Guidance

Storing and treating hazardous waste wood: RPS 291

Published 2 November 2023

This guidance was withdrawn on 11 September 2024

The Environment Agency is satisfied that the amount of ‘amber’ items of hazardous waste wood is very low and diminishing.

If you produce or handle chemically treated waste wood, follow the Wood Recycling Association’s guidance, as an alternative to sampling and testing.

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 or waste installation when you store at a transfer station or treat by size reduction, hazardous waste wood from demolition and refurbishment activities. This RPS also does not change your legal requirement to transfer hazardous waste in line with the legal requirements surrounding the transport of hazardous waste.

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 amber items of waste wood removed from domestic premises, demolition sites or other types of premises.

Amber items of waste wood are from buildings built between 1950 and 2006 and are:

• roof timbers

• tiling and cladding battens

• timber frames and joists

Amber items of waste wood are also from buildings built between 1950 and 1995 and are:

• barge boards, fascias and soffits

• external timber cladding

• external doors

• external windows

This RPS allows operators to:

• move amber items of waste wood as non-hazardous waste wood under a waste transfer note

• store amber items of waste wood as non-hazardous waste wood

• treat and mix amber items of waste wood with non-hazardous waste wood at a wood processing site and subsequently move as non-hazardous waste wood under a transfer note

2. Conditions you must comply with

You must:

• move amber items of waste wood under a transfer note and in line with duty of care requirements for non-hazardous waste
• have a permit to store at a transfer station or treat waste wood
• carry out pre-acceptance checks if you store at a transfer station or treat amber items of waste wood, to make sure that the waste wood producer is testing regularly (at least once a quarter) and has Wood Recyclers Association (WRA) submission reports to prove it

You must make sure all amber items of waste wood end up either:

• in an Industrial Emissions Directive Chapter IV compliant permitted incinerator or co-incinerator
• used for the manufacture of engineered or composite board

3. Things to note

Sampling and testing have yet to confirm whether the amber items of waste wood listed in this RPS are hazardous or non-hazardous waste.  The Environment Agency consider amber items of waste wood to be hazardous until sampling and testing shows otherwise.

The Environment Agency has asked the WRA to provide evidence on behalf of the waste wood sector to determine whether the amber items are non-hazardous.

To do this, the WRA require producers of amber waste wood items to

• sample and test regularly (at least once a quarter)

•  give permission to their chosen laboratory to submit the raw testing results to the WRA for uploading to the WRA HazWasteOnline folder

This will allow the WRA to keep an index of all sampling and testing of amber items throughout the duration of this RPS so they can produce the required evidence.

It is important that producers of amber waste wood items support this programme of sampling and testing either directly or through their trade body. If the WRA do not have enough test results to present the evidence needed to the Environment Agency before this RPS is withdrawn on 1 October 2024, amber waste wood must be handled as hazardous waste wood when this RPS is withdrawn. To present the results to the Environment Agency, the WRA will need to have all test results by 1 September 2024.

4. When you must check back

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

If enough progress has not been made by 1 May 2024 this RPS will be withdrawn.

The Environment Agency can withdraw or amend this regulatory position before the withdrawal 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 withdrawal 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.

5. 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 and must tell the Environment Agency immediately. Email wastetreatment@environment-agency.gov.uk and include hazardous waste wood: RPS 291 in the subject.

6. Contact the Environment Agency

If you have any questions about this RPS email wastetreatment@environment-agency.gov.uk.