Guidance

Accepting shredded electronic storage media at sites permitted to accept hazardous WEEE: RPS 324

Published 24 January 2025

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/accepting-shredded-electronic-storage-media-at-sites-permitted-to-accept-hazardous-weee-rps-324/accepting-shredded-electronic-storage-media-at-sites-permitted-to-accept-hazardous-weee-rps-324

This regulatory position statement (RPS) does not change your legal requirement to comply with an environmental permit for a waste operation or installation when you accept shredded electronic storage media coded as 19 02 04* for storage or treatment.

However, the Environment Agency will not normally take enforcement action against you if you do not comply with this legal requirement provided that:

  • your activity meets the description set out in this RPS

  • you comply with the conditions set out in this RPS

In addition your activity must not cause (or be likely to cause) pollution of the environment or harm to human health, and must not:

  • cause a risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals

  • cause a nuisance through noise or odours

  • adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest

1. Activity this RPS applies to

This RPS applies to accepting shredded electronic storage media at permitted sites that can currently accept waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) with the waste code 16 02 15* hazardous components removed from discarded equipment on their permit.

2. Conditions you must comply with

You must:

  • have and comply with an environmental permit for WEEE storage and, or treatment

  • have waste code 16 02 15* listed for accepting waste on your permit

  • code this specific waste stream as 19 02 04* premixed wastes composed of at least one hazardous waste (shredded electronic storage media from data destruction only)

  • treat any shredded material containing plastic (including printed circuit boards) as a persistent organic pollutant (POPs) waste unless you have firm evidence to the contrary

  • send any POPs waste to a facility that will make sure it is irreversibly transformed or destroyed

  • store shredded electronic storage media on impermeable pavement under cover or in a building

  • comply with the regulations on managing hazardous waste which require you to consign hazardous waste following collection and transfer

  • keep records for 2 years from the date of the last use of the RPS to show that you have complied with this RPS and make these records available to the Environment Agency on request

You must not:

  • accept shredded electronic storage media if you are not permitted to accept it, do not have the waste code 16 02 15* on your permit, or only have an exemption including S2 or T11. 

  • handle shredded storage media other than in accordance with your permit conditions

3. Things to note

This RPS links to RPS 309 on shredding electronic storage media. The Environment Agency WEEE coding guidance Classify some waste electrical devices and components, and wastes from their treatment states that “mixed wastes, containing plastic from the treatment of WEEE devices that are hazardous and POPs waste” should be coded as 19 02 04*.

Most permitted sites which accept this WEEE waste stream do not currently have this code on their permit. This RPS allows these specific permitted sites to continue to take this WEEE waste stream until the Environment Agency have updated permits to include this waste code. Permits will be updated at the time of permit review or as requested by the operator under a minor variation to your permit. 

Permitted sites which accept WEEE (new permit applications made since 13 July 2022 or existing permits that have been either varied) must operate in line with our current WEEE: Appropriate Measures guidance technical guidance for regulated industry sectors: environmental permitting specifically “Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE): appropriate measures for permitted facilities”.

4. When you must check back

The Environment Agency intends to review this RPS by 24 January 2028.

The Environment Agency can withdraw or amend this regulatory position before the review date if they consider it necessary. This includes where the activity that this RPS relates to have not changed.

You will need to check back from time to time, including at and before the review date, to see if this RPS still applies.

You can subscribe to email updates about this RPS. These will tell you if the RPS has changed and when it has been withdrawn.

This RPS remains in force until it is removed from GOV.UK or is otherwise identified as having been withdrawn.

5. If you cannot comply with this RPS

If you operate under this RPS but can no longer comply with it, you must:

6. Contact the Environment Agency

If you have any questions about this RPS email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk and put ‘RPS 324’ in the subject.

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