Guidance

Treating solid waste from composting toilets: RPS 318

Published 14 January 2025

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2025

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/treating-solid-waste-from-composting-toilets-rps-318/treating-solid-waste-from-composting-toilets-rps-318

This regulatory position statement (RPS) does not change your legal requirement to have an environmental permit for a waste operation when you treat waste from portable toilets.

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

Activity this RPS applies to

This RPS applies to operators who treat solid waste from portable composting toilets at the depot where the toilets were hired.

Conditions you must comply with

You must:

  • only compost solid waste from composting toilets at the depot where the toilets were hired
  • only compost solid waste from composting toilets with a contained leakproof system that separates urine, solids and sanitary waste
  • only compost solid waste which was mixed with sawdust or shavings from virgin wood while the composting toilet was being used
  • compost solids in a secure, leakproof container at a minimum of 70°C for 1 hour or 60°C for 48 hours – the resulting compost must be stable and sanitised so it can be used for soil conditioner or fertiliser
  • only store and compost up to 10 tonnes of solid waste at any one time
  • only store up to 1.5 cubic metres of sanitary and other contaminants at any one time
  • store all sanitary and other contaminants in sealed leakproof containers, and only for up to 5 working days to be sent on for appropriate treatment
  • keep records for 2 years to show that you have complied with this RPS and make these records available to the Environment Agency on request

Things to note 

This RPS relates to an activity that the Environment Agency considers is potentially suitable to be an exemption under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

When you must check back

The Environment Agency will review this RPS by 13 January 2028.

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.

You can subscribe to email updates about this RPS. These will tell you if the RPS has changed and when it has been withdrawn.

If you cannot comply with this RPS

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

Contact the Environment Agency

If you have any questions about this RPS, email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk with RPS 318 in the subject.

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