Guidance

RTFO and SAF Mandate list of feedstocks including wastes and residues

Published 22 December 2021

Lists of Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate feedstocks categorised according to whether they are:

• products
• other materials, such as wastes and residues, that may double count under the RTFO

Materials listed in tables 3, 4, 5 and 6 are eligible to receive double the number of renewable transport fuel certificates for every litre or kilogram (kg) of renewable fuel when making RTFO claims.

These lists should be used in conjunction with the RTFO and SAF Mandate technical guidance. Categorisation of materials and how to report RTFO feedstocks is also addressed in the RTFO compliance guidance and SAF Mandate compliance guidance.

New feedstocks will be added in response to applications from industry to categorise the material as a product or waste. Materials may have their status reviewed if new evidence becomes available to us.

Products

This table contains a list of products that single count under the RTFO.

SAF derived from products or crops is not eligible for reward under the SAF Mandate.

Material	Description	Valid from
Acid ester	Esters are produced intentionally and are therefore a product.	15 December 2011
Brown/sulphite liquor	This material arises during the pulping of wood. As for tall oil, it is considered a product.	15 December 2011
Corn or wheat dried distillers grain (DDGS)	The solid remnants derived from ethanol distillation and used most commonly as high-protein animal feed.	15 December 2011
Corn oil	This is a co-product from distilling corn ethanol. It has a number of potential uses and a relatively high value. This means that it is regarded as a product.	15 December 2011
Crude tall oil	Crude tall oil arises from the process of pulping coniferous wood. The pulping process involves cooking woodchip in a chemical mixture and this gives rise to a soapy material that is separated from the pulp and liquor. It is then acidified and heated to convert into crude tall oil. Crude tall oil is a product of the pulping process.	15 December 2011
Glycerol (refined) from virgin oils	Crude glycerine can be refined into high purity glycerol that renders it more suited to be used in food, pharmaceutical or cosmetics industries and is, therefore, to be treated as a product.	15 December 2011
Meal from virgin oil production	This material has uses in the animal feed sector and is, therefore, to be treated as a product.	15 December 2011
Molasses	This material arises from the processing of sugar cane and sugar beet into sugar. It arises on the basis of a technical decision and is considered a product.	15 December 2011
Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD)	PFAD has a significant economic value in relation to the main product (palm oil) and a variety of productive uses.	15 December 2011
Palm kernel oil	Palm kernel oil is a product, as is palm oil derived from fresh palm fruit bunches.	15 December 2011
Palm oil olein	The refined liquid fraction of palm oil is a product.	15 December 2011
Palm stearin	The refined solid fraction of palm oil is a co-product of palm olein. It is traded at a discount to palm oil and palm olein, making it a cost-effective ingredient in several applications.	15 December 2011
Starch slurry regular	A mixture of starch and water arising from the wet milling of cereals.	15 December 2011
Sugar beet pulp	This is the pulp left over following sugar extraction used as animal feed and therefore treated as a product.	15 December 2011
Tallow (animal fats from rendering) category 2 [footnote 1]	Tallow is a product of the meat rendering process. Category 2 tallow has a high economic value and a variety of productive uses. It is a direct substitute for other products (for example, palm oil). Category 2 tallow may use the waste vegetable or animal oil default greenhouse gas (GHG) value.	15 December 2011
Tallow (animal fats from rendering) category 3	Tallow is a product of the meat rendering process. Category 3 tallow has a high economic value and a variety of productive uses. It is a direct substitute for other products (for example, palm oil)[footnote 2].	15 December 2011
Tallow – unknown	Tallow of an unknown category will be treated as category 3 tallow.	15 December 2011
Uncategorised tallow	Uncategorised tallow imported from outside of the European Commission must be compliant with the Animal By-Product regulations. Suppliers must have followed the DEFRA guidelines on importing animal by-products in order for the appropriate category of tallow to be applied to the consignment. Finished fuel imported from outside of the EC will automatically be deemed to have been manufactured from category 3 tallow. If further information is required on this classification then contact the RTFO administrator. As this material is not obtained directly from land, suppliers are not required to demonstrate compliance with the land criteria. The previous land use column in the RTFO operating system (ROS) automatically defaults to ‘not applicable’ as the land criteria are automatically satisfied for tallow [footnote 3].	15 December 2011
Virgin oils	Including, but not limited to, oils derived from palm, soy, rape and sunflower. The treatment of these materials – and of the meal produced as part of the same process are to be treated as products.	15 December 2011
Whole crop rye	The stems, leaves and grain of rye that are harvested together.	15 November 2021

Wastes and processing residues

This table contains a list of wastes and processing residues that single count under the RTFO. They are considered to have automatically met the land use criteria.

