The storage and treatment (eg shredding or compaction) of waste at the place of production has been clarified.
You no longer have to be registered as being exempt if:
- You only store waste at the place where it is produced,
- You don't bring waste from lots of different sites back to one site,
- You store waste for less than 12 months
You must store the waste in a secure place (ie ensure that waste cannot be windblown, etc.)
You may also carry out "ancillary treatment" including:
- Compaction of paper and cardboard stored within a container,
- Shredding confidential papers for crushing,
- Compacting large items, or
- Separating recyclables.
More information on this is available from the Environment Agency via this link.
The Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010 have closed the loophole where you didn't need to register for exemption if you were compacting waste paper or plastic on the site where you produced it.
You now have to register for exemption if you compact (over a 7-day period):
- Paper or cardboard up to 500 tonnes (outdoors) or 3000 tonnes (indoors)
- Plastic up to 100 tonnes (outdoors) or 3000 tonnes (indoors)
Contact the Environment Agency and state that you would like to register a T4 activity for exemption.
Yes, I know it's ridiculous and would drive behaviour in the wrong direction (ie not compacting, thereby requiring more waste company vehicle journies, thereby using up natural resources and adding to CO2 emissions), but we're stuck with it.
