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Compliance charge bands and the common-on farm list

18 November 2024

Environment and climate

Following the launch of the Environment Agency's consultation on changes to waste exemptions, we've pulled together a full list of which exemptions fall into which band.

Exemptions highlighted in green are included on the ‘common-on farm list’. 

The common-on farm list contains 15 exemptions which are being offered at a reduced rate following NFU lobbying.

Bands:

  • Band 1 (highest risk)
  • Band 2
  • Band 3 (lowest risk)
  • Upper Band (T8, T9, U16 exemptions): These exemptions are being phased out, with operators needing to apply for an environmental permit by the relevant transitional date. Operators who transition to an environmental permit will receive a partial refund on the compliance charge.
Band 1 Charge of £420 One inspection per registration period (three years)
Band 2 Charge of £212 50% of sites inspected every three years
Band 3 Charge of £30 Assessed through targeted campaigns and desk-based assessments
Upper compliance band Charge of £1,236 , ,
Assessed annually

Find out more about the consultation and how to take part.

Band 1 

Waste exemption Activity description
S1 waste exemption: store waste in secure containers Allows the storage of certain wastes in secure containers at a site separate to where it was produced before transportation to another site for recovery
S2 waste exemption: storing waste in a secure place Allows the storage of specific wastes at a secure intermediate site, separate to where the waste was produced, before transportation to another site for recovery
U1 waste exemption: use of waste in construction Allows the use of suitable waste in construction as a recovery activity
U9 waste exemption: using waste to manufacture finished goods Allows the use of waste in place of raw materials to manufacture a finished product
T4 waste exemption: preparatory treatments, such as, baling, sorting, shredding Allows the treatment of waste to reduce its volume for transport to another site for reuse, recycling or to make handling easier
T5 waste exemption: screening and blending waste Allows the temporary treatment of waste on a small scale to produce aggregate or soil at a particular location, such as a construction or demolition site
T6 waste exemption: treating waste wood and waste plant matter by chipping, shredding, cutting or pulverising Allows the treatment of waste wood and plant matter to make it easier to store and transport, or to convert it for use
T10 waste exemption: sorting mixed waste Allows small organisations, such as charities, to sort recyclable waste so that it can be recovered
T12 waste exemption: manually treating waste Allows the sorting, repairing, refurbishment or dismantling of waste for reuse or recovery
T21 waste exemption: recover waste at a wastewater treatment works Allows the recovery of wastes such as sewage grits, screenings and sewage sludge at a wastewater treatment works
T24 waste exemption: anaerobic digestion at premises used for agriculture and burning resulting biogas Allows farmers to anaerobically digest manure, slurry and vegetation on their farms to produce digestate for use as fertiliser or soil conditioner
T25 waste exemption: anaerobic digestion at premises not used for agriculture and burning resulting biogas Allows the treatment of food and other biodegradable waste by anaerobic digestion to produce digestate for use as fertiliser, and burn the resulting biogas

Band 2

Waste exemption Activity description
S3 waste exemption: storing sludge Allows the storage of sewage sludge at a site where it will be used in accordance with the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989
U2 waste exemption: use of baled end-of-life tyres in construction Allows the use of a small number of end-of-life tyre bales in construction
U4 waste exemption: burning waste as fuel in a small appliance Allows the use of waste plant material or untreated wood as fuel in a small appliance to produce heat or power
U5 waste exemption: using biodiesel produced from waste as fuel Allows the storage and use of biodiesel produced from waste as fuel in portable generators and motor vehicles
U8 waste exemption: using waste for a specified purpose Allows the use of waste materials (that do not need treating) for a specific purpose to reduce the use of virgin or non-waste materials
U10 waste exemption: spreading waste to benefit agricultural land Allows the spreading of specific waste on agricultural land to replace manufactured fertilisers or virgin materials (such as lime) to improve or maintain soil
U11 waste exemption: spreading waste on non-agricultural land Allows the spreading of waste on non-agricultural land to replace manufactured fertilisers or virgin materials (such as lime) to improve or maintain soil
U15 waste exemption: pig and poultry ash Allows the mixing of ash from burning pig or poultry with slurry and/or manure and spreading it on farmland to provide the soil with nutrients
T1 waste exemption: cleaning, washing, spraying or coating relevant waste. Allows treatment of waste packaging so it can be reused in its original form or becomes clean waste suitable for recycling
T2 waste exemption: recovering textiles Allows the cleaning of waste clothes and textiles to recover them for reuse or recycling
T13 waste exemption: treating waste food Allows the recovery of waste food by decanting or unwrapping it and recovering the packaging
T14 waste exemption: crushing and emptying vehicle waste oil filters Allows the recovery of oil from oil filters before they're crushed so they can be transported for recovery
T15 waste exemption: treating waste aerosol cans Allows the treatment of aerosol cans by puncturing or crushing them using specialist treatment equipment, so the metal can be recovered
T16 waste exemption: treating waste toner and ink cartridges Allows the treatment of waste toner or ink cartridges by sorting, cleaning, dismantling or refilling them
T17 waste exemption: crushing waste fluorescent tubes Allows the treatment of waste fluorescent tubes and capture any mercury emissions before collection for recovery
T19 waste exemption: physical and chemical treatment of waste edible oil and fat to produce biodiesel Allows the small-scale physical and chemical treatment of waste edible oils and fat to produce fuel
T23 waste exemption: aerobic composting and associated prior treatment Allows the composting of small volumes of vegetation, cardboard and food waste to spread on soil to add nutrients or improve the structure
T30 waste exemption: recover silver Allows the recovery of silver from waste produced in connection with printing or photography
T31 waste exemption: recover monopropylene glycol from aircraft antifreeze fluids Allows airports to filter and distil waste aircraft antifreeze fluid to recover monopropylene glycol
T33 waste exemption: recover central heating oil by filtration Allows the filtering of central heating oil from disused tanks so that it can be reused
D1 waste exemption: depositing waste from dredging inland waters Allows the deposit of dredging spoil on the banks of the water it was dredged from and treat it by screening and removing water
D6 waste exemption: disposal by incineration Allows the disposal of small amounts of specific waste that have been produced on site in an incinerator

