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32. Inert and excavation waste transfer station

There is a standard set of rules for sites accepting less than 250,000 tonnes of waste per annum.

The inputs are limited to non-hazardous and inert wastes and do not include:

  • dusts
  • powders
  • liquids and sludges, or
  • hazardous wastes such as asbestos.

Wastes can be:

  • bulked up for disposal or recovery elsewhere, and
  • manually sorted or separated for recovery.

These rules do not allow any waste treatment activities such as screening and crushing.

Applying for a standard permit

You can apply for a standard permit if you can comply with the standard rules and meet the following risk criteria:

  • the quantity of waste that can be accepted onto the site is less than 250,000 tonnes per annum
  • wastes must be stored on a hard standing or impermeable surface with sealed drainage
  • the only discharges to controlled waters are surface water from the roofs of buildings and from areas of the site not used for the storage of wastes
  • the activities are not carried out within 200 metres of a European site, Ramsar Site or Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). You can find out this information by calling us on 08708 506 506, or by visiting either of the websites below (depending on whether your site is in England or Wales).

  • Natural England
  • Countryside Council for Wales

Applying for a bespoke permit

If you cannot comply with any of the standard rules, or meet any one of the criteria listed above, then you must apply for a bespoke permit. Your application must include additional information about the criteria that you cannot meet and how you intend to control the associated risks.

Cost of standard permits

The cost of standard permits can be found within our charging scheme. 

Standard rules

You can find the standard rules, generic risk assessment, guidance and application form by using the links below.

Look at the standard rules you want to apply for and check that:

  • the permitted activities include all the ones that you want to carry out
  • the permitted waste types include all the wastes you want to accept onto the site
  • the permitted waste quantity is sufficient
  • you can comply with all the other rules. We have written guidance to help you understand how to comply with the rules (see below).

Download and check the rules: 

We carried out a risk assessment to develop the risk criteria for these activities to produce the standard rules. We have provided it for your information, but you do not need to agree with it or send us a signed copy.

Guidance on how to comply with your standard permit

Guidance is provided in a document called 'Getting the basics right: How to comply with your environmental permit'. This is available to download from our technical guidance notes page.

Application form and explanatory notes

The Environmental Permitting Regulations application form has six parts.