Guidance

Storing waste PFOA-containing firefighting foams and wastes from their decontamination and replacement: RPS 376

Published 7 September 2026

Applies to England

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

• have an environmental permit where one is required
• comply with the conditions of your environmental permit
• comply with the requirements under the UK persistent organic pollutants (POPs) regulation

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

1. Activity this RPS applies to

This RPS applies to the storage of PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) foam wastes by producers, where both of the following points apply:

• the waste is managed under the non-waste framework directive (NWFD) exemptions NWFD 2 or NWFD 3
• the waste is awaiting destruction by high temperature incineration

This RPS does not apply where the activity is carried on as part of another activity which requires a permit.

This RPS does not apply to PFOA-containing wastes arising from activation of fire suppression systems (whether accidental or emergency incident response) where both of the following points apply:

• the wastes are not compatible with high temperature incineration plant acceptance criteria
• alternative physico-chemical treatment methods are necessary

2. Conditions you must comply with

You must:

• store liquid PFOA foam wastes in a container with secondary containment
• store the PFOA foam wastes in accordance with all other conditions that are required by the relevant exemption NWFD 2 or NWFD 3
• dispose of or recover the PFOA foam waste in accordance with Article 7 of the UK POPs regulation, without undue delay
• notify the Environment Agency by email at chemicalrestrictions@environment-agency.gov.uk with RPS 376 in the subject before you use this RPS, stating which NWFD exemption you are relying on (NWFD 2 or 3)

You must send evidence of disposal agreements to chemicalrestrictions@environment-agency.gov.uk with:

• written confirmation that an appropriately permitted site will accept your PFOA foam waste for final disposal
• the expected date your PFOA foam waste will be accepted at the final disposal destination, when possible

You must:

• keep records for 3 years from the date of the last use of the RPS to show that you have complied with this RPS
• make these records available to the Environment Agency on request

You must not:

• compromise your capacity to securely store other wastes
• allow other wastes to become contaminated with PFOA from your PFOA foam wastes
• carry out treatment of PFOA foam wastes
• store PFOA foam wastes beyond the expiry of this RPS

3. Things to note

This RPS has been produced because:

• high temperature incineration plants in the UK are currently working at capacity for destruction of PFOA-containing firefighting foams and related wastes (‘PFOA foam wastes’)
• PFOA foam wastes are not allowed to be exported for disposal

‘PFOA’ means perfluorooctanoic acid, its salts and PFOA-related compounds as defined in Annex I of the UK POPs regulation.

For the purpose of this RPS, ‘PFOA foam wastes’ means wastes containing or contaminated by PFOA and arising from the removal, decontamination, and disposal of PFOA-containing firefighting foams. Their use was banned from 5 July 2025 under Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), which is assimilated law as amended (‘the UK POPs regulation’).

PFOA foam wastes may include:

• foam concentrates, mixtures and flushings from fire suppression system decontamination
• related personal protective equipment (PPE), absorbents, containers and equipment that has not been decontaminated

‘Secondary containment’ means there is a system to stop liquid that has leaked from the first container, from escaping the place where it is being securely stored. See CIRIA C736F.

When assessing the waste storage capacity at your site, consider the amount of waste that could be generated if a fire suppression system is activated during an incident.

PFOA foam waste that is being stored and is not awaiting high temperature incineration is only covered by this RPS if it cannot be disposed of or recovered until the PFOA-containing fraction has been incinerated. Examples may include metal containers or suppression system components that:

• will be sent for recovery of metals but contain PFOA foam waste that is awaiting high temperature incineration
• having previously contained PFOA, have not yet been decontaminated

Producers and holders of POPs need to comply with the UK POPs regulation. The requirement remains to dispose or recover wastes that consist, contain, or are contaminated by PFOA in accordance with the requirements of Article 7, without undue delay.

Check the guidance on how to manage POPs.

4. When you must check back

The Environment Agency will review this RPS by 5 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. Use the ‘Get emails about this page’ feature on the RPS publication page.

5. If you cannot comply with this RPS

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

• stop the activity to which this RPS relates
• tell the Environment Agency immediately by contacting chemicalrestrictions@environment-agency.gov.uk with RPS 376 in the subject

6. Contact the Environment Agency

If you have any questions about this RPS, email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk with RPS 376 in the subject.