessary criteria using the format provided in our guidelines.
What are the record-keeping requirements?
You must keep the records required by a resource recovery order or exemption for six years. This requirement also applies to the records you needed to keep under the previous (that is, before November 2014) resource recovery exemption mechanism.
Granted Orders
If you intend to apply waste to land (for example, as a soil amendment or ‘fill’), reuse it as a fuel, or use it in connection with a process of thermal treatment (for example, use sawdust in brick manufacture), you may need to hold an environment protection licence or pay the waste levy.
However, in some circumstances, the EPA has the power to grant you an exemption from some of these requirements if you can demonstrate that a waste can be safely and effectively used for another purpose. Your use of the waste must be genuine, fit-for-purpose, and cause no harm to the environment or human health.
The EPA grants you this permission, subject to strict conditions, under the Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulation 2014 (2014 Waste Regulation).
More information
For more information, e-mail waste.exemptions@epa.nsw.gov.au or contact Environment Line at 131 555.