The ‘HEFA cap’ column indicates whether fuel derived from the feedstock is subject to the hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) cap. Further information on the HEFA cap can be viewed in chapter 2 of the RTFO and SAF Mandate technical guidance.

Material	Description	Valid from	HEFA cap
Draff	Spent grain remaining from the brewing/whisky distillation process.	15 July 2020	No
Pot ale syrup	A free-flowing syrup, produced as part of the whisky distillation process, with a dry matter content of roughly 40%.	15 July 2020	No
Rapeseed residue – single counting	Residue containing less than 50% erucic acid that may have other uses in the animal feed or oleochemical industries	15 January 2023	Contact Administrator
Slaughter wastes (category 3)	Animal wastes from the slaughter process. Category 3 material imported from outside of the EC must be compliant with the Animal By-Product Regulations. Suppliers must have followed the DEFRA guidelines on importing animal by-products in order for the appropriate category of ABP to be applied to the consignment.	15 March 2016	Contact Administrator
Spent wheat grains	A solid residue following the pressing of distillery leftovers.	15 November 2021	No

This table contains the list of wastes and processing residues that are eligible to receive double the number of RTFCs for every litre or kg of biofuel. The development fuel feedstock column indicates whether the material could be used as a development fuel feedstock. Further information on the criteria required to meet the definition of ‘development fuel’ can be viewed in chapter 2 of the RTFO and SAF Mandate technical guidance. The Administrator can be emailed at rtfo-compliance@dft.gov.uk. The final column indicates whether fuel derived from this feedstock is subject to the HEFA cap.

