UK Disposal Site Layer dataset https://portal.medin.org.uk/portal/start.php?tpc=009_CEFASd31f7ec5-7690-42db-80f4-b4467692dd19 A GIS Shapefile showing the extents of the Licenced Marine Disposal Sites for all of UK, including England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man. Marine Disposal Sites are regulated under the London Convention / London Protocol of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), wherein disposal of waste at sea ("disposal at sea") is prohibited except for certain exempt materials (Annex 1 at `https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Environment/Pages/London-Convention-Protocol.aspx`_ [accessed 6th June 2023]). To dispose of an exempt material at sea, a disposal site must be identified, characterised and designated, such that reporting of annual disposal at sea volumes can be made to the IMO biennially, and OSPAR annually. This dataset comprises the repository of these designated sites. Upon designation, a site is considered "Open"; available to that regulator for licensing. If the site has had no licensed disposals in more than 5 years, it is considered "Disused"; available to that regulator for licensing but may require additional supporting evidence. If the site has had no licensed disposals in more than 10 years, it is considered "Closed"; not available to that regulator for licensing. A regulator can also request that an Open or Disused site with disposal activity within 10 years be considered Closed on request. A number of these sites are considered "historic" or "legacy" disposal sites, which whilst being officially designated with the UK's ratification of the London Convention / London Protocol, were used before the treaty came into force. Sites identified, characterised and designated after the UK's ratification are considered new disposal sites. .. _`https://www.imo.org/en/ourwork/environment/pages/london-convention-protocol.aspx`: https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Environment/Pages/London-Convention-Protocol.aspx 20160202 20120514