Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs
Depositing dredging spoil (dredgings) on the banks of the waters it was dredged from and treating it by screening and removing water.
Guidance on depositing waste from dredging inland waters (opens in new tab)
Burning plant tissue and untreated wood waste from joinery or manufacturing in the open air.
Storing specific waste in secure containers at a different place to where the waste was produced, before it's transported to another site to be recovered.
Guidance on storing waste in secure containers (opens in new tab)
Storing specific waste a secure place that's different to where it was produced, before the waste is transported to another site to be recovered.
Guidance on storing waste in a secure place (opens in new tab)
Storing sewage sludge at a place where it's to be used in accordance with the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989.
Treating waste packaging so that it can be reused in its original form. Also cleaning suitable waste to allow it to be recycled.
Guidance on cleaning, washing, spraying or coating relevant waste (opens in new tab)
Small organisations, such as charities, separating recyclable waste so that it can be recovered.
Sorting, repairing or refurbishing waste to reuse it, or sorting and dismantling it so it can be recovered.
Recovering waste food by decanting or unwrapping it and recovering the packaging.
Recovering oil from oil filters, then crushing them so they can be transported and recovered.
Guidance on crushing and emptying vehicle waste oil filters (opens in new tab)
Treating aerosol cans by puncturing or crushing them using specialist treatment equipment so that the metal can be recovered.
Treating waste by using flocculants to remove water from the waste so that clay or water-based paints can be recovered.
Guidance on using flocculants to remove water from waste (opens in new tab)
Small-scale physical and chemical treatment of waste edible oils and fat to produce fuel.
Treating certain waste at a water treatment works to reduce the volume for transport, or making it easier to handle before the waste is recovered.
Guidance on treating waste at a water treatment works (opens in new tab)
Recovering waste, such as sludge from a septic tank or cesspool, which needs further treatment at a waste water treatment works.
Guidance on recovery of waste at a waste water treatment works (opens in new tab)
Composting small volumes of vegetation, cardboard and food waste to produce compost that can be spread to benefit the land by adding nutrients or improving the structure of the soil. Also treating the waste, before you compost it, by chipping or similar activities.
Guidance on aerobic composting and associated prior treatment (opens in new tab)
Farmers anaerobically digesting manure, slurry and vegetation on their farms to produce digestate that can be used as a fertiliser or soil conditioner. The anaerobic digestion (AD) process also produces biogas, which can be burnt to generate energy, for use on the farm, or exported to the National Grid.
Treating food and other biodegradable waste by anaerobic digestion to produce a digestate, which can be used to benefit land. The gas produced (biogas) must be used for generating energy.
Treating non-hazardous pesticide washings in a biobed or biofilter. The treated washings can be re-used and the biobed material (biomix) can then be spread on land (under an exemption) for agricultural or ecological benefit.
Guidance on treatment of waste in a biobed or biofilter (opens in new tab)
Treating waste to reduce its volume to help transport it to another site for reuse or recycling or make handling easier.
Guidance on preparatory treatments (baling, sorting, shredding etc) (opens in new tab)
Temporarily treating waste on a small scale to produce aggregate or soil at a place such as a construction or demolition site.
Chipping, shredding, cutting or pulverising waste wood and waste plant matter to make it easier to store and transport, or converting it into a suitable form to use. The waste treated by these methods must be suitable for its intended use, which can include feedstock for producing products such as panel board, mulch, surfacing tracks (paths and bridleways) or fuel.
Treating small amounts of waste end-of-life tyres by baling, shredding, peeling, shaving or granulating so they can be recovered.
Guidance on mechanically treating end-of-life tyres (opens in new tab)
Treating scrap metal by sorting, grading, shearing by manual feed, baling, crushing or cutting it with hand-held equipment to make it easier to handle and to help recover it.
Use of waste in construction using suitable waste rather than virgin raw material or material which has ceased to be waste - for example by complying with a Quality Protocol.
Spreading specific waste on agricultural land to replace manufactured fertilisers or virgin materials such as agricultural lime used to improve or maintain soil.
Guidance on spreading waste to benefit agricultural land (opens in new tab)
Spreading different waste on non-agricultural land to replace manufactured fertilisers or virgin materials such as agricultural lime used to improve or maintain soil.
Guidance on spreading waste to benefit non-agricultural land (opens in new tab)
Landscapers, farmers or growers spreading mulch as a protective covering onto land around trees, bushes or plants.
Spreading cut plants at the place of production for weed suppression or to provide nutrients to the soil.
Guidance on spreading plant matter to provide benefits (opens in new tab)
Mixing ash back into the soil to return some of the nutrients from burnt crops and vegetation.
Using a small number of end-of-life tyre bales in construction.
Guidance on use of baled end-of-life tyres in construction (opens in new tab)
Using waste as fuel to produce heat or power.
Guidance on burning of waste as a fuel in a small appliance (opens in new tab)
Storing and using biodiesel produced from waste as fuel in portable generators and motor vehicles.
Guidance on using biodiesel produced from waste as fuel (opens in new tab)
Using waste in place of raw materials to manufacture a finished product.
Guidance on using waste to manufacture finished goods (opens in new tab)