Materials facilities: waste sampling and reporting from October 2024
From 1 October 2024, more materials facilities will need to sample and report their waste. Sampling and reporting will be more detailed and more frequent under the amended regulations.
Applies to England and Wales
Waste facility operators in England and Wales should check whether The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 will apply to them from October 2024.
This guidance will:
- help you determine if your facility qualifies as a materials facility
- inform you of any sampling, measuring, recording and reporting requirements that apply
Scotland and Northern Ireland will have their own regulations or codes of practice.
The amended regulations make changes to:
- the type of facilities that must meet the regulations and may be required to sample incoming and outgoing waste material
- the type of waste material covered by the sampling requirements
- the frequency at which incoming and outgoing waste material needs to be sampled
- the categories that incoming and outgoing materials need to be sampled, measured and reported against
- the data that facilities must record and report to the regulator
The sampling weights, frequencies, categories, recording and reporting requirements in this guidance are statutory requirements.
There is separate guidance on developing a suitable sampling methodology, which includes information on methods, considerations, tools and measurement.
Which materials facilities are in scope
From October 2024, many waste facilities will be required to act under the regulations for the first time. The amended regulations bring into scope facilities which receive single waste streams, and facilities which consolidate waste material into bulk quantities. You will be required to self-assess whether you are a Materials Facility (MF) under the regulations.
Your facility (or part of your facility) may be classed as a MF if you:
- hold a permit under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016
- receive and handle waste classed as waste material
- consolidate waste material into bulk quantities from multiple suppliers - for example, bulking or transfer stations
- sort incoming waste material into specified output materials, such as aluminium cans or cardboard
Your facility (or part of a facility) will not be considered a MF if:
- you only receive waste material from a single supplier and do not separate the material into specified output materials
- it is provided or arranged by a waste disposal authority (WDA) under section 51(1)(b) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (1990 Act) to allow residents in its area to deposit their waste. For example, a household waste recycling center
- your facility solely undertakes the processing or sorting of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), waste batteries or accumulators. Where these activities are undertaken in part of your facility only, this part of the facility will not be considered a MF.
- your facility solely undertakes the processing and sorting of residual waste. Where these activities are undertaken in part of your facility only, this part of the facility will not be considered a MF
Examples of materials facilities
Facilities likely to be considered MFs include:
- materials recovery facilities (MRFs) sorting household dry recyclables
- commercial and industrial waste facilities that receive waste material to consolidate or sort into specified output materials
- waste transfer stations (WTS) that receive waste material to consolidate or sort into specified output materials
- facilities receiving and sorting single streams such as paper and card
- facilities consolidating waste material received from 2 or more suppliers into bulk outputs
Facilities not likely to be considered MFs include:
- facilities such as commercial and industrial MRFs that consolidate and sort commercial and industrial wastes, unless the commercial waste meets the definition of waste material
- MRFs or parts of MRFs sorting only residual waste (‘dirty’ MRFs)
- mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facilities, unless they accept material that meets the definition of waste material and undertake MRF operations on part of the site
- refuse derived fuel (RDF) including solid recovered fuel (SRF) production facilities
- MRFs sorting materials from construction and demolition waste
What counts as waste material
The material you receive is likely to be considered waste material under the regulations if it meets the following criteria:
- it’s from a household source or it’s from a non-household source and is similar to household waste in nature or composition
- it was separately collected for the primary purpose of preparing for reuse or recycling.
- it’s a single kind of material (a single stream) or multiple materials mixed together (a multiple stream)
- it contains one or more material types including glass, metal, paper, card, plastic, or fibre-based composite materials
What counts as specified output material
You may be producing ‘specified output material’ if you sort the incoming waste into separate waste material streams.
These outputs may include single or multiple streams and include any or all of glass, metal, paper, card, plastic and fibre-based composite material.
Items that would normally be removed before sorting the waste are not considered specified output material – for example, large or heavy items that could damage sorting equipment or impact the sorting process.
