Exemptions highlighted in green are included on the ‘common-on farm list’.
The common-on farm list contains 15 exemptions which are being offered at a reduced rate following NFU lobbying.
Bands:
- Band 1 (highest risk)
- Band 2
- Band 3 (lowest risk)
- Upper Band (T8, T9, U16 exemptions): These exemptions are being phased out, with operators needing to apply for an environmental permit by the relevant transitional date. Operators who transition to an environmental permit will receive a partial refund on the compliance charge.
| Band 1 | Charge of £20 | One inspection per registration period (three years) |
| Band 2 | Charge of £212 | 50% of sites inspected every three years |
| Band 3 | Charge of £30 | Assessed through targeted campaigns and desk-based assessments |
| Upper compliance band | Charge of £1,236 | T8, T9, U16 Assessed annually |
Find out more about the consultation and how to take part.
Band 1
| Waste exemption | Activity description |
| S1 waste exemption: store waste in secure containers | Allows the storage of certain wastes in secure containers at a site separate to where it was produced before transportation to another site for recovery |
| S2 waste exemption: storing waste in a secure place | Allows the storage of specific wastes at a secure intermediate site, separate to where the waste was produced, before transportation to another site for recovery |
| U1 waste exemption: use of waste in construction | Allows the use of suitable waste in construction as a recovery activity |
| U9 waste exemption: using waste to manufacture finished goods | Allows the use of waste in place of raw materials to manufacture a finished product |
| T4 waste exemption: preparatory treatments, such as, baling, sorting, shredding | Allows the treatment of waste to reduce its volume for transport to another site for reuse, recycling or to make handling easier |
| T5 waste exemption: screening and blending waste | Allows the temporary treatment of waste on a small scale to produce aggregate or soil at a particular location, such as a construction or demolition site |
| T6 waste exemption: treating waste wood and waste plant matter by chipping, shredding, cutting or pulverising | Allows the treatment of waste wood and plant matter to make it easier to store and transport, or to convert it for use |
| T10 waste exemption: sorting mixed waste | Allows small organisations, such as charities, to sort recyclable waste so that it can be recovered |
| T12 waste exemption: manually treating waste | Allows the sorting, repairing, refurbishment or dismantling of waste for reuse or recovery |
| T21 waste exemption: recover waste at a wastewater treatment works | Allows the recovery of wastes such as sewage grits, screenings and sewage sludge at a wastewater treatment works |
| T24 waste exemption: anaerobic digestion at premises used for agriculture and burning resulting biogas | Allows farmers to anaerobically digest manure, slurry and vegetation on their farms to produce digestate for use as fertiliser or soil conditioner |
| T25 waste exemption: anaerobic digestion at premises not used for agriculture and burning resulting biogas | Allows the treatment of food and other biodegradable waste by anaerobic digestion to produce digestate for use as fertiliser, and burn the resulting biogas |
Band 2
| Waste exemption | Activity description |
| S3 waste exemption: storing sludge | Allows the storage of sewage sludge at a site where it will be used in accordance with the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989 |
| U2 waste exemption: use of baled end-of-life tyres in construction | Allows the use of a small number of end-of-life tyre bales in construction |
| U4 waste exemption: burning waste as fuel in a small appliance | Allows the use of waste plant material or untreated wood as fuel in a small appliance to produce heat or power |
| U5 waste exemption: using biodiesel produced from waste as fuel | Allows the storage and use of biodiesel produced from waste as fuel in portable generators and motor vehicles |
| U8 waste exemption: using waste for a specified purpose | Allows the use of waste materials (that do not need treating) for a specific purpose to reduce the use of virgin or non-waste materials |
| U10 waste exemption: spreading waste to benefit agricultural land | Allows the spreading of specific waste on agricultural land to replace manufactured fertilisers or virgin materials (such as lime) to improve or maintain soil |
| U11 waste exemption: spreading waste on non-agricultural land | Allows the spreading of waste on non-agricultural land to replace manufactured fertilisers or virgin materials (such as lime) to improve or maintain soil |
| U15 waste exemption: pig and poultry ash | Allows the mixing of ash from burning pig or poultry with slurry and/or manure and spreading it on farmland to provide the soil with nutrients |
| T1 waste exemption: cleaning, washing, spraying or coating relevant waste. | Allows treatment of waste packaging so it can be reused in its original form or becomes clean waste suitable for recycling |
| T2 waste exemption: recovering textiles | Allows the cleaning of waste clothes and textiles to recover them for reuse or recycling |
| T13 waste exemption: treating waste food | Allows the recovery of waste food by decanting or unwrapping it and recovering the packaging |
| T14 waste exemption: crushing and emptying vehicle waste oil filters | Allows the recovery of oil from oil filters before they're crushed so they can be transported for recovery |
| T15 waste exemption: treating waste aerosol cans | Allows the treatment of aerosol cans by puncturing or crushing them using specialist treatment equipment, so the metal can be recovered |
