Guidance

Using PAS 100 or PAS 110 compliant material outside resource frameworks: RPS 317

Published 20 October 2025

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2025

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/using-pas-100-or-pas-110-compliant-material-outside-resource-frameworks-rps-317/using-pas-100-or-pas-110-compliant-material-outside-resource-frameworks-rps-317

This regulatory position statement (RPS) does not change your legal requirement to have an environmental permit for a waste operation when you store and use BSI certified PAS 100 compost or PAS 110 digestate made from waste that does not meet the plastics limit in the:

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 and the circumstances 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 storage and use of BSI certified PAS 100 compost or PAS 110 digestate that does not meet the plastics limit set out in the:

Conditions you must comply with

You must:

  • email resourcesframeworks@environment-agency.gov.uk before you use this RPS with ‘RPS 317’ in the subject line – you must do this by 20 April 2026
  • comply with all requirements of the applicable resource framework other than the plastics limit
  • comply with all requirements of BSI PAS 100 or PAS 110 certification scheme as appropriate
  • upgrade your plant and processes to comply with the applicable new resource framework plastics limit
  • send evidence of orders for new infrastructure and your plan to upgrade site processes within 6 months of registering use of this RPS to resourcesframeworks@environment-agency.gov.uk with ‘RPS 317’ in the subject line
  • 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 meet the requirements of the resource framework in full by 20 October 2027.

You cannot register use of this RPS after 20 April 2026. Instead, you will need to comply with the resource framework requirements in full.

When you must check back

This RPS will expire on 20 October 2027.

The Environment Agency can withdraw or amend this regulatory position before it expires if they consider it necessary. This includes where the activity and circumstances that this RPS relates to have not changed.

You will need to check back from time to time, including at and before the expiry 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 resourcesframeworks@environment-agency.gov.uk with ‘RPS 317’ in the subject line.

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