Waste Exemptions Review

In February 2023, the Environment Agency published the long awaited findings from the consultation on the proposals to tackle crime and poor performance in the waste sector and introduce a new fixed penalty for the waste duty of care. This has led to a number of changes being made to the waste exemptions available to waste operators which we summarise herein.

• Waste exemptions are prohibited from being registered at a site with an Environmental Permit
• Waste exemptions are prohibited from being registered at a site adjacent to another site holding and Environmental Permit where there is a direct link
• Where more than one exemption is registered at a single site and the same EWC coded waste is listed on more than one exemption, then the storage limit is restricted to the smallest size in any registered exemption
• S1 and S2 waste exemptions cannot be registered at a site where there is a link to any other waste exemption registered at the same site (e.g. a treatment exemption)
• Waste tracking records must be kept, and they must be kept electronically
• Waste code descriptions have been updated to better reflect the type of waste allowable under each exemption

In addition to the general changes to several of the waste exemptions, three have been removed, with just 3 months transitional arrangement being made available. The waste exemptions affected by this removal are:

• T8 – mechanical treatment of end of life tyres
• T9 – recovery of scrap metal
• U16 – use of depolluted ELVs (end of life vehicles) for parts

All waste management companies with an exemptions should review the current arrangements and how these changes effect operational limits and which exemptions will no longer be available. For those who can no longer comply under these arrangements, it may be time to switch to an Environmental Permit.