Guidance

Voluntary monitoring reporting and verification (MRV) period for EfW and waste incineration

Published 1 January 2026

Applies to England

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What the voluntary MRV-only period is

A voluntary MRV-only period will be active before the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) expands to include energy from waste (EfW) and waste incineration facilities.

This MRV-only period is to allow operators of eligible waste installations to prepare for their future inclusion in the scheme. It will enable operators and customers to better understand participation in the scheme and support further policy development by the UK ETS authority.

For more details on the inclusion of the EfW and waste incineration sectors in the UK ETS, see UK ETS scope expansion: waste.

When the MRV-only period will begin

The voluntary MRV-only period will start from 1 January 2026.

The UK ETS authority announced an intention for the MRV-only period to run from 2026 to 2028.    

The UK ETS authority will confirm details about cost exposure and full inclusion in the scheme in a second authority response.

Why you should participate

Participation in the MRV-only period is voluntary. There is no legal requirement to participate, no fee payable to the regulator and no penalty for non-participation.

However, participation is strongly encouraged as the voluntary MRV-only period is critical in helping operators understand:

  • their emissions
  • their future cost exposure
  • how the UK ETS works

Reporting emissions to regulators will help the UK ETS authority by:

  • providing oversight of the emissions from the waste industry
  • enabling financial planning for when the UK ETS is mandatory
  • enabling development of more robust, accurate and granular emissions factors

What participation involves

Each operator will need to create a voluntary monitoring plan that will serve as a manual for the operator’s tasks for the voluntary period and allow for the MRV of their emissions. Operators will need to monitor their emissions in line with this and then submit the emissions to regulators through an annual emissions report.

Operators are encouraged to have their annual emissions report verified.

Scope of activities included

Your activities are in scope if they include:

  • incineration of non-hazardous waste with a capacity greater than 3 tonnes of waste per hour
  • incineration of hazardous waste with a capacity greater than 10 tonnes of waste per day

Clinical waste is also included in scope. 

Installations not included 

High temperature hazardous waste installations are not in scope if they are capable of operating at a temperature of 1,100°C for 2 seconds and have an annual waste input (assessed over the previous calendar year) that comprises:

  • at least 80% hazardous waste
  • no more than 20% healthcare waste (hazardous or non-hazardous, or both)
  • no more than 1% hazardous waste wood

How to participate

You will need to contact your regulator to request guidance on how you can participate in the voluntary MRV-only period. 

Contact your regulator: 

More guidance and support

For technical guidance on the voluntary MRV-only period, see ‘VMRVP01 - Waste activities during the voluntary MRV-only period’ in the UK ETS technical guidance: Monitoring and Reporting Regulation (MRR) 2018.

Regulators will periodically hold webinars to support operators, which will be advertised through their mailing list. To be notified of webinars, contact your regulator and ask to be added to their mailing list.

If you would like a copy of the regulators’ commercial data privacy notice, please contact your regulator. 

Regulators will continue to review and revise guidance as necessary.

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