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1. Overview

Most businesses have to pay to register waste exemptions. Charges are made up of a registration charge and a compliance charge. There is no VAT to pay on waste exemptions.

Farmers pay a capped charge for certain exemptions that are often used on farms. See Annex B: Farming exemptions for the list of farming exemptions.

Businesses that work only for a charitable purpose do not have to pay for waste exemptions.

2. Registration chargeÌý

You pay £56 registration charge each time you register one or more exemptions on a site. This charge covers the Environment Agency’s costs for registering exemptions.

3. Compliance chargeÌý

You pay a compliance charge for each exemption. The cost of the compliance charge depends on which band the exemption is in.

There are 4 bands: ÌýÌý

• Upper band – £1,236Ìý(this band applies to T8, T9 and U16 exemptions only)
• Band 1 – £420Ìý
• Band 2 – £212Ìý
• Band 3 – £30ÌýÌýÌý

The compliance charge covers the Environment Agency’s costs for checking that exemption conditions are followed.

3.1 Discounts to the compliance charge

There’s a discount if you register more than one exemption in bands upper, 1 and 2.ÌýÌý

You pay the full compliance charge for the most expensive exemption, and a discounted charge for every additional exemption in bands upper, 1 and 2.ÌýÌý

There is no discount for band 3 exemptions.

Full and discounted chargesÌý

Band	Full charge	Discounted charge
Upper	£1,236	£227
1	£420	£76
2	£212	£76
3	£30	No discount

Go toÌýAnnex A: Exemptions and charging bands for the full list of waste exemptions and the bands they are in.

4. Farming exemptionsÌý

Farmers can register any number of exemptions from a list of exemptions that farmers often use (‘farming exemptions’), for a capped total of £88, plus the £56 registration charge.

If your farming exemptions add up to less than £88, you pay the lower amount. Ìý

Farmers can also register exemptions that are not on the list of farming exemptions and pay the standard compliance charge for those exemptions.

Read the guidance on choosing the right waste exemptions for your activity to check if you need any other exemptions.

Go toÌýAnnex B: Farming exemptions to see the list of farming exemptions.

5. Paying for exemptionsÌý

You can pay for exemptions with a debit or credit card when you register using theÌýwaste exemption service. The service will calculate what you owe before you pay anything.Ìý

You can also pay by bank transfer. You’ll get an email from the registration service with details of how to pay. Check your spam mailbox if you do not see the email.Ìý

Your exemption will be on the and valid for 3 years.

You will not need to make another payment until you register again.

There’s a different process for multiple site and linear network registrations. See sections 6 and 7.

6. Multiple site registrationsÌýÌý

A multiple site registration is one where the same exemptions are registered at 30 or more sites.

You pay:

• a compliance charge for each exemption multiplied by the number of sites
• one registration charge to cover all the sites in the registration

You pay the full compliance charge for the most expensive exemption at each site, and a discounted charge for every additional exemption in bands upper, 1 and 2.ÌýÌýÌýÌý

Examples

A multiple site registration of 2 x band 1 exemptions at 50 sites would cost:ÌýÌý

• £420 (band 1 compliance charge) x 50 = £21,000ÌýÌý

• £76 (discounted band 1 compliance charge) x 50 = £3,800ÌýÌý

• £56 registration charge x 1 = £56Ìý

ÌýThe total charge for this registration would be £24,856ÌýÌý

The table shows how the charging scheme applies to a registration of 4 exemptions from bands 1, 2 and 3. It compares the costs for a single-site registration and multiple site registrations of 30 and 125 sites.

	Charge per site	Charge for 30 sites	Charge for 125 sites
Exemption in band 1	£420	£12,600	£52,500
Additional exemption in band 1	£76 (discounted)	£2,280	£9,500
Exemption in band 2	£76 (discounted)	£2,280	£9,500
Exemption in band 3	£30	£900	£3,750
Registration charge	£56	£56	£56
VAT exempt	£0	£0	£0
Total charge	£658	£18,116	£75,306

How to pay

Fill in the registration form and email it to waste-exemptions@environment-agency.gov.uk.Ìý

The Environment Agency will:ÌýÌý

• contact you with payment details

• send your registration number and proof of payment

You can pay by credit or debit card or by bank transfer.

7. Linear networksÌý

Linear network registrations are charged according to the exemptions and number of ‘operational areas’ within the network.Ìý

ÌýA simple A-B operational area is identified by grid references for 2 location points. The location points are the start and end points (start point A and end point B) where the waste activity takes place.Ìý

You pay:Ìý

• a compliance charge for each exemption in each operational areaÌýÌý

• one registration charge of £56 for all the operational areas

You pay a discounted compliance charge if you register additional exemptions in bands upper, 1 and 2.

Example

The table shows how the charging scheme applies to a linear registration of 3 exemptions from bands 1, 2 and 3 along a simple A-B operational area.

It compares the costs for the same exemptions registered along 3 simple A-B operational areas.Ìý

	Charge for 1 operational area	Charge for 3 operational areas
U1 exemption (band 1)	£420	£1,260
D1 exemption (band 2)	£76 (discounted charge)	£228
U12 exemption (band 3)	£30	£90
Registration charge	£56	£56
VAT exempt	£0	£0
Total charge	£582	£1,634

Complex registrations

If your waste activity takes place across a range of operational areas and complex networks, the Environment Agency will discuss the registration and charges with you.Ìý

You’ll need to supply a map with the registration form to show where your waste activity is taking place, instead of grid references for the start and end points.Ìý

The Environment Agency will assess your details and contact you.Ìý

Paying for a linear registrationÌý

Fill in the registration form and email it to waste-exemptions@environment-agency.gov.uk.ÌýInclude your map if you need to.