Material	Description	Valid from	Development fuel feedstock	HEFA cap
Brown grease	Brown grease is the grease that is removed from wastewater sent down a restaurant’s sink drain. This is a waste. Material removed from sewers known as ‘FOG’ (fats, oils and grease) should now be reported as ‘Sewage system FOG’. Brown grease may use the waste vegetable or animal oil default GHG value.	15 December 2011	No	Yes
Cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL)	CNSL is a process residue. The material is squeezed from the shells of cashew nuts after the edible portion has been removed. There are other potential uses that may be affected by large scale use of CNSL for biofuel, therefore the administrator will be keeping this decision under review.	15 May 2014	Yes	No
Category 1 and 2 farmed salmon oil	The oil must meet the categorisations referred to in the Animal By-Products (Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2011 and therefore be unsuitable for food or feed.	15 October 2020	No	Yes
Cobs from processing	Cobs that have been generated in a processing unit, such as a factory. As a result land use does not need to be reported.	15 September 2021	Yes	No
Crude glycerine	Crude glycerine is considered a processing residue, high purity glycerol (from refining of glycerine) as stated in row 6 of the products table.	15 December 2011	Contact administrator	Contact administrator
Crude sulphate turpentine fractionation residues	Post-distillation residues arising from the kraft pulping process of pine with no productive uses other than energy recovery. Residues must not contain terpenes that could be used for applications such as flavouring and fragrance.	15 January 2023	No	Yes
Cuttings from invasive vegetation	Cut to reduce fire risk and/or invasiveness and not deliberately grown for the purpose of biofuel production. For example, bracken.	15 March 2021	Yes	Yes
Empty palm fruit bunches	Empty fruit bunches from palm are a process residue. The palm fruits are separated from the bunches at the palm oil mill, and the bunches can then receive further treatment to extract low-grade oil residues. There is no default carbon intensity for this feedstock, and so actual data need to be reported.	15 September 2017	No	Yes
Ethanol used in the cleaning or extraction of blood plasma	Contaminated bioethanol used as a washing liquid that cannot be used for food, feed or subsequent pharmaceutical purposes and would otherwise be disposed of.	15 August 2018	Yes	No
Ethanol used in the extraction of ingredients from medicinal plants	Contaminated bioethanol used in the extraction of ingredients from medicinal plants that cannot be used for food, feed or subsequent pharmaceutical purposes and would otherwise be disposed of.	15 November 2020	Yes	No
Food waste (unsuitable for animal feed)	Whether from manufacturers, retailers or consumers, this will be a waste. This may include food that is: 1. Out of date (food that has exceeded its shelf life). 2. Out of specification (food that fails to meet the required end of use specification). As with all wastes, this material must be unsuitable for other non-energy uses. Examples include beer residue, coffee pulp and protamylasse (‘potato juice’). This material does not include beverages. There is no default carbon intensity for this feedstock, and so actual data need to be reported.	15 December 2011	Contact administrator	Contact administrator
Grape marc and wine lees	Grape marc and wine lees are processing residues from the winemaking industry. While they are 2 distinct materials, they can be reported together as the GHG savings are similar and there is no benefit in requiring separate reporting.	15 June 2014	Yes	No
Manure	Manure is treated as a waste or residue.	15 December 2011	Yes
Matter Organic Non-Glycerol (MONG)	The impurities recovered from crude glycerol during the refining process. The material has no further economic or marketable use(s).	15 Aug  2022	Contact Administrator	Contact Administrator
Municipal grass cuttings	Grass cuttings collected from municipal sites, such as sports grounds or roadside verges, where animal feed is not a possible end-use, due to contamination and/or site location.	15 March 2016	Yes	No
Organic municipal solid waste (MSW)	This is a waste. Only the biomass portion of MSW counts as a renewable fuel.	15 December 2011	Contact administrator	Contact administrator
Out of date disinfectant	Ethanol disinfectant that has exceeded its shelf life and can no longer be used for its intended purpose. Fuel derived from synthetic isopropyl disinfectant is not eligible for RTFCs.	15 July 2022	Yes	No
Palm oil mill effluent (POME)	POME is a wastewater or sludge arising from palm oil production. It has no economic value – current practice in south-east Asia is to release to open ponds for anaerobic digestion resulting in methane emissions. Suppliers wishing to report either POME or Palm Sludge Oil (PSO)[footnote 4] on ROS, should use the POME category. There is no default carbon intensity for this feedstock, and so actual data need to be reported.	15 December 2011	No	Yes
Pot ale	Liquid remaining after the distillation of grain in the manufacture of whisky.	15 December 2020	Yes	No
Poultry feather acid oil	This is the oil extracted from poultry feathers after acid treatment to remove edible protein. This material is a waste if it can be demonstrated that there are no other non-energy uses for the material. Suppliers must also comply with relevant animal by-product regulations. There is no default carbon intensity for this feedstock, and so actual data need to be reported.	15 July 2016	No	Yes
Rapeseed residue	Rapeseed distillation residue from the oleo-chemical industry, exceeding 50% erucic acid.	15 April 2014	No	Yes
Renewable component of end-of-life tyres	Tyres are manufactured from a mixture of non-renewable petroleum products and natural rubber. Suppliers of fuel made from end-of-life tyres will need to have a Fuel Measurement and Sampling (FMS) regime in place. They will need to demonstrate how they have apportioned the renewability of the material to the different co-products from their process. End-of-life tyres are a waste.	15 March 2013	Yes	No
