Policy paper

Reforming the waste carrier broker and dealer system

Published 22 August 2025

Applies to England

Introduction

The current system of registration for waste carriers, brokers and dealers (CBD) makes it hard for regulators to target high-risk waste operators properly. Enforcement options are limited and the Environment Agency can only refuse or revoke registrations if set criteria are met. It does not differentiate between small and large players, or the risks posed by the types and quantities of waste handled or managed by them.

This is at odds with the other regulatory waste regimes which aim to deliver proportional charges and regulatory effort. As a result, CBD compliance and enforcement work has become reactive rather than proactive, and often only occurs following enforcement activity for other reasons.

We will update key regulations for people and businesses involved in transporting and managing waste. This will provide a wider level of regulatory tools, greater flexibility around enforcement, increased checks at application stage and funding for compliance monitoring activities, thus providing stronger powers to fight waste crime. The proposals will also join up the CBD regime with the other main regulatory system for the resources and waste sector, making it a simpler system for the industry and regulator.

Terminology

We will simplify the current terminology around waste carriers, brokers and dealers to ‘waste controllers’ and ‘waste transporters’ and assign legal responsibility to these new terms. This will more effectively link responsibility for the waste to those taking decisions on the fate of that waste.

Transporters

Transporters are those who are instructed by a controller to move waste between locations without input on the end destination and classification.

Examples include:

• hauliers
• contractors
• delivery drivers

Controllers

Controllers are those who:

• organise waste collection, its transportation or end destination
• make arrangements for its assessment and ensure it has been classified
• arrange the recovery or disposal of waste on behalf of others
• buy or sell waste.

Examples could include:

• brokers
• dealers
• consultants
• waste sites

This includes those who do not take physical possession of the waste when performing those activities.

Controller-transporters

Controller-transporters are those who act as a controller but also transport the waste.

Examples include:

• waste sites that control and transport waste
• skip companies
• waste collection companies

The move to environmental permitting

We will replace existing registrations with a ‘standard rules’ environmental permit or a registered exemption.

There will be 3 permit types:

• waste controller only
• waste transporter only
• a combined waste controller-transporter permit

Each permit type will be differentiated according to the activity carried out under the permit. We will also differentiate permits further by the scale of the operations undertaken and type of waste carried by the permit holder with additional tiers that take into consideration the type and volume of waste carried.

Smaller businesses

We recognise the concerns about impact on smaller businesses and this tiered approach will ensure that those carrying large amounts of the most at-risk waste types will be distinctly identified and charged accordingly. These tiers will be differentiated to cover 4 levels of risk, ensuring that additional charges and permit conditions will reflect the risk of waste transported and controlled.

Further detail on the types of standard rules permits and the conditions of these will be outlined in a subsequent Environment Agency consultation.

Requirements for waste producers

Waste producers are required under the waste duty of care to ensure their waste is classified and managed correctly through its complete journey and so they will not be required to apply for a permit or registered exemption. This applies as long as they are passing waste to a permitted waste site, a permitted waste controller or waste controller-transporter, or alternatively allowing an operator with a waste controller permit to make arrangements on their behalf.

If they pass waste to an operator who only holds a waste transporter permit, then waste producers will either need a registered exemption or a controller permit to ensure their waste is managed correctly through its complete journey. If they are transporting their own non-construction and demolition or hazardous waste under a certain volume, then they will be required to register an exemption.

Exemptions from a requirement to operate under a permit

There will be some exemptions from needing a permit. There will be registered and non-registered exemptions. Registered exemptions will need to be re-registered every 3 years. Some examples are below, although this list is not exhaustive.

Local authorities

Local authorities carrying out their statutory duty to collect household waste will be able to operate under a non-registered exemption.

Local authorities operating services collecting commercial and industrial waste will be required to apply for a permit, to ensure a level playing field with the commercial waste sector.

Charities

Charities and voluntary groups will be required to register an exemption when transporting or controlling non-saleable stock. This will give the Environment Agency access to information on these waste activities.

