Updates

The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2023

  • Legal

Jurisdiction: England & Wales

Commencement: 1st October 2024

Amends: The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016

Mini Summary

The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 replace the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 and were written to consolidate the high number of amendments made to the previous Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. The duties remain largely the same.

These Regulations cover:

  • When an environmental permit is needed, or when an exemption needs to be registered;
  • How to apply for, appeal against, vary, transfer and surrender a permit; and
  • How these Regulations are enforced.

There are many different types of facility or activity which require a permit, including ‘installations’, waste operations, certain types of mobile plant, surface water and ground water activities, flood risk activities,  solvent emission activities, and radioactive substances activities.

Applications for environmental permits may be granted by the regulator (Environment Agency or Natural Resources Wales) to allow a person to operate a regulated facility.

N.b. any existing enforcement notices, applications for a permit, applications to transfer a permit, etc. made under the 2010 Environmental Permitting Regulations continue to have effect but are now treated as having been made under these Regulations.

Duties

Various duties apply.

 

Amendment

This amendment aims to improve the quantity and quality of waste data, especially packaging data, obtained from materials facilities* (MFs). This data will be used in the implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (EPR) scheme.

*Materials facility refers to a facility that receives waste material and separates it or consolidates it.

Changes are made to Part 2 of Schedule 9. The changes relate to measurement and reporting requirements for MFs and will come into force on 1st October 2024.

Part 2 of Schedule 9 required operators of MFs to:

  • notify the regulator if they received mixed waste material* of 1,000 tonnes or more;
  • sample the waste entering and leaving the facility and record and report the information to the regulator; and
  • keep records for 4 years.

*Mixed waste material means waste material of 2 or more types.

Key changes

Extended scope 
Operators of MFs must notify the regulator in writing if they receive 1,000 tonnes or more of any waste material.

Waste transfer stations and bulking stations* must now collect and report data.

*Bulking stations are facilities that consolidate waste for the purpose of selling it or transferring it to other facilities for re-use or recycling.

Card and fibre-based composite materials* are now classed as waste materials for the purpose of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

*Fibre-based composite material means packaging material which is made of paperboard or paper fibres, laminated with plastic.

Changes to sampling requirements
Operators of MFs must now take a sample for every 75 tonnes (changed from 125 tonnes) of waste material they receive from a supplier (input sample). The average weight per sample must be 60 kg or more and each individual sample must weigh at least 55 kg.

Operators must classify waste samples as glass, paper, card, plastic bottles, plastic pots, tubs and trays, film or other flexible plastic, other plastics, fibre-based composites, aluminium, or steel.

Recording and reporting 
MFs must now report raw data rather than averages.

For information recorded after 1st October 2024, MFS must retain records for 7 years (increased from 4 years).

Link to full government text

 

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