Residues from cottage cheese and quark production, contaminated with disinfectants or flocculants.	Waste material arising from the in-line cleaning process of plant used to produce cottage cheese and quark. Dry matter content must not exceed 5% and be unsuitable for food/feed. To be reported as ‘Contaminated cheese washings’ on ROS.	15 October 2021	Yes	No
Sewage sludge	Sewage sludge is a remainder of the wastewater treatment process. Sewage system fats, oils and grease (FOG) should also be reported as ‘sewage sludge’. This material is a waste.	15 April 2015	Contact administrator	Contact administrator
Soapstock acid oil contaminated with sulphur	Refiners of vegetable or animal oils who use chemical extraction processes to refine their oils will produce acid oils from the neutralisation of the soapstocks. These acid oils may contain residues of either sulphuric or phosphoric acid (in the form of excess acid or the resulting salt). The presence of the contaminants means that this material is unsuitable for other uses (for example, animal feed), and it is, therefore, a waste. Suppliers of fuel made from this material should be able to demonstrate that the material was produced by a refiner who used these methods of extraction, and may be asked to produce evidence that it was unfit for consumption. There is no default carbon intensity for this feedstock, and so actual data need to be reported.	5 December 2013	No	Yes
Spent bleaching earth	Bleaching earth is used to bleach oil as part of the production process. Oil extracted from spent bleaching earth is included in this category. The GHG calculation must include the extraction of the oil from the spent bleaching earth. There is no default carbon intensity for this feedstock, and so actual data need to be reported.	15 December 2011	No	Yes
Sugar beet betaine residue	High colour (between 14,000 and 20,000 ICUMSA) residual extract following the recovery of betaine through chromatography separation of sugar beet molasses. The extract must contain less than 0.1% betaine and be unsuitable for animal feed.	15 October 2020	Yes	No
Sugar beet tops, tails, chips and process water	Residual streams from the processing of sugar beet that have no other economically viable end uses. This material does not include the ‘crown’ of the sugar beet, which is not eligible for double counting.	15 November 2013	Yes	No
Tall oil pitch	Tall oil pitch is considered a residue.	15 December 2011	Contact administrator	Contact administrator
Tallow (animal fats from rendering) category 1	Category 1 tallow is processed animal fat produced in the meat rendering process. It has a significant economic value but its legally permissible end-uses are, at present, generally limited to energy generation. Category 1 tallow may use the waste vegetable or animal oil default GHG value.	15 December 2011	No	Yes
Unrefined liquid dextrose ultrafiltration retentate	A processing residue generated during the corn wet mill sweetener refining process. Dry matter must not exceed 40% and particles must be retained by filtration system having pore size between 0.001 and 0.1micron or with a molecular weight cut off between 1000 and 500 000 Dalton.	15 October 2022	Yes	No
Used cooking oil (UCO)	Commonly called ‘UCO’ or ‘waste cooking oil’, this is purified oils and fats of plant and animal origin. These have been used by restaurants, catering facilities and kitchens to cook food for human consumption. They are wastes as they are no longer fit for that purpose and are subsequently used as either feedstock for the production of biodiesel as fuel for automotive vehicles and heating or as a direct fuel. Used cooking oil may use the waste vegetable or animal oil default GHG value.	15 December 2011	No	Yes
Washdown water	Washdown water from ethanol plants and distillation, where the ethanol concentration must not exceed 0.1% by volume. Suppliers of fuel made from this material should be able to demonstrate that it cannot be used for any other purpose or purposes than energy recovery.	1 January 2023	Yes	No
Waste pressings from the production of vegetable oils	When a vegetable material, such as olives, is pressed to produce vegetable oil, the pressed material consisting of pips, skins, flesh and so on, remains. This may be used as a fuel. The purpose of the process is to produce oil – the pressings are therefore wastes. An example would include spent husk oil. As with all other materials on this list, the material must be unsuitable for other non-energy applications, including animal feed. There is no default carbon intensity for this feedstock, and so actual data need to be reported.	15 December 2011	No	Yes
Waste and residues from the production of vegetable oil	The wastewater material must only contain vegetable residue and must not contain more than 1% organic matter by volume. Suppliers of fuel made from this material should be able to demonstrate that it cannot be used for any other purpose or purposes than energy recovery.	1 January 2023	No	Yes
Waste slurry from the distillation of grain mixtures	A mixture of grain residuals and water arising from a wet milling ethanol process, after a solid or liquid separation step. Grains used in this process are mixtures of wheat, rye, triticale, barley, oats and corn. The dry matter content of the material must not exceed 15%. Total suspended particles larger than 5 microns in diameter must not exceed 10%.	15 December 2019	Yes	No
Waste starch slurry	A mixture of starch and water arising from the wet milling of wheat or corn. The dry matter content of the material must not exceed 20%. Total suspended solid particles larger than 5 microns in diameter must not exceed 10%.	15 July 2018	Yes	No
Waste wood	Waste wood is to be treated as a waste or residue. Processors of this material need to be clear on the differences between waste wood and forestry residues.	15 December 2011	Yes	No
Wet corn fibre	Corn fibre that has been removed from the dry grind production process of manufacturing ethanol, before the fermentation step.	15 July 2022	Yes	No