What counts as a supplier
The following may be considered suppliers to your facility:
- a waste collection authority (WCA), including where the WCA outsources their waste collection functions under section 45(1)(a) or (b) of the 1990 Act to another organisation
- the operator of another MF who transfers waste material to your facility from their facility
- if not a WCA or an operator of a MF, a person or organisation who has collected the waste material and delivered it to your facility
- if not a WCA or an operator of a MF and the collector is not known, a person or organisation who has delivered the waste materials to your facility
Where WCA waste, collected under section 45(1)(a) or (b) of the 1990 Act, is sent to a MF via a waste transfer station, that is not a MF under the regulations, the supplier is the WCA. This includes where the WCA outsources their waste collection functions under section 45(1)(a) or (b) of the 1990 Act to another organisation.
Where waste material is received from facilities such as household waste recycling centres, that are not defined as a MF under the regulations, the supplier is the organisation who has collected the waste material and delivered it to the MF.
Where waste is received from 2 separate MFs (as defined in the amended regulations) with the exact same operator, the supplier would be the same for both MFs.
Example: identifying suppliers
A waste transfer station (WTS) receives waste material from WCA 1 and WCA 2.
WCA 1 collects waste material from households and businesses together in the same round before delivering to the WTS.
The WTS also receives waste collected from multiple businesses by a private waste collection company.
The WTS receives waste from three suppliers:
- WCA 1
- WCA 2
- the private waste collection company.
These are not suppliers:
- households and the individual businesses whose waste is collected together by WCA 1
- the individual businesses whose waste is collected by the private waste collection company
Assessing whether you are a materials facility
You should first check if you receive waste material. If you do not, you are likely not a MF.
If you receive waste material, then consider whether you prepare the incoming waste material for recycling or reuse. This includes sorting the waste material into specified output materials or consolidating waste material from multiple suppliers into common bulked quantities. If you do either, you are likely a MF.
You are probably not a MF if both the following apply:
- only consolidate waste material from a single supplier into bulked outputs
- do not prepare the material for recycling or reuse
Notify the regulator that you are a MF
If you are a MF, you must assess how much waste material you are likely to receive during the next 12 months.
Do this at the start of each 3 month reporting period. The reporting periods are:
- 1 January to 31 March
- 1 April to 30 June
- 1 July to 30 September
- 1 October to 31 December
As part of this assessment you must consider the amount of waste material received in the previous 12 months.
You must notify the regulator in writing if you are likely to receive 1,000 tonnes or more of waste material in the next 12 months. Do this before the end of the reporting period in which you made the assessment.
You will need to meet the regulatory requirements for the reporting period in which you notified.
You do not need to notify again unless you decide to withdraw your notification.
Notify the regulator in England
In England, the regulator is the Environment Agency. You can tell the Environment Agency about a material facility online.
Notify the regulator in Wales
In Wales the regulator is Natural Resources Wales. You can tell Natural Resources Wales about a facility online.
Withdraw a notification to the regulator
You must assess whether you continue to meet the notification criteria before each reporting period.
If you believe that you will receive less than 1,000 tonnes of waste material in the next 12 months, you should withdraw your notification (also known as denotifying).
You can:
You will then no longer be a notified MF, so would have no sampling, recording or reporting obligations during this period. However, you must continue to assess whether you meet the notification criteria before each reporting period and if you do, renotify with the regulator as a MF.
Example of notifying and withdrawing notification
A materials recovery facility, MRF A, typically receives 700 tonnes per annum of household waste materials from 2 waste collection authorities, WCA 1 and WCA 2.
MRF A does not need to notify the regulator as a MF because the total annual waste input to its facility is under 1,000 tonnes.
A neighbouring MRF, MRF B, accepts waste from WCA 3 and WCA 4. It has an outage between April and August of that year, so WCA 3 and WCA 4 temporarily send some of their waste material to MRF A during that period.
This adds an additional 800 tonnes to MRF A’s input, so its annual input tonnage rises to 1,500 tonnes.
For the reporting periods starting 1 April and 1 July, MRF A will need to notify as a MF.
