Latest updates and what you need to know.
Currently, the Waste Exemption Regime allows some low-risk activities to be carried out on a registration system and be exempt from the requirement to hold an environmental permit.
Following Defra’s 2018 consultation on “proposals to tackle crime and poor performance in the waste sector and introduce a new fixed penalty for the waste duty of care”, the government made it clear that it plans to bring in charges for waste exemptions in England.
The timetable for this is less clear and could still be affected by developments such as a general election but our current understanding is that these changes will come into effect by July 2024 at the earliest and that before this happens, a public consultation on the changes will be held around March 2024.
Some of these proposed changes are quite general, some involve amending existing exemptions and some involve removing exemptions entirely.
The general changes to the Waste Exemption Regime are as follows:
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- The use of exemptions at/adjacent to permitted sites will be prohibited.
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- Waste exemptions will not be able to be registered at sites with a direct link to an installation or permitted waste site.
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- S1 and S2 exemptions will be prohibited from being registered at a site where there is a direct link to any other waste exemption.
The following waste exemptions will be removed, and operators will need to carry out activities under an environmental permit or stop the activities completely. The transition period for these changes is 3 months.
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- T8 – Mechanically treating end-of-life tires.
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- T9 – Recovering scrap metal.
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- U16 – Use of depolluted ELV for parts.
The following waste exemptions will be amended, usually to restrict the types and volumes of waste that they cover. Operators will need to review whether the new terms of the exemption remain suitable for the activities that they operate. The transition period for these changes is variable but is always between 6 and 12 months.
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- U1 – Use of waste in construction
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- T4 – Preparatory treatments, such as, baling, sorting, shredding
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- T6 – Treating waste woods and waste plant matter by chipping, shredding, cutting, or pulverising
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- T12 – Manually treating waste
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- D7 – Burning waste in the open
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- S1 – Store waste in secure containers
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- S2 – Storing wastes in a secure place
Please see the Environment Agency website for further information and a full list of waste exemptions.
Holders of waste exemptions will need to review their exemptions against the guidance and check if they still need them. They will also need to make changes to ensure they can comply with the revised exemptions, apply for an appropriate permit, or stop their waste activity.
We understand that this is quite a lot to take in, so if you need any advice, our consultants are happy to support you with this and all your Planning & Environmental Permitting Requirements. Heaton Planning have already helped several customers to review and amend their existing exemption portfolios, including submitting applications for new permits where necessary