You can pay by credit or debit card or by bank transfer.ÌýÌý

The Environment Agency will:ÌýÌý

• contact you with paymentÌýdetailsÌý

• send your registration number and proof of payment

8. Businesses that register free Ìý

Exemptions are free if you are a charity. To be a charity, all of your organisation’s aims and purposes must be exclusively charitable. Your organisation must also operate for the public benefit.Ìý

Read the Charity Commission’s list and descriptions of charitable purposes to find out if your organisation falls within one of the 13 areas of charitable activity.

It’s free to register aÌýT28 exemption. You must be authorised under theÌý.

You cannot register free online – you need to call the Environment Agency to register by phone.

9. T11 waste exemption:ÌýWEEEÌý

T11 waste exemption: repairing or refurbishing waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)Ìýis not included in the charging bands.

It costs £1,221 to register T11 for 3 years. You cannot register T11 online – you need to useÌýform WEEEX001.

9. Requesting a refundÌý

You can claim a full refund within 21 days of registering if you make a mistake or change your mind.Ìý

You can also request a full or partial refund any time while your registration is active, for any of the following reasons:Ìý

• accidental overpayment or a system error (full refund)Ìý
• duplicate registration (full refund)Ìý
• exemption is superseded by permit, unless it’s a farming exemption (pro rata refund)Ìý
• the business doing the activity has closed down (pro rata refund)Ìý
• an individual holding the exemption has died (pro rata refund)Ìý

Contact the Environment Agency if you need a refund.

10. ContactÌýthe Environment AgencyÌý

Annex A: Exemptions and charging bands

Waste exemption	Band
S1: Storing waste in secure containers	1
S2: Storing waste at a secure site	1
S3: Storing sludge	2
T1: Treating certain waste to reuse or recycle	2
T2: Recovering textiles	2
T4: Storing and preparing for further treatment	1
T5: Screening and blending waste	1
T6: Treating waste wood and plant matter	1
T8: Mechanically treating end-of-life tyres	Upper
T9: Recovering scrap metal	Upper
T10: Sorting waste for recycling	1
T12: Manually treating waste	1
T13: Treating waste food	2
T14: Emptying and crushing oil filters from vehicles	2
T15: Treating waste aerosol cans	2
T16: Treating toner and ink cartridges for reuse	2
T17: Crushing waste fluorescent tubes	2
T18: Removing water from clay and paints	3
T19: Treating edible oil and fat to produce biodiesel	2
T20: Treating waste at a water treatment works	3
T21: Recovering waste at waste water treatment works	1
T23: Aerobic composting	2
T24: Anaerobic digestion on farms	1
T25: Anaerobic digestion not done on a farm	1
T26: Using a wormery to compost kitchen waste	3
T28: Sorting and denaturing controlled drugs for disposal	No charge
T29: Carbon filtering non-hazardous pesticide washings	3
T30: Recovering silver from photography and printing	2
T31: Recover monopropylene glycol from aircraft antifreeze fluids	2
T32: Treating waste in a biobed or biofilter	3
T33: Recovering central heating oil by filtration	2
U1: Using waste in construction	1
U2: Using end-of-life tyre bales in construction	2
U3: Using waste in creative installations	3
U4: Burning waste as fuel in a small appliance	2
U5: Using biodiesel produced from waste as fuel	2
U6: Using sludge to reseed a waste water treatment	3
U7: Using effluent to clean a highway gravel bed	3
U8: Using waste for a specific purpose	2
U9: Using waste to manufacture finished goods	1
U10: Spreading waste to benefit agricultural land	2
U11: Spreading waste on non-agricultural land	2
U12: Using mulch	3
U13: Spreading plant matter where it was grown, to benefit soil	3
U14: Mixing ash back into soil	3
U15: Mixing pig and poultry ash with manure	2
U16: Using depolluted end-of-life vehicles for parts	Upper
D1: Depositing waste from dredging inland waters	2
D2: Depositing waste from train toilets	3
D3: Depositing waste from a portable toilet	3
D4: Depositing diseased crops under a Plant Health	3
D5: Depositing waste samples for testing or analysis	3
D6: Incinerating waste produced on site	2
D7: Burning plant and untreated wood waste where it’s produced	3
D8: Burning waste at a port under a Plant Health Notice	3

Annex B: Farming exemptions

Farmers can register some or all of the following exemptions for the £88 capped compliance charge, if they are registered to their farm:Ìý

• U1: Using waste in constructionÌýÌý
• U4: Burning waste as fuel in a small applianceÌýÌý
• U8: Using waste for a specific purposeÌý
• U10: Spreading waste to benefit agricultural landÌýÌý
• U12: Using mulchÌý
• U13: Spreading plant matterÌýÌý
• U14: Mixing ash back into soil
• U15: Mixing pig and poultry ash with manureÌý
• D1: Depositing waste from dredging inland watersÌýÌý
• D3: Depositing waste from a portable toilet
• D4: Depositing diseased crops under a Plant Health NoticeÌýÌý
• D6: Incinerating waste produced on siteÌý
• D7: Burning plant and untreated wood waste where it’s producedÌýÌý
• T1: Treating certain waste to reuse or recycleÌý
• T23: Aerobic compostingÌý
• T29: Carbon filtering non-hazardous pesticide washingsÌý
• T32: Treating waste in a biobed or biofilter