Waste management: code of practice on sampling and reporting at materials facilities - June 2024
This updated code of practice sets out a number of requirements with regard to the sampling and reporting of materials received by materials facilities. Requirements under the new code will start from 1 April 2025.
1. Introduction and Scope
1. This Code of Practice (“the Code”) sets out the requirements for sampling, recording, and reporting of materials at in-scope materials facilities (MFs). The purpose of this Code is to provide guidance to those authorised to operate an MF on the discharge of certain duties, specifically the duties in section 34(2L)(b) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (“the 1990 Act”). If you are uncertain about what your facility needs to do to comply with the Code, you should contact SEPA.
2. If you are authorised to operate an in-scope materials facility (an “authorised MF operator”) then you must comply with this Code or risk being deemed noncompliant with the conditions of your authorisation. That is the case whether you:
a) hold a waste-management licence;
b) are exempt from the requirement to hold a waste-management licence under paragraph 11 and/or 17 of schedule 1 of the Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2011;
c) hold a pollution prevention and control (PPC) permit.
3. Not all MFs are in scope of this Code, and those that are have different requirements under this Code depending on what type of MF they operate. In particular, an MF that receives or is likely to receive less than 1,000 tonnes of dry recyclable waste (mixed or single stream) in any reporting year does not have any requirements under this Code. Table 1 summarises the requirements of different categories of MF.
| Category of Materials Facility | Requirements under this Code |
|---|---|
| A facility which sorts dry recyclable waste into output material,[1] receiving 1,000 tonnes or more of dry recyclable waste in any reporting year |
|
| A facility which consolidates or ‘bulks’ dry recyclable waste from two or more suppliers, receiving 1,000 tonnes or more of dry recyclable waste in any reporting year |
|
| A facility which consolidates or ‘bulks’ dry recyclable waste, from a single supplier (even if it receives 1,000 tonnes or more of dry recyclable waste in any reporting year) |
|
| Any facility receiving less than 1,000 tonnes of dry recyclable waste in any reporting year |
|
4. The Code has been prepared under section 34(7) of the 1990 Act. It replaces the Code of Practice issued by the Scottish Ministers on 2 March 2015. This new Code makes some substantial changes from the previous Code. In particular, it increases the required sampling frequency for input sampling, introduces new material categories to be sampled and reported, and brings certain bulking facilities into scope (as set out in Table 1 above). The purpose of these changes is to ensure that data classification on local authority packaging waste managed by in-scope material facilities aligns with the packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) system. These data will be available for the packaging EPR Scheme Administrator’s duties in determining local-authority disposal costs.
5. Section 5 defines key terms used throughout this Code. If you are unsure about the meaning of any terms used, you should contact SEPA.
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