Agricultural residues

This table contains a list of residues from agriculture, aquaculture, forestry and fisheries (agricultural residues) that are eligible to receive double the number of RTFCs for every litre or kg of biofuel.

Material	Description	Valid from	Development fuel feedstock	HEFA cap
Arboricultural residues	Arboricultural residues meet the same criteria as forestry residues, in row 4 of this table.	15 December 2011	Yes	No
Bagasse	Bagasse results from crushing sugarcane or sorghum.	15 December 2011	Yes	No
Cobs	Cobs are considered anagricultural residue.	15 December 2011	Yes	No
Forestry residues	Processors of this material need to be clear on the differences between forestry residues and waste wood.	15 December 2011	Contact administrator	Contact administrator
Husks	Husks are considered an agricultural residue.	15 December 2011	Yes	No
Nut shells	Nut shells are considered agricultural residue.	15 December 2011	Yes	No
Straw	Straw is considered an agricultural crop residue.	15 December 2011	Yes	No

Non-food cellulosic and ligno-cellulosic material

This table contains non-food cellulosic and ligno-cellulosic material that are eligible to receive double the number of RTFCs for every litre or kg of biofuel.

This category of material is not eligible for reward under the SAF Mandate.

Material	Description	Valid from
Miscanthus	This is a non-food material commonly grown as an energy crop. If it is put to another use first, for example, as animal bedding, before being used as fuel, then it will be a waste.	15 December 2011
Short rotation coppice (SRC)	SRC is a non-food material commonly grown as an energy crop.	15 December 2011

Renewable fuels of non-biological origin

Table contains energy sources that have been assessed as suitable for manufacturing renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs). For a fuel to be regarded as a RFNBO, all of the available energy must come from the process energy, as the feedstocks have no available energy. RFNBO fuels are eligible for double reward of RTFCs. Further guidance on RFNBOs is available.

Energy source	Description	Valid from
Wind	Process energy derived from wind sources	15 April 2018
Solar	Process energy derived from solar sources	15 April 2018
Hydro	Process energy derived from solar sources	15 April 2018

Recycled Carbon Fuels (RCFs)

This table contains designated recycled carbon fuel (RCF) feedstocks. Only RCFs which have been made from a designated feedstock, and that are of a development fuel type, and that meet the RTFO sustainability criteria, are eligible for dRTFCs. Eligible RCFs receive 1 dRTFC per litre equivalent of eligible fuel.

Material	Description	Default counterfactual fate	Valid from
Municipal solid waste (fossil portion)	Mixed biogenic/fossil non-hazardous waste which is either collected from households or is a household-like waste collected from commercial or industrial premises.	EfW (electricity only)	1 July 2024
Industrial waste processing gasses	Industrial waste process gases rich in carbon monoxide, that are only suitable for incineration for energy recovery.	EfW (electricity only)	1 July 2024

Other materials

This table contains materials for which the definition is not sufficiently clear to provide a single categorisation, these materials must not be reported as feedstocks under the RTFO or the SAF Mandate.

Material	Description	Valid from
Free fatty acids or acid oils or soapstocks	Free fatty acids, acid oils and soapstocks should generally be reported in line with the feedstock they were derived from. For example, free fatty acids derived from UCO have the same waste or residue status as UCO.	15 December 2011
Used cooking oil (UCO) mixed with animal fats	Some catering establishments or aggregators in the supply chain may mix together UCO and animal-derived cooking oils or fats, such as beef dripping.  Where a supplier has sourced this type of blend they must report the UCO as a separate consignment to the animal derived fats or oils where practicable.  Animal fats or oils used for frying are to be reported as ‘food waste’ for RTFO purposes.  While some animal fats or oils may end up in UCO from the process of frying animal products in vegetable oil, these do not need to be reported separately.	15 April 2016
Yellow grease	Yellow grease is the US term for used cooking oil but can be used for a wider range of materials including tallow for which particular requirements apply. Where suppliers have sourced ‘yellow grease’ they will be expected to report either UCO or the relevant category for tallow (or a combination of the 2) as appropriate.  In the case that a supplier is unable to substantiate the category of tallow or proportion of UCO content, a conservative approach should be adopted and single counting ‘tallow – category 2 or uncategorised’ reported. The carbon default may be used.	15 December 2011

If you are applying for RTFCs for fuel from a feedstock recently added to one of the tables and intend using a voluntary scheme to support compliance, you must ensure that the scheme has undertaken the necessary audits to cover the relevant feedstock.

The application for, and issuance of, RTFCs under the Renewable Transport Obligations Order does not certify that the fuels supplied are compliant with the Motor Fuel (Composition and Content) Regulations 1999.

Suppliers are reminded they have a wider obligation to consider the risks to human health and the environment.

These impacts include that of air quality resulting from the combustion of novel and potentially contaminated feedstocks.

1. The treatment of tallow will be kept under consideration in relation to legislative changes and to assess the impact on other markets resulting from additional incentives for tallow based biodiesel. As this material is not obtained directly from land, suppliers are not required to demonstrate compliance with the land criteria. The previous land use column in ROS automatically defaults to ‘not applicable’ as the land criteria are automatically satisfied for tallow. ↩

2. Category 3 tallow is specifically excluded from the default for waste vegetable or animal oil biodiesel. Actual carbon values must be used. As this material is not obtained directly from land, suppliers are not required to demonstrate compliance with the land criteria. The previous land use column in ROS automatically defaults to ‘not applicable’ as the land criteria are automatically satisfied for tallow. ↩

3. The carbon default may be used. ↩

4. Only PSO extracted directly from POME will be considered under the RTFO. ↩