This guidance is for waste operations and A1 installations operating under an environmental permit. It is not for sites operating under a waste exemption.

You usually need to change (vary) your environmental permit before you make changes to your permitted activities.

However, you may not need to apply to vary your permit when you carry out research activity or trials if you follow this guidance. This guidance applies to all trials, but current trials may relate to:

• net zero
• the circular economy
• resource efficiency
• other areas where you want to develop new ideas and techniques at your facility before transitioning to commercial scale operations

Examples of pilot tests are described in post-combustion carbon dioxide capture: best available techniques.

When the research and development exemption for installations applies

The Environmental Permitting Regulations contain an exemption for installations or plant “used solely for research, development or testing of new products or processes”.

The Environment Agency considers that at existing installations, this will apply to stand-alone research and development activities.

This exemption for research or trial activity does not apply to:

• trials that are more closely associated or integrated with permitted activities
• waste incineration plants or waste co-incineration plants
• mobile plants carrying out Part B activities

If you are not sure whether the exemption applies to you, or if you do not operate a permitted installation, please contact the Environment Agency.

Also consider that other regulations may apply. For example, the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations and hazardous waste controls.

When your proposal is within your existing permit conditions

Your research or trial proposal may already be possible under your current permit conditions. This is most likely where there are:

• no increases in emissions
• no additional risks or changes required to store or handle different materials
• no additional waste types

You should discuss all process changes with the Environment Agency.

When your permit conditions allow you to seek approval for the proposal

Permits for installations and waste operations contain a condition requiring you to use specified operating techniques. These are set out in the permit.

Some permits also contain conditions requiring you to comply with specified approved plans (including working plans for waste operations). These relate to:

• fire prevention
• odour
• noise
• fugitive emissions
• pests

These permit conditions allow you to ask for approval from the Environment Agency to make changes to the specified operating techniques or approved management plans. You will need to pay the Environment Agency for their time reviewing these requests. They will only consider minor changes.

Check your other permit conditions

You will have to comply with all other permit conditions, for example:

• activity descriptions
• point source emissions
• emission limits
• any specifications set for raw materials or fuels
• waste types and capacities

Check the location and duration or your activity

The research or trial activity must be:

• within the boundary of the permitted site that you operate
• completed within a limited timeframe

It must not be conducted as part of your normal commercial operations.

Prepare your proposal

You must tell your Environment Agency area officer that you intend to carry out the research or trial activity in line with this guidance. Contact the Environment Agency’s main contact centre if you do not know who your area officer is.

You do not have to give the Environment Agency the precise identity of commercially sensitive materials to operate under this exemption. But you must identity any emissions to the environment.

Prepare the following information for your proposal.

The nature of the research activity or trial

Include a brief description of the purpose of the activities and techniques you will use.

A detailed description of the changes you’re making (or adding) to the permitted activity

Describe how you expect these changes to affect environmental performance.

Include storage arrangements for materials used in the activities and emissions to the environment. Describe how you will measure them and the expected quantities.

Wastes

Describe wastes generated from the activities and how you will handle them.

Techniques undergoing development

Include an explanation of:

• which aspects of the techniques are undergoing development
• how you will measure and evaluate these during the trial

Environmental risk assessment

Include an environmental risk assessment to show:

• that the activities will not lead to environmental harm
• how you will manage the risks

Duration

Include the proposed duration of the activities.

How the Environment Agency will respond

Your area officer will respond to your request in one of the following 3 ways.

1. They will agree that your proposal meets the requirements of this guidance. This will include an expiry date, after which you will need to contact the Environment Agency again. They may also require you to report regularly on the activities, including emissions, to support the ongoing approval.

2. They will request more information to support your request.

3. They will tell you that your proposal requires you to vary your permit.

When you complete the research or trial activity

You must either:

• stop using any operating techniques or plant that you used to carry out the activity
• apply to vary your permit to include them

You should send a report to your area officer on the performance of the activities during the research or trials. This may help if you apply in future to vary your permit to carry out the activities on a commercial scale.

Even if your proposal is approved through your existing permit, you are still responsible for complying with other permissions that may be affected by the change.

If you cannot meet the conditions

If you cannot meet the conditions of this guidance, you must apply to vary your environmental permit before you make changes to your permitted activities.

Standard rules to enable trials and innovation at permitted sites

If you cannot agree a trial with the Environment Agency in writing under your current permit conditions, check if you can follow the standard rules SR2024 No 1: research and development at a Part A(1) installation.

Contact the Environment Agency