Guidance

Temporary community waste collection points: RPS 223

Updated 2 October 2025

This regulatory position statement (RPS) does not change your legal requirement to have an environmental permit when you use temporary collection points in local communities for householders’ waste.

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) environmental pollution or harm to human health, and must not:

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

• cause a nuisance through noise, odours, smoke, dust or vermin

• adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest

When this RPS applies

This RPS only applies to:

• waste collection authorities
• contracted providers working for a waste collection authority

This RPS applies when you put skips or suitable containers for waste collection in your communities to:

• reduce fly-tipping
• target specific types of waste

Conditions you must comply with

At each collection point you must only store up to:

• 30 cubic metres of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
• 100 cubic metres of non-hazardous waste that is not WEEE that will be recovered elsewhere
• 5 cubic metres of any other waste

You must only store waste in secure containers or vehicles intended to carry waste. ‘Secure’ means that you take all reasonable precautions to make sure that waste cannot escape and that no waste is stored directly on the ground.

You must:

• make sure the collection point is supervised by staff who are given training on how to comply with this RPS
• 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 waste for longer than 7 days at the temporary site
• mix different types of waste
• carry out any kind of treatment on the waste other than directing different types of waste into different containers
• store any hazardous waste (other than WEEE)

When you must check back

The Environment Agency will review this RPS by 31 January 2026. You will need to check back then to see if it still applies or if you need to apply for an environmental permit.

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.

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 enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk with RPS 322 in the subject

Contact the Environment Agency

If you have any questions about this RPS, email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk with RPS 322 in the subject.