Environment Agency and waste transfer notes

The Environment Agency has regulations for waste collection, handling and storage.

This page is intended as guidance only, and as such the site disclaimer applies - use this information at your own risk. Please check with the EA and HMRC directly for the current regulations.

Introduction

So long as oil collection is for personal use and not for profit, the Environment Agency does not regulate collectors under Schedule 1 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations.

The old scheme of Low Risk Waste codes is now depricated, however the Environment Agency's biodiesel regulatory position statement still refers to these.

Although commercial regulation does not apply, you will still need to make sure that you are complying with the key limits and conditions, and duty of care requirements must also be met.

Processing

We would not recommend exceeding the old limits for LRW 003 without consulting the Environment Agency directly, in case there is any impact from the new legislation.

From the old appendix A code 003:

• The secure storage of up to 5000 litres of waste cooking oil (purified fat of plant or animal origin) destined for recovery.
• The secure storage of waste derived biodiesel (a fuel derived from the treatment of waste cooking oil or animal fat).
• The recovery of waste derived biodiesel as a fuel in motor vehicles.
• The treatment of up to 250 litres at anytime of waste cooking oil to produce biodiesel.

Definition of secure: For the purpose of Appendix A a container, building or place is secure in relation to waste kept in it if all reasonable precautions are taken to ensure that the waste cannot escape from it and members of the public are unable to gain access to the waste.

Collection

If the oil is for your own personal use, you do not need to register as a waste carrier - although you still need to complete Waste Transfer Notes.

Waste Transfer Notes

The Environment Agency expects restaurants, as producers of waste, to prove their Duty of Care - that is, that they are appropriately disposing of their waste. Failure to dispose of waste correctly can result in large fines - especially if oil waste is placed into skips or poured down the drain, so it is in the best interests of restaurants to have an oil collector.

Collectors are required by the Environment Agency to provide an audit trail for waste transferred from the producer to the collector. This document takes the form of a Waste Transfer Note, which must be signed by both the restaurant and the collector and retained for at least two years.

Filling in a Waste Transfer Note

Download one of these example templates:

• Environment Agency pdf, printable version Suitable for single transfers.
• Environment Agency pdf, electronic version. Compile on screen, printable and saveable. Suitable for single transfers.
• Excel/OpenOffice format Waste Transfer Note suitable for single transfers or regular 'season ticket' collections.

Two copies should be made, both signed, the transferor and transferee retaining one each.

Season tickets can be issued to cover a period up to 12 months, but only where there are no changes to the parties involved in the transfer or the place where the oil is transferred over that period. It is advisable for the collector to maintain a record of individual collections separately to assist with producing totals between specified dates.

Waste Regulation Codes

In the Waste Regulation Codes section, enter 20 01 25.

This is an EU wide code as defined by List of Wastes (2000/532/EC) corresponding to "edible oil and fat".

Collection Authority

In this section, you would tick the box for 'Exempt from requirement to register as a carrier' and explain that you are collecting the oil or fat to make biodiesel for your own personal use.

A waste transfer note is not needed if waste oil or fat is being transported between private individuals making Biodiesel for their own personal use.