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Waste operations

Waste operations regulated under Environmental Permitting include waste transfer, metal recycling and composting. Find out if your operation requires a permit or if it is exempt.

If you deal with the disposal or recovery of waste and your activity does not match the installation definitions in Part 2 Schedule 1 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR), then the activity may be a waste operation.

The Government has provided guidance on the meaning of waste in the Waste Framework Directive in its Environmental Permitting Guidance The Waste Framework Directive, chapter 3:

It will not be a waste operation requiring a permit under the Regulations if:

  • it falls under the Regulations anyway as an installation;
  • it is an excluded waste operation under Paragraph 4 of Part 1 of the Regulations. Some waste operations are excluded from Environmental Permitting if they already have a permit:
i deposits at sea under the Food and Environmental Protection Act 1985,
ii) a consent for liquid discharge under the Water Resources Act,
iii) a Groundwater Regulations authorisation for agricultural waste disposal,
iv) for the disposal or recovery of sludges which are not to be treated as industrial or commercial waste under the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992.

  • it is an exempt waste operation under Paragraph 5 of Part 1 of the Regulations:
  • Waste exemptions
  • it is a low risk waste operation covered by a Regulatory Position Statement which are available on our modernising waste regulation panel page:
  • Modernising waste regulation panel

Standard permits

If your waste operation is not exempt then you may require a standard permit. For a list of the standard permits available, please visit the following page:

If you cannot comply with any of the standard rules listed under these permits, then you must apply for a bespoke permit:

Some operators will need to demonstrate their technical competence. For more information, please see our 'Are you a competent operator?' page: