Guidance

Storing and depressurising nominally empty nitrous oxide canisters: RPS 289

Updated 19 December 2023

Applies to England

This regulatory position statement (RPS) does not change your legal requirement to have and comply with an environmental permit for a waste operation when you store discarded nitrous oxide canisters and depressurise them. Storage and controlled depressurisation must be at a collection site or a site operated by the waste producer.

However, the Environment Agency will not normally take enforcement action against you if you do not comply with this legal requirement provided that:

• your activity meets the description set out in this RPS
• you comply with the conditions set out in this RPS

In addition, your activity must not cause (or be likely to cause) pollution of the environment or harm to human health, and must not:

• cause a risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals
• cause a nuisance through noise or odours
• adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest

1. Activity this RPS applies to

This RPS applies to the storage of discarded nitrous oxide canisters coded as ‘16 05 04* gases in pressure containers (including halons) containing hazardous substances’ at:

• a collection site by a waste collection authority
• a collection site by a waste disposal authority
• a collection site by a contractor working on behalf of either or both of these waste authorities
• a site controlled by the producer of the waste

It also applies to:

• the controlled depressurising of nominally empty nitrous oxide canisters
• the removal of the valve to render the canister permanently depressurised before they are sent for metal recovery 

2. What terms mean in this RPS

‘Collection site’ means a place where:

• nitrous oxide canisters are removed to by street cleansing activities
• fly tipped waste is collected for temporary storage

‘Site controlled by the producer’ means:

• household waste recycling centres (HWRCs)
• permitted sites where canisters are being removed from incoming mixed wastes

‘Nominally empty’ means containing less than 2% of the original contents.

3. Conditions you must comply with

You must:

• store fewer than 1,000 small unused single-use nitrous oxide canisters (referred to as whippets) in a secure place
• store fewer than 200 valved nitrous oxide canisters that have not been permanently depressurised in a well-ventilated secure place  
• store more than 200 or fewer than 1,000 valved nitrous oxide canisters that have not been permanently depressurised upright in a well-ventilated caged storage area that is not affected by extreme temperatures or direct sunlight
• store pressurised nitrous oxide canisters for less than 3 months
• segregate nitrous oxide canisters that have not been depressurised from other flammable canisters or flammable wastes
• store canisters in a secure place – secure means that the waste cannot escape and unauthorised people cannot access it
• permanently depressurise nominally empty canisters manually in a safe and controlled way in line with a written procedure as part of a documented management system
• send permanently depressurised canisters as metal packaging waste (15 01 04) to a suitably authorised site for recovery

You must follow the guidance:

• Drum and cylinder handling
• Orphaned gas cylinders in the waste and recycling industries
• Chemical waste: appropriate measures for permitted waste facilities
• The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002  

You must email wastetreatment@environment-agency.gov.uk before storing more than 200 valved canisters or depressurising under this RPS. In your email, include:

• ‘RPS 289 nitrous oxide canisters’ in the subject
• the name of the waste collection authority or waste disposal authority
• the name of the contractor (if a contractor is working on behalf the authority) or name of producer site and operator
• the addresses of the sites where you intend to depressurise and store canisters
• the exemption or permit number (where this applies)
• a statement of whether you are storing nitrous oxide canisters, or both storing and depressurising them

You must:

• keep records for 3 years to show that you have complied with this RPS and make these records available to the Environment Agency on request
• enter RPS 289 followed by the postcode of the receiving site in the permit field for consignee returns
• store nitrous oxide canisters apart from, or in a separate cage or container from, flammable items or gases

You must not:

• store valved nitrous oxide canisters in unventilated containers, for example, cut-off intermediate bulk containers (IBCs)
• store more than 1,000 small unused single-use nitrous oxide canisters
• store more than 1,000 valved nitrous oxide canisters that have not been permanently depressurised

4. Things to note

Small nitrous oxide canisters (sometimes referred to a whippets) are single-use. Once pierced and discarded, you must manage them as metallic packaging waste.

Larger canisters that usually contain 600g of gas have valves and can be pressurised to over 435 psi. You must manage them as hazardous waste coded 16 05 04* until they are permanently depressurised. This is because they present a significant risk to:

• operatives
• mechanical treatment processes
• municipal waste incinerators

5. When you must check back

The Environment Agency will review this RPS by 1 October 2024.

The Environment Agency can withdraw or amend this regulatory position before the review date if they consider it necessary. This includes where the activity that this RPS relates to has not changed.

You will need to check back from time to time, including at and before the review date, to see if this RPS still applies.

This RPS remains in force until it is removed from GOV.UK or is otherwise identified as having been withdrawn.

6. If you cannot comply with this RPS

If you operate under this RPS but can no longer comply with it, you must:

• stop the activity to which this RPS relates
• tell the Environment Agency immediately by emailing wastetreatment@environment-agency.gov.uk

7. Contact the Environment Agency

If you have any questions about this RPS, email wastetreatment@environment-agency.gov.uk with ‘RPS 289 nitrous oxide canisters’ in the subject.