If you are a waste carrier, broker or dealer in England, your registration will no longer be valid from 22 July 2027. You will instead need to take out an environmental permit and be subject to identity checks and criminal record checks, prove your technical competence to transport and make decisions about waste, as well as be required to display a permit number on your vehicles and advertising. The Chartered Institute of Wastes Management (CIWM) is currently working with the Environment Agency to support the delivery of the new Controllers and Transporters Competence Scheme, which will require learning, assessments and digital certification to prove technical competence before a permit is granted.
Waste activities are under greater scrutiny, and it is worth noting that a new penalty is also being introduced for waste transporting and controlling offences of up to five years’ imprisonment. The current Burnham government has also appointed a minister that will deal with waste crime and the circular economy, which only emphasises the focus on waste enforcement.
The reform was introduced by the Environmental Permitting (Waste Controlling or Transporting) and Relevant Functions of Primary Authorities (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2026, which were made on 22 July 2026 to amend the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016. It applies to England only, and the existing carrier, broker and dealer system will still apply in Wales.
This reform is part of the government’s policy to stop waste criminals from exploiting loopholes.
The substantive part of the regulations will come into force on the 22 July 2027 (12 months after being made), which provide a much-needed transition period to start adapting your processes and making sure you are in compliance with the new requirements ahead of that date.
New permitted facilities
Simple registration is out, and there are now three new categories of regulated facilities, which are:
- Waste controlling activities – The waste controller would be organising the collection, the transportation, recovery or disposal of waste, arranging the assessment and classification of waste, or even the buying or selling of waste.
- Waste transporting activities – The waste transporter is the one who physically transports the waste between location as instructed without any decision powers.
- Waste controlling-transporting activities – The controller-transporter category would be carrying out both activities.
In order for these environmental permits to be granted, one of these four conditions must be met:
(a) Their registered office or principal place of business is in England
(b) Their registered office and principal place of business are outside England, but they carry on waste controlling or transporting activity from any other place of business in England
(c) They import waste from outside the UK, and the movement of waste ends in England
(d) They export waste from within the UK, and the movement of waste starts in England
An operator that has been granted an environmental permit to carry on any of these activities can only hold one permit. Permits will last for three years, and operators will need to apply to renew them at least three months in advance. These new waste permits cannot be transferred.
Exemptions
Some waste controlling and transporting activities have been included in the list of exempt activities; for example:
- The control or transport of waste produced in the course of the operator’s own business
- The control or transport of extractive waste
- The control or transport of animal by-products
But even then, all of those exempt activities are subject to certain conditions, so please ensure that you meet all of those further requirements before you decide that you are carrying out an exempt activity.
Further enforcement and duties
The Environmental Protection Act 1990 is also amended to apply the duty of care to these activities, further facilitating enforcement of illegal waste activities. The enforcement agencies, including the Environment Agency, have been granted greater powers to search and seize vehicles that transport and/or control waste, and have the power to refuse or revoke permits. Investigation agencies are also now able to recover the costs of investigations.
These changes to the waste regulatory framework will impact any business carrying out waste transportation or arranging its transport but also those buying, managing waste, importing and exporting waste. There is greater scrutiny of those dealing with waste in any capacity, with a focus on helping fight waste crime.
