Guidance

Storing fly-tipped waste and waste from trash screens and litter bins: RPS 60

Updated 14 August 2025

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/temporary-secure-storage-of-fly-tipped-waste/storing-fly-tipped-waste-and-waste-from-trash-screens-and-litter-bins-rps-60

This regulatory position statement (RPS) does not change your legal requirement to have an environmental permit where one is required; nor to register an activity as exempt where you are required to do so.

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 meet 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 the temporary storage of the following waste on land other than where it was produced:

  • fly-tipped waste
  • waste taken from trash screens (structures that reduce the amount of litter and debris entering culverts, outfalls, or channels in a watercourse)
  • waste from public litter bins

The storage of this waste must be before it is collected for recovery or disposal elsewhere.

Conditions you must comply with

You must:

  • be the landowner or have responsibility for clearing land where fly-tipped waste has been dumped, trash screens have been cleared, or litter bins are located
  • be the landowner or be responsible for the site where the waste is to be temporarily stored
  • store the waste on an impermeable surface
  • store the waste securely so that it cannot escape and members of the public are unable to gain access to it
  • store trash screen waste so that any liquid is captured and contained
  • make sure that waste is properly assessed, described and classified as required by the waste classification technical guidance
  • make sure any hazardous waste is consigned in line with the hazardous waste regulations and you comply with the waste duty of care for any non-hazardous waste
  • 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 20 cubic metres of non-hazardous waste at any one site at any one time
  • store more than 5 cubic metres of hazardous waste at any one site at any one time
  • store the waste for more than 6 months

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. A change in law would be required for this.

When you must check back

The Environment Agency will review this RPS by 12 August 2028.

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:

Contact the Environment Agency

If you have any questions about this RPS, email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk with RPS 60 in the subject.

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