Guidance

Voluntary litter collection and waste management: RPS 212

Updated 8 August 2024

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relaxing-certain-waste-regulatory-requirements-for-volunteers-and-waste-sites-involved-in-voluntary-litter-collection-rps-212/relaxing-certain-waste-regulatory-requirements-for-volunteers-and-waste-sites-involved-in-voluntary-litter-collection-rps-212

This regulatory position statement (RPS) does not change your legal requirement to:

  • register as a waste carrier where you transport waste as part of your business activity
  • complete a transfer note when you transfer waste
  • have a waste permit when you bulk up and or store waste unless you have a relevant exemption
  • only send waste to a site that is legally able to accept that waste, because it is has a relevant waste permit or waste exemption
  • only accept waste at a permitted site if your permit allows you to accept that waste

when you manage or receive waste from voluntary litter collections.

However, the Environment Agency will not normally take enforcement action against you if you do not comply with these legal requirements 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

Activity this RPS applies to

This RPS applies to volunteers who collect, bulk up, transport and store litter produced during litter collection events. It allows volunteers to:

  • transport the litter collected from voluntary litter picking events to a collection point, or to a permitted site that stores similar waste types, such as a household waste recycling centre (HWRC) without registering as a waste carrier or completing a waste transfer note
  • temporarily store the collected litter in a secure place
  • take the collected litter to a permitted site that stores similar waste types, such as a HWRC where waste code 20 03 03 – litter is not listed on the permit

It also allows the collected litter to be accepted by a permitted site that stores similar waste types, such as a HWRC.

Litter picking events take place regularly throughout England. These are usually run by volunteers who collect plastics, cans and other litter from their local environment and take it to their local household waste site. Members of the public also regularly collect litter and take it to local household waste sites.

Many household waste sites have permits that do not allow them to accept this litter.

The waste regulations also require people transporting other people’s waste to register as a waste carrier and complete a waste transfer note.

Conditions you must comply with

You must:

  • store the collected litter securely so that it cannot escape and members of the public cannot gain access to it

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

You must not:

  • store the collected litter at any temporary site for more than 5 days before removal to a suitable permitted waste site

  • collect or at any temporary site store litter containing hazardous waste

  • collect or at any temporary site store more than 10 tonnes of litter at any one time.

When you must check back

The Environment Agency intends to review this RPS by 30 April 2025.

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 has 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.

If you cannot comply with this RPS

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

Contact the Environment Agency

If you have any questions about this RPS email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk and put ‘RPS 212’ in the subject.

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