On 15 January 2018, Defra and the Welsh Government published a consultation on “proposals to tackle crime and poor performance in the waste sector and introduce a new fixed penalty for the waste duty of care” (the 2018 consultation). This focussed on the standard of operator competence at permitted waste sites, reforming the waste exemptions element within the environmental permitting regime to prevent the use of exemptions to cover illegal activity, and introducing a fixed penalty notice for breaches of the household waste duty of care.
The summary of responses was published on 3 July 2018. HM Government’s response relating to raising the standard of operator competence at permitted waste sites and introducing fixed penalty notices for breaches of the household waste duty of care was published on 26 November 2018.
This document sets out the Government's approach for reforms to the waste exemptions regime, having considered the 2018 consultation responses. Supplementary government response - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and associated Annexes.
It is intended that the amendments to the Environmental Permitting Regulations will be made within the next year. In particular there are changes to Exemption U1 - Use of waste in construction. The proposed revisions mean that the U1 exemption will be more restrictive than it is currently in relation to the use of waste. The name will also change to “Use of wastes to construct and maintain surfaces and barriers”.