When MRF B resumes operations in September, MRF A stops receiving inputs from WCA 3 and WCA 4. Its annual input tonnage goes back to 700 tonnes. For the reporting period starting 1 October, MRF A will need to withdraw its notification as a MF in writing to the regulator.
When and what you must sample and measure
If you notify as a MF, you may be required to conduct input sampling, output sampling and measurement of the waste material you process. This depends on the activities you undertake on the waste material.
There is separate guidance on developing a suitable sampling methodology, which includes information on methods, considerations, tools and measurement.
Sampling and measuring are required when you undertake the following activities in processing waste material:
- consolidation of incoming waste material from different suppliers into a combined or bulked output
- separation of incoming waste material into specified output materials
You must also establish whether you need to conduct:
- only input sampling
- input and output sampling
Input sampling is sampling and measuring of incoming waste material from one or more suppliers.
Output sampling is sampling of any specified output material produced by your MF.
Sampling if you receive waste material from a single supplier
If you only consolidate the waste material you receive from a single supplier into bulk quantities with no subsequent separation into specified output materials, you are not a MF. You do not need to sample.
If you separate the waste material from the single supplier into specified output materials, then you will need to sample both inputs and outputs.
Sampling if you receive waste material from multiple suppliers
If you only consolidate the materials from different suppliers into a common bulked output, only conduct input sampling. Do this before consolidation.
If you separate a supplier’s waste into specified output materials, you’ll need to undertake both:
- input sampling
- output sampling for each specified output produced from separation activities
If you neither separate a supplier’s waste into specified output materials nor consolidate their incoming waste with that of other suppliers, you do not need to conduct input or output sampling on that supplier’s waste.
For example, you may consolidate one supplier’s waste into bulk quantities, without mixing it with inputs from other suppliers. There is no need for input or output sampling for that supplier.
Example: self-assessment of sampling requirements
A materials recovery facility typically receives 700 tonnes per annum of mixed plastic and metal cans waste material from WCA 1 and WCA 2. The MRF has no sampling requirements because it’s not a MF - it’s below the 1,000 tonne threshold.
There’s an outage in a nearby MF, so this MRF temporarily accepts 800 tonnes of cardboard waste from WCA 3 and WCA 4. The outage lasts for five months, from April to August. That means the annual input tonnage of MRF A goes up to 1,500 tonnes for the reporting periods starting 1 April and 1 July. It needs to notify as a MF.
The MRF separates inputs from WCA 1 and WCA 2 into specified outputs containing plastic and can materials. Between April and August, the MRF also consolidates the cardboard inputs from WCAs 2 and 3 into a combined bulked output. This is sent to a fibre processing facility for further processing.
During this period, the MRF must conduct:
- input sampling by supplier of the mixed plastic and metal can waste material received from WCA 1 and WCA 2
- output sampling of each batch of the plastic and metal can specified outputs
- input sampling by supplier of the cardboard waste material received from WCA 3 and WCA 4
The MRF stops receiving inputs from WCA 3 and WCA 4 from September onwards. For the reporting period commencing 1 October, the MRF is no longer notifiable as a MF. It no longer needs to sample.
Input sampling, measuring, and recording
As a notified MF, you must sample, measure and record information by individual supplier in each reporting period.
You must measure and record:
- the total weight in tonnes of input waste material for each supplier during each reporting period
- the name and address of the supplier (or of each supplier) for each batch of material
- the date on which the batch of material was received, from which a sample has been taken
If your MF does not have an on-site weighbridge, you may develop your own methodology to measure and record the weight of incoming waste material. For example, your methodology may be based on Duty of Care documentation or the data provided by your individual suppliers.
The approach you follow must be detailed in your sampling methodology, which must be made available to the regulator when requested.
If you identify the need for input sampling, you must record the following for each input sample:
- its composition in relation to the input sampling categories
- details of each supplier from whose inputs the sample was taken
- total weight in kilograms of each sample
- date the sample was taken
- details of the sampling methodology used to take a representative sample
In addition to measuring and recording the above, you will need to report:
- the total number of samples taken for each supplier
- the total weight of all samples
See the ‘reporting’ section for more information on your reporting requirements.