Not all charity and voluntary group activity will be in scope to require a registered exemption. Examples of situations where a registered exemption would not be needed include:

• transporting charitable donations and moving stock between shops, or to and from a central warehouse for sorting and storing
• groups collecting charitable donations for jumble sales

Charities operating a chargeable, commercial service will be required to apply for a permit. This is in order to maintain a level playing field between charities and private waste companies.

Waste managed by people who produce it in the course of business

People who transport or control more than a certain volume of construction or demolition waste, or waste that is subject to a higher level of control, which is produced by themselves in the course of their business, will be required to apply for the relevant standard rules permit.

For construction and demolition waste, this is because it is more likely than other types of waste to be disposed of inappropriately. For wastes subject to higher levels of control such as hazardous waste, this is due to the potential for serious harm to be caused.

The permitting framework will take into account the differing scales of activity.

Those who carry lower volumes of this type of construction or demolition waste (produced in the course of their business) will only be required to apply for a lower level of permit. They will not be required to undertake mandatory competence assessments.

Those who carry small amounts of hazardous waste produced during the course of their business will only be required to register an exemption and not apply for a permit.

The Environment Agency will consult on volumes that apply to these scenarios, and other details, as part of their standard rules permit consultation.

People who only transport or control low levels of non-construction or non-demolition waste, produced by themselves in the course of their business should be allowed to operate under a registered exemption. This scenario would cover, for example, a plumber who uses rags to clear up some dirty water or the offcuts of pipework they brought onto site to fix a pipe.

However, if a business removes third party waste produced in the course of their business they will be required to apply for a lower-level permit. This scenario is an extension of the one above with the addition of someone removing third party waste including waste created from materials that they have not brought onto the site themselves. An example could be a plumber taking away old radiators after fitting new ones.

Extractive industry waste

Extractive waste in England is controlled through both:

• the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016
• the Major Accident Off-Site Emergency Plan (Management of Waste from Extractive Industries) (England and Wales) Regulations 2009

Given these existing controls on waste from mines and quarries, and the future introduction of digital waste tracking, the transport and control of waste from mines and quarries will be required to operate under a registered exemption.

Agricultural waste

Companies transporting agricultural waste, or those that offer a take-back service for empty containers and unused product, will be required to apply for a permit.

Farmers transporting their own agricultural waste will only be required to operate under a registered exemption.

Animal by-products

Transport of most animal by-products (ABP) is already covered by the ABP regulations, designed to ensure ABP are suitably and safely handled to the satisfaction of Defra and the Animal Plant and Health Agency (APHA).

ABP that are covered by these regulations will therefore not be required to be permitted and instead will require a registered exemption.

Charging 

Charges will be set in line with the existing legislative charging framework for environmental permitting. Application fees will therefore cover the cost of determining an application alongside an additional fee that will cover the costs of monitoring compliance.

The new, 3-year transporter and controller permits we will introduce will require a single, up-front payment. This will be composed of 2 elements: an application fee to cover the costs of determining the application, and a subsistence fee to cover regulatory compliance costs over the 3 year lifetime of the permit. The overall fee will be paid up front, but the subsistence element will be refunded if the application is not successful.

Upon renewal, permit holders will pay a renewal fee and a further 3 years of subsistence.

As with permits, registered exemptions will need to be re-registered every 3 years. We anticipate that some of these registered exemptions will require a single, up-front payment.

Details about assumed levels of charges will be set out in the impact assessment for CBD reform which will be published alongside the legislation required to make these reforms. Charges will be proportionate to the size and activities of businesses, and the Environment Agency will be consulting on the associated charges separately before these are finalised.

Renewals and reviews

We will introduce chargeable permit renewals which will be needed on a regular basis. This will be light touch for existing permit holders and will require them to declare they are still meeting the conditions of their permit, and that their business details and required technical competence are up to date.

Renewals will be undertaken at a frequency of every 3 years. If a permit holder does not renew by the renewal date, then they will be required to submit a new, full application.

Demonstrating technical competence for permitted activities

Operator competence

The Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) contain a requirement for waste operators to demonstrate operator competence, of which technical competence is a part.

As waste transporters and controllers will be moved into the EPR they will be subject to these requirements. This means the Environment Agency must be satisfied those applicants are able to meet the conditions of the permit being applied for, including holding the correct level of technical competence.

