Guidance

T6 waste exemption: treating waste wood and waste plant matter by chipping, shredding, cutting or pulverising

The T6 exemption allows you to chip, shred, cut or pulverise waste wood and plant matter to make it easier to store and transport, or to convert it for use.

• From: Environment Agency
• Published: 28 April 2014
• Last updated: 10 May 2024 — See all updates

Applies to England

Waste exemptions are changing and this will affect anyone who carries out a waste exemption activity. Defra’s consultation supplementary response document and its annexes explain the changes. This sets out which exemptions will be withdrawn or restricted. Changes to the exemptions are likely to start in 2025 but timescales have not been finalised.

The waste treated by these methods must be suitable for its intended use, which can include feedstock for producing products such as panel board, mulch, surfacing tracks (paths and bridleways) or fuel.

Types of activity you can carry out

These include:

• chipping untreated waste wood to use as fuel in a boiler to provide heat
• cutting waste wood into a suitable size to manufacture chipboard
• shredding waste plant matter before moving it to an authorised facility for composting

Types of activity you cannot carry out

You cannot:

• sort out waste wood or waste plant tissue from other types of waste as this exemption only allows wood and plant tissue waste
• treat waste where the main purpose is to dispose of it to landfill or incinerate it (unless at a suitably permitted R1 accredited incinerator or co-incinerator)
• compost, burn or manufacture products from waste wood (see the ‘related exemptions’ section)
• treat wood that is hazardous waste

You don’t need to register a T6 for forestry maintenance work where the virgin timber is cut, chipped or shredded and is left on the ground or transported off-site for use elsewhere.

Types of waste you can treat

The waste codes are listed in the List of Wastes (LoW) Regulations. You need to make sure your waste fits within the relevant waste code and description.

Waste code	Type of waste
020103, 200201	Plant tissue waste
030101, 030301, 170201	Wood
150103	Wooden packaging only

You cannot treat wood that has been sorted from mixed sources at a waste treatment facility.

Amount of waste you can treat

You can treat or store up to 500 tonnes of waste over any 7-day period.

You can store waste for up to three months after treatment.

Other things you need to know

If you have registered one of the following exemptions, and intend to chip or shred the waste before it is treated at the same place, you do not need to register this exemption:

• T23 – aerobic composting and associated prior treatment

• T24 – anaerobic digestion at premises used for agriculture and burning of resultant biogas

• T25 – anaerobic digestion at premises not used for agriculture and burning biogas produced

If you are chipping treated or coated wood, you must not use this for construction, burning as fuel, mulch, animal bedding or as feedstock for composting. The only suitable use for treated or coated wood is the U9 exemption for manufacturing finished goods.

If the T6 exemption has been modified to allow processing of non hazardous ‘treated’ wood but only from the specific sources (listed previously). You cannot process wood that has been sorted from mixed sources at a waste treatment facility.

Related exemptions

You can use chipped or shredded untreated waste wood under a number of exemptions:

• U1 – using waste in construction

• U4 – burning waste as fuel in a small appliance

• U8 – using waste for a specified purpose

• U9 – using waste to manufacture finished goods

• U12 – use of mulch

• U13 – spreading plant matter to control the growth of weeds or provide nutrients or organic matters to soils

Register a T6 exemption

You need to register this exemption with the Environment Agency if you meet the requirements:

Register an exemption.

Related permits

If you want to treat more than the amount of waste allowed under this exemption, you must apply for an environmental permit.

Definitions

Hazardous waste – see How to classify different types of waste.

Untreated wood – wood that has not been treated with oils, tar oil preservatives, waterborne preservatives, organic based preservatives, boron and organo-metallic based preservatives, boron and halogenated flame retardants and surface treatments.

Published 28 April 2014
Last updated 10 May 2024 + show all updates

1. 10 May 2024

   Updated the message at the start to say changes to exemptions are expected to start in 2025 but that timescales have not been finalised.

2. 9 February 2023

   We have added information about changes to this waste exemption that are likely to happen during 2024 to 2025.

3. 25 February 2022

   In section 'Types of activity you cannot carry out' clarified that you cannot treat waste where the main purpose is to dispose of it to landfill or incinerate it (unless at a suitably permitted R1 accredited incinerator or co-incinerator).

4. 21 December 2015

   Clarified that don't to register a T6 for tree and forestry maintenance work where the wood is cut, chipped or shredded and is left on the ground or transported off-site for use elsewhere.

5. 28 April 2014

   First published.