Form

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs): how to notify a stockpile

Updated 1 April 2022

Applies to England

• Publication for Northern Ireland
• Publication for Wales

There are strict controls on certain chemical substances that can harm the environment or human health.

Use this notification form if you are storing (have a stockpile of) more than 50kg of material that is made up of or that contains any concentration of one or more POPs, for which there is an allowed use.

The manufacture, sale and use of products containing POPs are banned. You can only use material or products that contain POPs if your use is exempt. See the guide Using POPs for details of substances classified as POPs and exceptions to the ban.

You are responsible for knowing if your material contains POPs and if you have a legal use for it. To find out if the materials you deal with contain POPs (and if so, what the concentration is) you could:

• contact suppliers or manufacturers
• test the material yourself to find out the concentration of any POPs in it, for example if you’ve prepared the material
• get the material analysed by a suitable laboratory
• contact a relevant trade association or an environmental consultant

You must store all POPs, including waste, safely. See the guide Storing POPs.

When you must notify a POPs stockpile

In England you must notify the Environment Agency if both of the following apply to your POPs stockpile:

• it is being produced, imported, supplied, stored or used, for a permitted reason
• it exceeds 50kg – this is the total of all POP-containing material or products you are storing or using across all the sites you operate, excluding waste

You do not need to tell the Environment Agency if you are storing less than 50kg of POP-containing material or products.

Any material that contains a POP counts towards your 50kg limit – it does not matter how low the concentration of POP is.

If you take material out of storage to use it, it still counts towards your 50kg limit, as long as it remains within your business.

For example, if you take material containing perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) out of storage to use in a manufacturing process, the material still counts towards your 50kg limit if you carry out the manufacturing process within your business. It does not count towards your 50kg limit, if you supply the material to another business that carries out the manufacturing process.

When a new substance becomes regulated as a POP, you must notify your exempt stockpile to the Environment Agency within 12 months of the date the regulation comes into force.

You must renew your stockpile notification every 12 months. There is no charge to notify POPs stockpiles.

How to notify a POPs stockpile

You can use our form to notify your POPs stockpile.

In part 1 you will need to fill in the following information:

• company details, including the registered office and permit number if these apply
• contact details

Stockpile nature and location

In part 2a you will need to give a breakdown of the total POPs stockpile. You need to give us information about each material you hold that contains a different POP substance or different concentration of the same substance.

Provide:

• a description of the material or materials
• the quantity of the material – mark up actual quantity (a) and estimated maximum (e) where quantities fluctuate regularly
• the POP substance or substances present in the material – the substance name and specific CAS or EC number
• the location of the material – full address, grid reference and permit number if applicable
• any other details you think may be relevant

Demonstrate permitted use

In part 2b you need to tell us your reasons for holding the stockpile. You must show that each material is covered by an exemption or is not restricted.

There are some allowed uses that apply to all POPs substances. Find these uses in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Persistent Organic Pollutants (recast), referred to in this guidance as the retained EU POPs Regulation.

There are specific exemptions for production, placing on the market and using banned POPs substances. Find these in Annex 1 of the retained EU POPs Regulation, as amended up to 31 December 2020.

If the stockpile does not have a permitted use, it is waste. You cannot notify POPs waste. You must dispose of it in an allowed way .

Stockpile management

In Part 2c you must show what measures you take to prevent POPs releasing into the environment.

Where to send your notification

If any material in your POPs stockpile is located in England, send your notification to the Environment Agency’s Chemical Compliance Team.

Email chemicalrestrictions@environment-agency.gov.uk

You can post your notification to:

Chemical Compliance Team
Waste and Industry Regulatory Service
Environment Agency
Quadrant 2
99 Parkway Avenue
Sheffield
S9 4WF

Contact us

To ask about notifying a POPs stockpile or for general advice on POPs you can:

• email chemicalrestrictions@environment-agency.gov.uk

• call our National Customer Contact Centre on 03708 506 506 – ask to speak to a member of the Chemical Compliance Team

Penalties

See the Environment Agency’s Enforcement and Sanctions policy for how we carry out enforcement activity for environmental offences and breaches.

See how we can respond to POPs Regulations offences.