The regulator will not grant a permit to a person it considers will not be the legal operator of that business or will not operate in accordance with the permit. This may include persons who have not followed permit conditions in the past or appear unlikely to follow permit conditions, and those with more serious and unspent criminal convictions.

The regulator will also have the power to suspend permits if they do not consider the operator to be meeting the requirements of the permit at any time during its lifetime.

Introduction of mandatory technical competence

Mandatory technical competence will be introduced for the permit holder and any nominated persons within the business.

As is the case for site permits, there will be 2 routes to demonstrate competence: individual and workplace based.

If a workplace competency route is taken, then the permit holder or nominated persons on the permit must be named as main point of contact. They will have responsibility for demonstrating the competence requirements are met. A nominated person must be an employee of the company and cannot be a nominated person or technical competence holder for any other permit. They must not be a contractor or consultant.

Those who already hold competence for waste sites (for example, Technically Competent Managers) will be required to undertake additional transporter or controller competence, due to the differing nature of the elements of technical competence needing to be demonstrated.

Applying the requirement for technical competence to waste controllers and transporters in a proportionate way will increase awareness of the importance of record keeping and the impacts of misclassification of waste and illegal disposal of waste. This, alongside the proposed digital waste tracking service, will increase compliance with regulation, will reduce waste crime within the industry and will create a more level playing field for legitimate waste operators.

How technical competence will be demonstrated

It is important that the ability to show technical competence is proportionate, flexible and accessible for all. We are continuing to work with industry and training providers to create 2 routes that will allow the wide range of businesses to choose the option that best suits their model.

Whatever the route chosen by an operator, it will be a permit condition that they ensure their workforce is suitably competent for their various roles in that organisation. If enforcement or compliance monitoring finds employees of an organisation to be acting in a way that breaches technical competence requirements, the operator will be liable.

Individual assessments

Although we are still working with industry to finalise the detail we anticipate that, where the individual assessment route is followed, the permit holder and any additional nominated persons would take a remote e-learning course before sitting an in-person test at a test centre (similar to the model used for driving theory tests). This would be a similar assessment method to the current Chartered Institute for Wastes Management (Waste Management Industry Training and Advisory Board) (CIWM(WAMITAB)) system for site permits but the content may differ in complexity.

WAMITAB is part of CIWM, the resources and waste sector professional body, and is an awarding body that develops qualifications for those working in the sector.

The requirement is expected to be assessed on a modular basis. For example, a nominated person for a transporter permit will only need to take modules relating to transporting waste, a controller will only need modules relating to handling waste, classification, choosing appropriate treatment, waste recovery and disposal options, and a controller-transporter will need all modules, including one for import and export if they carry out that activity.

As with site-based permits, individual employees would not necessarily need to demonstrate ‘full competence’ (and sit the external assessment) but will need to be able to demonstrate they are competent in the activities they are carrying out and have received adequate training. There will be a requirement to ensure training is cascaded to all staff. Details of this requirement and how this will be evidenced will be included in the subsequent Environment Agency standard rules consultation.

Workplace competence

Alternatively, a workplace-based qualification could be obtained, which would allow the workplace to demonstrate competence rather than requiring individual qualifications. We are working with industry to develop the details of this framework. This would be similar to the current system run by Energy & Utility Skills (EU Skills) for site permits.

Cost

Details about assumed costs for these assessments will be set out in the impact assessment for waste carriers, brokers, and dealers reform which will be published alongside the legislation required to make these reforms. They are not, however, anticipated to be the same scale of costs as the existing WAMITAB scheme due to the lighter-touch approach to learning.

Those who are required to register an exemption

Those who are required to register an exemption (see Exemptions from a requirement to operate under a permit) are carrying out low-risk activities. They are still required to meet their duty of care requirements, but we consider requiring them to achieve and demonstrate competence as outlined above too burdensome for little practical benefit. We will therefore not be requiring those registering exemptions to demonstrate competence.

Transition period for the introduction of competence requirements

The introduction of mandatory competence is a significant change for the industry, and both operators and training providers will need adequate time to prepare. Therefore, anyone applying for a permit in the first year of the system going live will only be required to enter proof of their technical competence within one year of that go-live date. If this is not submitted within the required timescale the regulators will have the ability to suspend permits until this is received.