Input sample size and frequency
An input sample must be taken for every 75 tonnes of incoming waste material received for each supplier in a given reporting period.
The samples must meet the following requirements:
- the minimum weight of each sample is 55kg
- the average weight of all samples taken should be at least 60kg
If you receive combined input material from more than one supplier - for example, 2 waste collection authorities - you should identify the proportion of material from each supplier. Use this split to calculate the number of samples you should take for each supplier.
Where identifying a proportional split by supplier is not possible, estimate the proportion. You must record the methodology for estimating the split in your sampling methodology.
Input sampling categories
You need to measure the composition of all the samples taken against specific categories. You must measure and record the weight of all categories identified in kilograms.
You must measure all input samples to identify whether the material is:
- target material
- non-target material
- non-recyclable material
Target material refers to one or more kind of materials identified by you, as the operator of a MF, as destined for:
- separation from waste material received
- consolidation to produce bulk quantities of the identified material
Non-target material is material that may be recyclable but is not identified as a target material by you as the operator of the MF.
Non-recyclable material is waste material that currently cannot be viably recycled.
You should identify what materials fall into each category within your written sampling methodology.
10 input material types
For each category of target, non-target and non-recyclable materials, you must identify and measure the proportions of the following material in each sample:
- glass
- aluminium
- steel
- paper
- card
- plastic bottles
- plastic pots, tubs and trays
- film or other flexible plastic
- other plastic
- fibre-based composite material
Fibre-based composite material is a category of packaging material that is typically made of paperboard or paper fibres and laminated with plastic. It may also have layers or the presence of other material forming a single unit that cannot be separated by hand.
Packaging materials
For each category of target, non-target and non-recyclable materials, you must also identify and measure the proportions of packaging items (except for glass unless it is specifically required by the regulator).
‘Packaging’ means any product for containing, handling, delivering and presenting goods. It can include:
- primary packaging
- secondary packaging
- tertiary packaging
- shipment packaging
Primary packaging is used for packaging individual sales units, typically at the point of purchase and sold to the consumer.
Secondary packaging is used for grouping a number of individual sales units. It can be sold to the consumer or used for restocking shelves. It can be removed from the product without affecting its characteristics.
Tertiary packaging is used for grouping and protecting sales units or secondary packaging units for handling and transportation. It excludes packaging used for road, rail, ship or air containers.
Shipment packaging is additional packaging for online or mail order sales. It’s likely to be delivered to or collected by the consumer.
You do not need to measure the proportions of the different types of packaging listed above, just the total proportions of items by material type that are packaging.
Drinks containers
For each category of target, non-target and non-recyclable materials, you must also separately identify and measure the proportions of drinks containers, as a category of packaging.
Drinks containers include bottles and cans that:
- are made entirely or mainly from steel, aluminium or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic
- are made to hold between 50 millilitres and 3 litres of liquid
- come into direct contact with the drink inside
- are designed to be airtight and watertight when they’re supplied
- are not made for reuse or refilling
Additional sampling of glass packaging
You do not need to routinely measure and record whether glass in a sample is packaging or not.
However, regulators can request input and output sampling of glass packaging. They will have to:
- give MFs at least 4 weeks notice before the start of the reporting period in which measurements will be taken
- specify the minimum number of samples you need to take for these measurements for each supplier
Material particles
You must separately identify and measure any material particles in your input samples.
The following may be considered material particles in waste material:
- for material types other than glass, particles of that material measuring less than 55 millimetres along their longest dimension
- for material with a majority proportion of glass, glass particles measuring less than 13 millimetres along their longest dimension
You will need to identify the total weight of material particles in your sample.