Band 3

Waste exemption Activity description
U3 waste exemption: construction of entertainment or educational installations Allows groups such as schools, colleges and theatres to use waste, such as offcuts of wood, for creative installations
U6 waste exemption: using sludge to reseed a waste water treatment plant Allows sludge importation from one waste water treatment plant to another to reseed the biological process
U7 waste exemption: using effluent to clean a highway gravel bed Allows the use of effluent from water and waste water treatment plants to clean highway gravel beds where high-quality water is not needed
U12 waste exemption: using mulch Allows landscapers, farmers and growers to spread mulch as a protective covering onto land around trees, bushes or plants
U13 waste exemption: spreading plant matter to provide benefits Allows the spreading of cut plant material at the place of production for weed suppression or to provide nutrients to the soil
U14 waste exemption: incorporating ash into soil Allows the mixing of ash back into the soil to return some of the nutrients from the burnt crops and vegetation
T18 waste exemption: using flocculants to remove water from waste Allows the treatment of waste using flocculants to remove water so that clay or water-based paints can be recovered
T20 waste exemption: treating waste at a water treatment works Allows the treatment of certain waste at water treatment works to reduce the volume for transport, or to make it easier to handle for waste recovery
T26 waste exemption: treatment of kitchen waste in a wormery Allows the small-scale treatment of waste from kitchens using a wormery to produce compost, for use as fertiliser or soil conditioner
T28 waste exemption: sort and denature controlled drugs for disposal Allows pharmacies and similar places to denature controlled drugs to comply with Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001
T29 waste exemption: treatment of non-hazardous pesticide washings by carbon filtration for disposal Allows the treatment of non-hazardous pesticide washings before disposing of them to land
T32 waste exemption: treatment of waste in a biobed or biofilter Allows the treatment of non-hazardous pesticide washings in a biobed or biofilter
D2 waste exemption: depositing waste from a railway sanitary convenience Allows older rolling stock not fitted with appropriate collection facilities to deposit sanitary waste onto the track
D3 waste exemption: depositing waste from a portable sanitary convenience Allows the burial of waste from a portable toilet, to avoid long-distance transportation of small quantities of waste to sewage treatment works
D4 waste exemption: depositing agricultural waste consisting of plant tissue under a Plant Health Notice Allows the deposit of diseased crops where they were grown when a Plant Health Notice has been issued, to reduce the risk of spreading plant diseases or pests
D5 waste exemption: depositing waste samples for testing or analysis Allows the deposit and storage of waste samples when required to comply with or enforce specified regulations, or before testing and analysis for research
D7 waste exemption: burning waste in the open Allows the burning of plant tissue and untreated wood waste from joinery or manufacturing in the open air
D8 waste exemption: burning waste at a port under a Plant Health Notice Allows the burning of plant tissue waste, wood packaging and packing material waste at a port when a Plant Health Notice has been issued, to prevent the spread of plant diseases

Upper band waste exemption activity

Waste exemption Activity description
T8 waste exemption: mechanically treating end-of-life tyres Allows the treatment of waste end-of-life tyres for recovery by baling, shredding, peeling, shaving or granulating
T9 waste exemption: recovering scrap metal Allows the treatment of scrap metal for handling or recovery by sorting, grading, shearing by manual feed, baling, crushing or cutting with handheld equipment
U16 waste exemption: using depolluted end-of-life vehicles for parts Allows the reuse of parts from depolluted end-of-life vehicles in other vehicles

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