| T16 waste exemption: treating waste toner and ink cartridges | Allows the treatment of waste toner or ink cartridges by sorting, cleaning, dismantling or refilling them |
| T17 waste exemption: crushing waste fluorescent tubes | Allows the treatment of waste fluorescent tubes and capture any mercury emissions before collection for recovery |
| T19 waste exemption: physical and chemical treatment of waste edible oil and fat to produce biodiesel | Allows the small-scale physical and chemical treatment of waste edible oils and fat to produce fuel |
| T23 waste exemption: aerobic composting and associated prior treatment | Allows the composting of small volumes of vegetation, cardboard and food waste to spread on soil to add nutrients or improve the structure |
| T30 waste exemption: recover silver | Allows the recovery of silver from waste produced in connection with printing or photography |
| T31 waste exemption: recover monopropylene glycol from aircraft antifreeze fluids | Allows airports to filter and distil waste aircraft antifreeze fluid to recover monopropylene glycol |
| T33 waste exemption: recover central heating oil by filtration | Allows the filtering of central heating oil from disused tanks so that it can be reused |
| D1 waste exemption: depositing waste from dredging inland waters | Allows the deposit of dredging spoil on the banks of the water it was dredged from and treat it by screening and removing water |
| D6 waste exemption: disposal by incineration | Allows the disposal of small amounts of specific waste that have been produced on site in an incinerator |
Band 3
| Waste exemption | Activity description |
| U3 waste exemption: construction of entertainment or educational installations | Allows groups such as schools, colleges and theatres to use waste, such as offcuts of wood, for creative installations |
| U6 waste exemption: using sludge to reseed a waste water treatment plant | Allows sludge importation from one waste water treatment plant to another to reseed the biological process |
| U7 waste exemption: using effluent to clean a highway gravel bed | Allows the use of effluent from water and waste water treatment plants to clean highway gravel beds where high-quality water is not needed |
| U12 waste exemption: using mulch | Allows landscapers, farmers and growers to spread mulch as a protective covering onto land around trees, bushes or plants |
| U13 waste exemption: spreading plant matter to provide benefits | Allows the spreading of cut plant material at the place of production for weed suppression or to provide nutrients to the soil |
| U14 waste exemption: incorporating ash into soil | Allows the mixing of ash back into the soil to return some of the nutrients from the burnt crops and vegetation |
| T18 waste exemption: using flocculants to remove water from waste | Allows the treatment of waste using flocculants to remove water so that clay or water-based paints can be recovered |
| T20 waste exemption: treating waste at a water treatment works | Allows the treatment of certain waste at water treatment works to reduce the volume for transport, or to make it easier to handle for waste recovery |
| T26 waste exemption: treatment of kitchen waste in a wormery | Allows the small-scale treatment of waste from kitchens using a wormery to produce compost, for use as fertiliser or soil conditioner |
| T28 waste exemption: sort and denature controlled drugs for disposal | Allows pharmacies and similar places to denature controlled drugs to comply with Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 |
| T29 waste exemption: treatment of non-hazardous pesticide washings by carbon filtration for disposal | Allows the treatment of non-hazardous pesticide washings before disposing of them to land |
| T32 waste exemption: treatment of waste in a biobed or biofilter | Allows the treatment of non-hazardous pesticide washings in a biobed or biofilter |
| D2 waste exemption: depositing waste from a railway sanitary convenience | Allows older rolling stock not fitted with appropriate collection facilities to deposit sanitary waste onto the track |
| D3 waste exemption: depositing waste from a portable sanitary convenience | Allows the burial of waste from a portable toilet, to avoid long-distance transportation of small quantities of waste to sewage treatment works |
| D4 waste exemption: depositing agricultural waste consisting of plant tissue under a Plant Health Notice | Allows the deposit of diseased crops where they were grown when a Plant Health Notice has been issued, to reduce the risk of spreading plant diseases or pests |
| D5 waste exemption: depositing waste samples for testing or analysis | Allows the deposit and storage of waste samples when required to comply with or enforce specified regulations, or before testing and analysis for research |
| D7 waste exemption: burning waste in the open | Allows the burning of plant tissue and untreated wood waste from joinery or manufacturing in the open air |
| D8 waste exemption: burning waste at a port under a Plant Health Notice | Allows the burning of plant tissue waste, wood packaging and packing material waste at a port when a Plant Health Notice has been issued, to prevent the spread of plant diseases |
Upper band waste exemption activity
| Waste exemption | Activity description |
| T8 waste exemption: mechanically treating end-of-life tyres | Allows the treatment of waste end-of-life tyres for recovery by baling, shredding, peeling, shaving or granulating |
| T9 waste exemption: recovering scrap metal | Allows the treatment of scrap metal for handling or recovery by sorting, grading, shearing by manual feed, baling, crushing or cutting with handheld equipment |
| U16 waste exemption: using depolluted end-of-life vehicles for parts | Allows the reuse of parts from depolluted end-of-life vehicles in other vehicles |