You need to calculate the composition of the material particles based on the composition of the remaining non-particle contents of the sample. This includes proportions within the non-particle contents of:
- target, non-target and non-recyclable material
- glass, aluminium, steel, paper, card, plastic, plastic bottles, plastic pots, tubs and trays, film or other flexible plastic, fibre-based composite material
- packaging materials and drinks containers
You must divide the total weight of the material particles using the non-particle content proportions recorded for that sample.
Example: material particles
Take a sample weighing 60kg.
The sample consists of the following material categories:
- 45kg of target material
- 7kg of non-target material
- 3kg of non-recyclable material
- 5kg of material particles
Exclude the material particles. This leaves 55kg. The proportions of the sorted material categories are:
- 81.8% target material (45kg of 55kg)
- 12.7% non-target material (7kg of 55kg)
- 5.4% non-recyclable material (3kg of 55kg)
Applying those proportions to the material particles, you get the following material particle weights:
- 4.1kg of target material particles (81.8% of 5kg)
- 0.63kg of non-target material particles (12.7% of 5kg)
- 0.27kg of non-recyclable material particles (5.4% of 5kg)
The same method would need to be followed to apply the material type and packaging proportions based on the non-particle composition to the particle portion of the sample.
Output sampling, measuring and recording
As a MF, you must measure and record information regarding all output material that leaves your facility in each reporting period.
There is separate guidance on developing a suitable sampling methodology, which includes information on methods, tools and measurement.
This includes all materials identified as target, non-target, non-recyclable and any other waste material.
The following information should be measured and recorded in each reporting period:
- the total weight in tonnes of waste material that has been identified and kept separate and will be transferred to another MF or person for the purpose of recycling or reuse
- total weight in tonnes of specified output materials leaving the MF in the given reporting period
- the total weight in tonnes of all other material leaving the MF in the given reporting period
- relevant details such as name and address of the destination where all the materials are sent
- the date on which the material was sent from the facility
- total weight in tonnes and grade of specified output material (such as aluminium, steel, glass where appropriate) that make up the batch of specified output material
- any other identifying details of the batch of specified output material, such as batch or bale numbers where these are provided
If you have to conduct output sampling on specified output materials, record the following for each output sample you take:
- date sample was taken
- the details of the batch of specified output material each sample was taken from
- measurements of composition by the categories each sample is identified against
- details of sampling methodology used, to show how MFs ensure samples accurately reflect the composition of the total waste material
In addition to measuring and recording the above, you will need to report:
- the total number of samples taken for each batch of specified output material
- the total weight in kg of all samples in a reporting period
See the ‘reporting’ section for more information on your reporting requirements.
Frequency and size of output sampling
If you need to conduct output sampling, you must take samples of all the specified output material produced during each reporting period. Any outputs containing multiple streams will also need to be sampled.
Frequency of sampling and sample size vary depending on the type of material within a specified output.
The minimum sampling frequency and samples size for different material types are presented in this table.
| Specified output material | Minimum frequency | Weight of sample |
|---|---|---|
| Glass | Once for every 50 tonnes | 10kg |
| Paper and card | Once for every 60 tonnes | 50kg |
| Metal (aluminium, steel or both) | Once for every 20 tonnes | 10kg |
| Plastic | Once for every 15 tonnes | 20kg |
| Fibre-based composites | Once for every 60 tonnes | 50kg |
When there are 2 or more materials in a specified output, use the frequency and size of the material that has the lowest figure in the minimum frequency column of the table.
For example:
- a mixture of plastic and aluminium would need a frequency of once for every 15 tonnes, and a sample size of 20kg
- a mixture of steel and glass would need a frequency of once for every 20 tonnes, and a sample size of 10kg
Output sampling categories
As a minimum, you must identify and record the grade of glass, aluminium, steel, paper, card, plastic or fibre-based composite material making up the specified output materials produced in the MF.
Grade of material describes the particular material specification of that material type.
For example, you may identify different grades of the following material using physical or chemical characteristics as follows:
- grades of glass may be based on colour such as clear glass or mixed coloured glass
- grades of plastic may be based on polymers including natural high density polyethylene (HDPE) bottle, coloured HDPE bottles, or clear PET bottle
You must sample and measure each batch of specified output material to identify:
- target material
- non-target material
- non-recyclable material
You must measure and record the weight of all categories identified, including packaging and drink container proportions in kilograms.
