ENVIRONMENTAL chiefs in the North West are meeting to come up with a plan on how they can head off an anticipated rise in hazardous waste being dumped across the region.

It is thought the area could see an increase in the fly-tipping of waste, including asbestos, as a result of changes in the way landfill sites are used.

The UK faces a change from landfill to a treatment-based system of hazardous waste management driven by the 2002 Landfill Directive.

From last Friday, landfill co-disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste is banned and many of the co-disposal landfill sites in the region have closed their gates to hazardous waste permanently.

There are now just three sites in the North West dealing with hazardous waste, down from more than 20.

Now bosses from the North West office of the Environment Agency are meeting with experts tomorrow to discuss the implications the directive is going to have on the disposal of such waste.

Based on figures for 2002/03 the North West produces some 645,000 tonnes of 'special waste,' 12.7 per cent of the national total and imports half as much again from other regions.

Notes in the agenda and papers for the meeting say: "In the North West the changes are likely to mean the number of landfill sites taking hazardous waste will drop from more than 20 to only three sites - White Moss in Skelmersdale and Eardswick Hall and Ineos Chlor in Cheshire.

"Given the ban on co-disposal and the anticipated increase in the amount of hazardous waste, substantial problems are likely to be caused for the Environment Agency in its regulatory role and for landfill site operators."

Assessing the risks and issues of the ban on landfill co-disposal, the papers say there is unlikely to be sufficient hazardous waste capacity in the region.

This could lead to illegal fly-tipping of hazardous waste at non-hazardous facilities, the de-classification of hazardous waste to non-hazardous and also an increase in fly-tipping of asbestos waste.