Guidance

Waste acceptance procedures for deposit for recovery

Updated 29 June 2023

Applies to England

This guide tells you:

• what you must include in your waste acceptance procedures
• when waste must be tested before you accept it

Waste producers must classify their waste as hazardous or non-hazardous. They must make sure it is described (characterised) accurately.

This helps:

• waste producers work out where they are allowed to send their waste
• you decide if you are allowed to accept it

If you have a permit to recover waste at your site, you must have waste acceptance procedures in place to make sure you only accept waste that:

• is suitable for your activity
• is allowed by your permit
• you considered in your risk assessment for your permit application

Your waste acceptance procedures will also help you to:

• make sure the waste does not cause pollution
• decide which wastes you will accept and from which sources
• prevent waste arriving at your site that is not authorised by your permit
• provide supporting evidence when you develop your permit surrender application

When you apply for a bespoke waste recovery permit you must provide a copy of your waste acceptance procedures with your permit application. These procedures will usually be part of your management system.

What your waste acceptance procedures must cover

Your waste acceptance procedures must set out the:

• evidence you need from producers to confirm the waste matches its description
• measures you will take to make sure the waste is not contaminated
• criteria you will use to decide whether or not to accept the waste, for example the results of waste testing
• other criteria you will use to make sure you only accept waste that your permit authorises

The Environment Agency will consider your own site-specific criteria or you can use the Landfill Directive waste acceptance criteria where shown to be appropriate.

Where you develop your own criteria, the upper concentration limit of any contaminant must reflect the outcome of your hydrogeological risk assessment. This is to confirm that the waste you accept will not cause pollution.

Your procedures must also set out what information you need producers to give you about the waste. In addition to the details the producer gives you under the waste duty of care, this may also include the:

• original source of the waste
• previous use of any site that generates excavation or demolition waste
• details of any treatment used to remove unsuitable waste
• results of any waste tests

Testing waste

The waste producer must test waste and give you the results of the analysis if the waste has come from:

• land that has or may have been contaminated by previous use
• a waste treatment or transfer facility
• any site where you suspect the waste may have been contaminated

This also applies if you are going to use the waste as a substitute for subsoil or topsoil.

Waste that does not need testing

Waste producers do not need to test their waste (except for testing it for classification), if they are in the following list of waste codes and:

• come from a single source
• are well characterised and described
• carry no risk of contamination, for example from a site that has not previously been developed

List of waste codes that do not need analysis (providing your permit authorises them):

• 01 01 02: waste from non-metalliferous excavation
• 01 04 08: waste gravel and crushed rocks other than those containing dangerous substances
• 01 04 09: waste sand and clays
• 10 12 08: waste ceramics, bricks, tiles and construction products (after thermal processing)
• 17 01 01: concrete
• 17 01 02: bricks
• 17 01 03: tiles and ceramics
• 17 01 07: mixtures of concrete, bricks, tiles and ceramics
• 17 05 04: soil and stones
• 19 12 09: minerals (for example, sand and stones)
• 20 02 02: soil and stones

If you think the waste may be contaminated and the waste producer has not provided any analysis results to satisfy you that it is not, you must not accept it.

Testing waste yourself

You must test the waste you are using in your recovery activity to confirm it matches the description and any analysis results provided by the waste producer. This is very important if you are using non-inert waste.

You should test the waste you have accepted 1 to 3 times a year for each waste stream. Your testing frequency will depend on your knowledge of the waste and its variability. You must specify your testing frequency in your waste acceptance procedures.

Where the waste producer has provided you with waste analysis results, you must test the waste using the same methods and techniques, if you know them. Where the waste has not previously been tested, you must use accredited test methods that show the level of contamination is below your waste acceptance criteria limits.