Section 62: Siting of waste management facilities

(1) A person shall not establish, construct or operate any waste management facility- (a) in a floodplain; (b) within five hundred metres of a mapped out geological fractured zone; (c) in a place which is prone to natural disasters, including earthquakes, floods and landslides, unless the waste management facility is designed, constructed, operated and maintained to prevent collapse or washout; (d) within two hundred meters of any land which may be prone to or impacted by slope failure; (e) on a hilly or mountainous area with a gradient of more than 60 degrees; (f) in a water source area, including the surface and subsurface water catchment area, through which pollutants are likely to move toward and reach water sources; (g) within five hundred metres of a cultural or natural heritage or archeological site; or (h) within 6 kilometers from an aerodrome. (2) Where the waste management facility is for treatment or disposal of hazardous waste, the waste handler shall, in addition to the requirements in subregulation (1) ensure that- (a) the waste treatment or disposal facility is not within two hundred meters from the boundaries of a protected area, bird sanctuary, wildlife management area or land acquired and administered under the Uganda Wildlife Act, the National Forestry and Tree Planting Act, 2003 or any other law on conservation areas; (b) the waste treatment or disposal facility is not located within a wetland or within five hundred meters from a riverbank, lakeshore or area immediately adjacent to fragile ecosystems; (c) the boundary of the waste treatment or disposal facility is at a distance of at least five hundred metres away from human settlements or commercial areas; and (d) the boundary of the waste treatment or disposal facility is not within areas suitable for agriculture except with the approval of the Authority. (3) The waste handler shall ensure that the waste treatment or disposal facility- (a) is enclosed and secured from access by unauthorised persons or wildlife; (b) has an updated site layout plan; and (c) has a buffer zone around it as prescribed under the Act, these Regulations and any other applicable law. (4) Without limiting the general effect of subregulation (2)(c), the waste handler shall conduct scientific studies on the climatological and hydro-geological characteristics of the area proposed for siting of a waste management facility, to determine any further distance being more than five hundred meters as may be necessary for the protection of human settlements and commercial areas from the impacts of a waste management facility.