For example: if the new system started on 1 April, then an applicant would have until 31 March the following year to have entered a valid technical competence assessment. This is regardless of when their application was approved during that time.

From a year after the go-live date, evidence of competence will need to be submitted as part of any permit application.

Ongoing competence

Evidence of continued competence will be required at point of renewal (every 3 years) for a renewal to be granted and must also be available during the life of a permit if requested by the regulator during audits. The requirement to cascade competence training to all employees will continue to apply.

Evidence of continued competence will be applicable regardless of whether a business has taken the individual assessment or workplace approach. They will have to show evidence of up-to-date assessments or certificates as applicable.

How will technical competence be monitored and enforced?

Applicants will be required to provide evidence that they, and if applicable other nominated person(s), have acquired the relevant level of competence. If this is not provided, the regulator can refuse the application.

For those applying for a permit in the transition phase, if they do not submit the required evidence by the allocated time frame, the regulator can suspend the permit until it is satisfied competence has been attained.

If, during audits, the permit holder cannot provide evidence of adequate staff training and therefore the staff are considered not to be operating at the appropriate level of competence, the permit may be suspended until the regulators are satisfied competency is in place.

If an employee is involved in a breach of permit, or good practice, then the permit holder is responsible. If they cannot demonstrate a suitable level of staff competence, then the regulator may suspend the permit until this is put in place.

Permits may also be revoked if, for example, other compliance and enforcement tools fail to protect the environment, or the permit holder is no longer considered to be competent, or there is a pattern of problems or repeated issues with competence or behaviour.

Advertising

It will be a permit condition that permit numbers are displayed on advertising. This will also allow the Environment Agency to carry out desktop compliance work and identify businesses showing incorrect or fraudulent permit numbers in their advertising.

We will also make it a permit condition for permit numbers to be readily accessible to the regulator or local authority upon the inspection of a vehicle.

Both these aspects will be part of the Environment Agency standard rules permit consultation which they will run in due course.

Compliance and enforcement

Compliance

Permit costs are for the application for and subsistence of the permit and do not cover enforcement activity. They cover compliance monitoring such as:

• roadside stop checks
• digital and desk-based audits
• on-site audits

The type of compliance check will depend on the type of permit held, the tier and associated level of risk.

The final compliance framework model is being finalised by the Environment Agency.

Enforcement

Bringing waste transporters and controllers into the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) provides a robust enforcement framework, allowing the regulator greater flexibility compared to the existing CBD regime.

Part 4 of the EPR details the enforcement and offences available under the EPR. These will be applicable to waste transporter, controller, and transporter-controller permits. We aim to ensure that our reforms maintain equivalence for local authorities with their current enforcement powers. The Environment Agency will publish guidance on enforcement.

Enforcement work is covered by the Environment Agency’s ongoing Grant-in-Aid funding. Additionally, the Environment Agency will now have the full regulatory toolbox at their disposal for enforcing the EPR in relation to these waste controllers and transporters.

Implementation

Once the new system is ‘live’, those with an existing upper-tier registration will be required to apply for the relevant permit when their registration is due for renewal, thereby naturally creating a staggered approach over 3 years.

The Environment Agency will notify all current upper-tier registrants to make them aware of the changes and of the need to apply for a permit (or register an exemption if applicable) when their registration expires.

Those with existing lower tier-registrations, where there is no requirement to renew, and who will be required to either register an exemption or apply for a permit, must do so within 12 months of the system going ‘live’. After this time, their lower-tier registration will cease to exist.

New applicants (who do not already hold an upper- or lower-tier registration) will be required to apply for a permit or register an exemption (whichever is applicable) from the date the new system goes live.

The link to duty of care

The duty of care legislation and code of practice will be amended in due course to reflect these reforms and the introduction of a digital waste tracking service. We will also consider the need for a wider awareness campaign aimed at the general public, to make it easier for them to meet their duty of care requirements.

The devolved governments

We are currently working closely with the Environment Agency and the devolved governments to assess our options to mitigate any risks arising from a differential approach across UK nations, ensuring operators register with the correct authority and to prevent the intentional exploitation of this system.