Guidance

Storing and treating uPVC plastic and rubber: RPS 312

Published 23 September 2024

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2024

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/storing-and-treating-upvc-plastic-and-rubber-rps-312/storing-and-treating-upvc-plastic-and-rubber-rps-312

This regulatory position statement (RPS) does not change your legal requirement to have an environmental permit for a waste operation when you store and treat mixed uPVC plastic and rubber (waste code 19 12 04) from windows and doors.

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 the storage and treatment of mixed uPVC plastic and rubber produced by prior mechanical treatment of uPVC windows and doors.

2. Conditions you must comply with

You must:

  • only treat the waste by optical sorting or density separation (or both) for recovery
  • only accept waste which has already been treated at another suitably authorised facility
  • store and treat the mixed uPVC plastic and rubber waste within a secure building with impermeable surfacing – you must take all reasonable precautions to prevent waste escaping and make sure members of the public cannot access it
  • 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:

  • store more than 200 tonnes of mixed and sorted waste uPVC plastic and rubber from windows and doors at any one time
  • store the waste where it is treated for more than 3 months before or after treatment
  • store the waste in piles greater than 100 cubic metres

3. Things to note

This RPS relates to an activity that the Environment Agency considers is potentially suitable to be an exemption under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

4. When you must check back

The Environment Agency will review this RPS by 31 July 2027

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.

This RPS remains in force until it is removed from GOV.UK or is otherwise identified as having been withdrawn.

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

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