Reviewing the Exemptions from Waste Management Licensing

DEFRA and the Environment Agency have launched a review of waste management licensing exemptions. Attached is a leaflet setting out the key issues. The review of exemptions from licensing of waste recovery and disposal operations will take a "fundamental look" at existing regulations, including those for agricultural waste and the treatment and recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). It will establish which activities should be exempt from waste management licensing and which should operate under a permit. Changes will be in line with the proposed new environmental permitting regime, which will merge the existing waste management licensing and pollution prevention and control (PPC) systems in 2008.

The review will look at three options:

• Regulating all waste activities through permits with no exemptions.
• Increasing exemptions to a wider range of low-risk operations, but regulating higher risk exemptions through permitting.
• Keeping the status quo with two tiers of exemptions – simple and notifiable, with two different registration systems.

The first phase of the review is an informal consultation, seeking comment on the proposals and criteria for exemptions underpinning the review, and other requirements for exempt waste operations, which runs until 8 June. A discussion paper for informal consultation is available on http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/management/exemptions/index.htm. A formal consultation which will include draft regulations is planned for early 2008.

The discussion paper is quite a lengthy document with 21 questions around the proposal and criteria for exemption. However, it is an important opportunity to influence Government thinking ahead of drafting a formal consultation document and draft regulations. I would therefore appreciate your views on the key issues by 30 April.