Packaging and drinks containers
For each category of target, non-target and non-recyclable materials, you must measure and record the proportions of:
- packaging items, except for glass unless specifically required by the regulator
- drinks containers
Additional sampling of glass packaging
Requirements for additional sampling of glass packaging are similar to the input sampling rules. The minimum number of output samples you need to take for these measurements will be specified by the written notice from the regulator.
Material particles
You must separately measure and record any material particles in your output samples.
Follow the sampling and measuring rules given under input sampling to calculate proportions.
Visual detection and recognition technologies
Emerging technologies are increasingly enabling the automation of certain aspects of MF operations, including identification and sorting of waste material.
Visual detection and recognition technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can enable the automation of sampling and you may choose to use them for testing samples. However, you must:
- fulfil the requirements of the regulations, including meeting the sampling frequency, minimum sample weight requirements and ensuring that samples are representative
- report any measurements in a format specified by the regulator
- make available to the regulator, on request, evidence of the reliability of results by demonstrating that the sample measurements are at least as accurate as would be expected if measuring was done by hand
- ensure details of any technology used and details of the evidence you hold to demonstrate its accuracy and reliability are included within your written sampling methodology and are made available to the regulator on request. You are reminded that permit compliance remains the responsibility of the permit holder irrespective of any third party contractual arrangements which may be in place regarding the technologies used
Reporting
If you have notified as a MF, you should submit reports to the regulator electronically, in a form specified by the regulator.
If you’re in England, use the materials facility combined waste returns spreadsheet.
If you’re in Wales, find out how to report your data to Natural Resources Wales.
When to sent the report
You must submit the reports within one month of the end of the reporting period.
For example, reports for the period commencing 1 January to 31 March must be submitted by 30 April.
What to include in the report
The reports should as a minimum include all relevant recorded information about the materials facilities’ total incoming and outgoing waste material, suppliers and destinations.
If you identify that you need to conduct input or output sampling on waste material, you must also report information about:
- any samples you take for incoming and outgoing material in a reporting period, including the total number of samples taken for each supplier or each batch of specified output material
- the total weight in kg of all samples for each supplier or each batch of specified output material
- all measurements recorded as part of any input or output sampling you conduct
All information recorded:
- before 1 October 2024 should be retained for a minimum of 4 years from the date that it was first recorded
- after 1 October 2024 should be retained for a minimum of 7 years from the date that it was first recorded
Compliance monitoring and enforcement of the regulations
The environmental permit conditions imposed by the regulations will be enforced by the national environmental regulator. Once notified as a MF, you must comply with the sampling, recording and reporting requirements as specified in the regulations.
Regulators will monitor your compliance with sampling, recording and reporting requirements through a number of compliance activities which may include:
- announced and unannounced audits carried out by visits to facilities, including the inspection of activities and relevant documentation
- virtual or remote audits
- desktop audits of data submissions
Audits will focus on:
- how samples are taken
- whether samples are representative and follow the written methodology
- assessment of the recorded and reported data
Audits will not consider how operators of MFs can improve quality specified output material produced from material separation processes.
Additional compliance activities may be undertaken based on intelligence and outcomes of previous audits.
Audits may be combined with compliance monitoring of other waste regulations for example, Duty of Care and Transfrontier Shipments of wastes, as well as wider permit compliance.
The regulator will employ the enforcement powers available to them under the Environmental Permitting Regulations in England and Wales.
Non-compliance, including where operators have failed to notify as required, may be subject to enforcement action in line with the enforcement policy of the respective regulator.
Updates to this page
Last updated 1 October 2024 + show all updates
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You can tell the Environment Agency about a material facility online.
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This update adds more details on which materials facilities will be in and out of scope of these regulations, gives examples of who is affected, gives more detail on sampling requirements, and adds examples for sampling too.
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Added Welsh translation.
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First published.