Environment Agency charge proposals for materials facilities

Overview

Materials facilities are regulated waste operations that receive over 1,000 tonnes of waste a year and separate it into specified output material such as glass, metal, paper, or plastic to allow this material to be recycled by other facilities or persons. 

For operators of a materials facility, we propose to:

• amend the additional subsistence charge for materials facilities operations, so it better reflects costs of regulatory activity
• change how we bill customers for the additional subsistence charge for materials facilities operations, so billing takes place in advance in March for the following financial year

This consultation sets out our charges proposals for materials facilities operations at waste permitted sites and invites you to share your views. 

We seek to recover the full cost of our services through charges. We have reviewed our charges to address changes in the cost of delivering our services, inflationary pressures and incorporating the cost of our duties under the new regulations for materials facilities which are due to come into force on 1 October 2024.

The new regulations for materials facilities will:  

• better meet recyclable material quality objectives
• explore connections between materials facility data reporting and extended producer responsibility for packaging

About this consultation

We would like you to share your views on our proposed updates to the additional subsistence charge for materials facilities. The consultation includes the consultation document and supporting documentation:  

• Environment Agency charge proposals for materials facitlities
• guide to explain how we calculate our charges 

These documents are also available in the 'related’ section at the end of this page.

Why your views matter

We would like you to share your views so we can understand the impacts and benefits, as you consider them, of the proposals outlined in this consultation. We would also like to hear any suggestions on how you think we could improve these proposals.

Please note it is not necessary to provide a response to every question. If you respond online and provide an email address, your response will be automatically acknowledged.

Responding to the consultation

This consultation runs from Wednesday 10 April 2024 until midnight on Wednesday, 5 June 2024. We will consider all responses received by the closing date before finalising our proposals to submit for approval by government. You can view the consultation document by clicking on the relevant link in the 'related' section at the end of this page. 

Please submit your response using this online consultation tool, as it provides an easy and efficient way to respond. It will also help us to: 

•    gather all responses in one place
•    summarise responses quickly and accurately
•    reduce the cost of the consultation 

If you do not wish to respond using the online tool, you can download the response form using the relevant link in the 'related' section at the end of this page) and email the completed form using the subject header 'Charge consultation: materials facilities' to enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk.   

Ask for a copy of the consultation document

Please contact us if you would like a copy of the consultation document. You can do this by contacting our:  

     National Customer Contact Centre 
     Telephone Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm: 03708 506 506  
     Minicom for the hard of hearing: 03702 422 549 

We are running this consultation in accordance with the guidance set out in the government’s consultation principles.

If you have any questions or complaints about the way this consultation has been carried out, please contact consultation.enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk.

Please click on the ‘online consultation’ link below to answer the consultation questions.

What happens next

We will review all the responses to this consultation and will publish our response on GOV.UK within 12 weeks of this consultation closing and before we implement any changes. A link to the consultation response document will be displayed on the first page of this consultation tool.