Prepare a management system for a deposit of waste for recovery activity

When you apply for a permit to deposit waste for recovery, you'll need to tell us about your management system.

Your management system must identify and minimise the risk of pollution from your activity.

You should follow the general guidance on how to develop an environment management system (GOV.UK).

Your management system must also include information about:​

• waste acceptance procedures
• information waste producers must give you 
• which waste must be tested and how
  
  

Waste acceptance procedures

Your management system must include the waste acceptance procedures you will follow when you accept waste onto your site.

Your waste acceptance procedures must ensure you only accept waste that:

• is suitable for your activity
• is allowed by your permit
• you considered in your risk assessment for your permit application

Your waste acceptance procedures will also help you to:

• make sure the waste does not cause pollution
• decide which wastes you will accept and from which sources
• prevent waste arriving at your site that is not authorised by your permit
• provide supporting evidence when you develop your permit surrender application

Your waste acceptance procedures must include:

• what evidence you will need from producers to confirm the waste matches its description
• measures you will take to make sure the waste is not contaminated
• criteria you will use to decide whether or not to accept the waste, for example the results of waste testing
• other criteria you will use to make sure you only accept waste that your permit allows

We will consider your own site-specific criteria for accepting the waste.

Where you develop your own criteria, the upper concentration limit of any contaminant must reflect the outcome of your hydrogeological risk assessment. This is to confirm that the waste you accept will not cause pollution.

If you have a landfill site, you can use the Landfill Directive waste acceptance criteria.

Information waste producers need to give you

Your procedures must also set out what information you need producers to give you about the waste. In addition to the details the producer gives you under the waste duty of care, this may also include the:

• original source of the waste
• previous use of any site that generates excavation or demolition waste
• details of any treatment used to remove unsuitable waste
• results of any waste tests

Waste producers must classify and assess waste as hazardous or non-hazardous and make sure it is described accurately. This helps:

• them work out where they are allowed to send their waste
• you decide if you are allowed to accept it
  
  

Waste that must be tested

The waste producer must test the waste and give you the results of the analysis if the waste has come from:

• land that has or may have been contaminated by previous use
• a waste treatment or transfer facility
• any site where you suspect the waste may have been contaminated

This also applies if you are going to use the waste as a substitute for subsoil or topsoil.

Wastes that do not need to be tested

Waste producers do not need to test their waste (except to test it for classification), if they are in the following list of waste codes and:

• come from a single source
• are well characterised and described
• carry no risk of contamination, for example from a site that has not previously been developed

Waste codes that do not need analysis (providing your permit authorises them) are:

If you think the waste may be contaminated and the waste producer has not provided any analysis results to satisfy you that it is not, you must not accept it.

Testing the waste yourself

You must test the waste you are using in your recovery activity to confirm it matches the description and any analysis results provided by the waste producer. This is very important if you are using waste that is not inert. Inert waste means waste that does not undergo any significant physical, chemical or biological changes, will not physically or chemically react, burn, biodegrade or adversely affect other matter it comes into contact with.

You should test the waste you have accepted 1 to 3 times a year for each waste stream. Your testing frequency will depend on your knowledge of the waste and its variability. You must specify your testing frequency in your waste acceptance procedures.

Where the waste producer has provided you with waste analysis results, you must test the waste using the same methods and techniques, if you know them. Where the waste has not previously been tested, you must use accredited test methods that show the level of contamination is below your waste acceptance criteria limits.