Q.01

What does a U1 waste exemption allow?

A U1 exemption lets you use certain "relevant waste" in construction without an environmental permit. It covers listed inert and low-risk wastes, set quantity limits apply over any 3-year period, and waste can be stored for up to 12 months before use. It is defined in Schedule 3 to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 as "Use of waste in construction (U1)": "The use of relevant waste in construction" [1].

Approach: I read the current revised text of Schedule 3 to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, and checked the Environment Agency Register of Waste Exemptions to see how U1 is registered in practice. I found no separate Environment Agency U1 guidance page in the guidance I can search.

Permitted wastes and quantity limits. These are in Schedule 3, paragraph 1(2) [1].

TableWastes (EWC codes)Limit (3-year total, all waste types in the table combined)Condition
1Excavation waste (010102); waste gravel/crushed rock (010408); sand and clays (010409); shellfish shells with soft tissue removed (020202); ceramics, bricks, tiles (101208); concrete and concrete sludge (101314); concrete, bricks, tiles, ceramics and mixtures (170101, 170102, 170103, 170107); track ballast (170508); glass (191205); minerals such as sand and stones (191209); aggregates only (191212)5,000 tonnesNone
1Dredging spoil (170506)5,000 tonnesA
2Soil from washing fruit and vegetables (020399, 020401); soil and stones (170504, 200202); dredging spoil (170506); solid wastes from soil remediation (191302)1,000 tonnesNone
2Bituminous mixtures (170302); plant tissue (020103); untreated bark, cork and wood (030101, 030301, 030105, 170201, 191207, 200138)1,000 tonnesB
3Bituminous mixtures (170302); road sub-base only (170504)50,000 tonnesC

The codes come with qualifiers, such as "other than those mentioned in" the hazardous mirror entry (for example 170504 "other than those mentioned in 170503"). U1 covers only the non-hazardous entries as listed.

Specific conditions (paragraph 1(3)) [1]:

  • Quantity: the total waste used or stored over any 3-year period must not exceed the limit for its table. Where you use several waste types from one table, the combined total for that table must stay within the limit.
  • Storage: no waste may be stored for longer than 12 months before use.
  • Condition A: the waste is used only for drainage work under the Land Drainage Act 1991, the 1991 Act or the 1995 Act.
  • Condition B: the waste is used only to build tracks, paths, bridleways or car parks, and "must be processed into chipped form prior to use".
  • Condition C: the waste is used only to build roads.

General conditions. These are set in Section 1 of the same Schedule and apply to all exemptions [1]:

  • The operation must be for recovering or reusing the waste.
  • The waste must be suitable for the purpose.
  • No more waste may be used than is necessary to carry on the operation.

Neighbouring exemptions in the same Schedule:

  • U2 covers baled end-of-life tyres in construction (up to 50 tonnes, bales to PAS108).
  • U3 covers waste in entertainment or educational installations (up to 20 tonnes at any one time) [1].

Registration. A U1 is registered with the Environment Agency and runs for three years. For example, registration WEX501412 (Wessex area) was registered on 2026-10-20 and expires on 2029-10-19 [2]. Registration WEX501407 (Yorkshire) has the same dates [3].

Q.02

How do I register or renew it?

In England you register a U1 with the Environment Agency through its online waste exemption service. The registration lasts 3 years, and to renew you go through the same registration procedure again, in the month before it expires. Under Schedule 2 to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, you register (or renew) by notifying the "exemption registration authority", which for Schedule 3 Part 1 waste operations such as U1 is "the appropriate agency" [4].

Approach: I read Schedule 2 of the current revised 2016 Regulations, then the Environment Agency's GOV.UK pages on registering, charges, the U1 guide and the reforms from January 2027, because the guidance I can search doesn't cover the registration service. The GOV.UK pages apply to England. I did not check what Natural Resources Wales does for Welsh sites.

What the law requires (Schedule 2) [4]

  • Who must register: a business or organisation ("an establishment or undertaking") seeking registration or renewal "must notify" the authority (para 10(1)). These registration requirements do not apply to someone carrying on the operation who is not a business or organisation (para 4(2)).
  • What you must give (para 10(4)–(5)):
    • your name and address;
    • a description of the waste operation;
    • where it takes place, by postcode or Ordnance Survey grid reference;
    • the name and contact details of the person you name as your main contact for the registration.
  • Form: you must notify "in the form specified by the exemption registration authority" (para 10(6)).
  • When it goes on the register: the authority must add your details to the register within 5 working days of receiving your notification (para 11(2)(a)).
  • Validity: a first registration "is valid for 3 years" from the date your details first appear on the register (para 15(1), (3), (6)).
  • Renewal: you "may renew a registration at any time in the month prior to the registration becoming invalid", using the same procedure as for registering. The renewal starts the day after the old registration expires (para 15(4)–(5)).
  • Only one registration at a time: you may not register the same operation at the same place more than once during a valid registration period. A second registration is invalid (para 14(1)–(2)).
  • Changes: you "must notify" the authority "without delay" of any change to your details or your main contact. If you don't report a change to your details, the authority may remove your entry from the register (para 16).

How it works in practice (Environment Agency, England)

  • Registering: you register and pay through the waste exemption service. You'll need:

    • the exemptions you want;
    • the name, address and contact details of whoever carries out the activity;
    • the site address and postcode, or a grid reference;
    • for limited companies and LLPs, the company number and registered address;
    • payment by card or bank transfer.

    If you don't pay a charge, you register by phone (registration rules).

  • Renewing: the Environment Agency contacts you a month before expiry, and you can't renew until then. If you miss the expiry date, your registration is removed from the public register (registration rules). The U1 guide also says you can't renew more than one month before the 3-year period ends.

  • Updating or deregistering: use the same service. You need your WEX registration number and the email address you registered with.

  • Charges (waste exemption charges):

    • There is a £58.13 registration charge each time you register one or more exemptions on a site.
    • U1 is band 1, with a compliance charge of £435.96. Each additional band 1 or 2 exemption on the same registration costs £78.89 instead of the full charge.
    • Farmers can register any number of farming exemptions, which include U1, for a capped £91.34 plus the £58.13 registration charge.
    • Charities don't pay.
    • No further payment is due until you renew.

  • Contact: Environment Agency National Customer Contact Centre, 03708 506 506 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm), enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk.

Changes coming in England. The Environment Agency's page on new rules from January 2027 (updated 21 October 2026) says:

  • New regulations are due to come into force on 6 January 2027, subject to approval in Parliament.
  • U1 has "more detailed reforms", with a 12-month transition period ending 6 January 2028.
  • From 6 July 2027, if you have several exemptions at one site, the amount you can store of each waste type will be limited to the lowest limit among those exemptions.
  • From 6 July 2027, exemptions "technically connected" to a permitted activity must be brought into the environmental permit, or the activity must stop. The page's own example is a farm track built under U1 on a farm that also has a permitted anaerobic digestion plant: it is not technically connected, so it needs no permit change.

That page doesn't set out the new U1 conditions themselves. If you register or renew now, check against the updated U1 guide before the transition period ends.

Q.03