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Waste Protocols Project

We’re examining a variety of waste materials through this project. By looking closely at each waste we’re able to establish if and how it can be fully recovered and turned into one or more alternative, quality products. If it can, it can lose the stigma of 'waste' and can present a number of potential benefits for the producer, the recycler and the end user. It encourages businesses to transform wastes into valuable resources, rather than send them to landfill.

Waste management regulations, which mainly fall under the EU Waste Framework Directive, are designed to protect human health and the environment. In doing so, however, they can impose administrative and legislative burdens on business. The legislation can also be complex and it can be difficult for businesses to establish when the wastes they produce are fully recovered and the legislation no longer applies. The Waste Protocol Project addresses these two issues.

Where possible, we produce a quality protocol for each waste material, which clearly explains what has to be done to produce a fully-recovered, non-waste, quality product.

The project is a partnership between us, WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme), Northern Ireland Environment Agency and Welsh Government.
 
The project is so successful it was 2009 winner in the 'better regulation' category of the UK’s premier cross-industry accolades, the National Business Awards.

What are the benefits?

The project has far-reaching benefits for business as well as for the environment. We estimate that protocols for the first 12 materials alone will create around £1 billion in business savings and increased sales of waste-derived products by the year 2020 – the latter through strengthening existing markets and stimulating new ones. By following the quality protocol producers can create sustainable resources in which end users can have total confidence.

Quality protocols for these first 12 materials should over the same time period divert around 17 million tonnes of waste from landfill, preserve 14 million tonnes of raw materials and avert at least 2.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO2).

Get involved

If you would like to take part in a future consultation process, find an update on each material we're working on by selecting the relevant page from the navigation bar on the left.  Alternatively you can forward your contact details to wasteprotocols@environment-agency.gov.uk and we will advise you when the consultation is open.

More information

On the navigation bar to the left you will see a list of all the waste materials which have been, or are currently being, considered through the Waste Protocols Project. Click on each link to find out more. Or you can read a summary of the current state of progress for each material and a quick guide to what products each waste type can be turned into.

If you would like further help, please email Waste Protocols.

You can also use this link to find out more about our approach to regulating waste. This includes our interim regulatory position statement which details how we regulate wastes currently under quality protocol development.