U1: using waste in construction

Businesses such as farmers, builders, engineers, and other businesses can register a U1 exemption to use suitable waste for construction projects and maintenance work.

The exemption is valid for 3 years from the date you register it. 

Activities you can carry out 

You can use a U1 exemption if you’re using waste to: 

• repair, alter, maintain or improve buildings or sites 

• create a noise bund around a new development using crushed bricks, concrete, rocks and aggregate 

• build a track, path or bridleway using road planings, rubble or woodchip 

• carry out drainage works 

• landscape a site by bringing in soil from somewhere else, if it’s part of a construction project

Activities you cannot carry out 

You cannot use a U1 exemption to: 

• do landscaping, land levelling or land reclamation work as standalone activities – they must be part of a construction activity for building or engineering works 

• treat waste to make it suitable for the purpose – see ‘Related exemptions’  

• store waste for more than 12 months before using it  

Check what else you need 

You must comply with other rules that may apply to your activity, for example, flood risk management permits or planning permission.  

If you’re building on a floodplain or near a watercourse, contact the following organisations:

• your lead local flood authority (county council or unitary authority)
• Internal Drainage Board
• the Environment Agency

You will need an environmental permit or a different exemption if you want to use: 

• waste that is not listed in the U1 exemption 

• more waste than is allowed for each activity 

Conditions    

There are conditions around the types and amounts of waste you can use, depending on the activity you’re doing. 

The waste you use must:  

• match the waste codes and descriptions for the activity 

• not exceed the amount allowed or needed for the activity 

• be suitable waste for the construction activity 

• satisfy engineering standards 

Waste must not be contaminated by pollutants such as plastic, asbestos fragments, and hydrocarbons such as oils and fuels. 

Waste code tables 

The tables set out the waste codes and the maximum amount of waste allowed over 3 years for each U1 activity.  

You can use a combination of waste types within a table. The total amount must be no more than the limit for that activity.

You can carry out more than one activity, using up to the maximum amount of waste allowed for each activity. 

For example, you can use up to 5,000 tonnes from table 1 for ‘any construction activity’ plus up to 1,000 tonnes from table 4 to build ‘tracks, paths, bridleways or car parks’. 

Any construction activity: waste types up to 5,000 tonnes

You can use up to 5,000 tonnes of these waste types in any combination, over the 3-year registration period, for any construction activity.

Table 1 

Waste code	Type of waste
01 01 02	Waste from mineral non-metalliferous excavation
01 04 08	Waste gravel and crushed rock not containing hazardous substances
01 04 09	Waste sand and clay from exploration, mining, quarrying or treatment of minerals
02 02 02	Shellfish shells from which the soft tissue or flesh has been removed only
10 12 08	Waste ceramics, bricks, tiles and construction products (after thermal processing)
10 13 14	Waste concrete and concrete sludge
17 01 01	Concrete
17 01 02	Bricks
17 01 03	Tiles and ceramics
17 01 07	Mixtures of concrete, bricks, tiles and ceramics not containing hazardous substances
17 05 08	Track ballast not containing hazardous substances
19 12 05	Glass
19 12 09	Minerals (for example sand and stone) from waste management or water treatment facilities
19 12 12	Aggregates only

Any construction activity: waste types up to 1,000 tonnes

You can use up to 1,000 tonnes of these waste types in any combination, over the 3-year registration period, for any construction activity. 

Table 2

Waste code	Type of waste
02 03 99 02 04 01	Soil from cleaning and washing fruit and vegetables only
17 05 04	Soil and stones (from construction and demolition sites) not containing hazardous substances
17 05 06	Dredging spoil not containing hazardous substances
19 13 02	Solid waste from soil remediation not containing hazardous substances
20 02 02	Soil and stones

Drainage works 

You can use up to 5,000 tonnes of non-hazardous dredging spoil over the 3-year registration period, for drainage works. 

Work must be in accordance with any flood risk activity permit and relevant legislation. 

Table 3

Waste code	Type of waste
17 05 06	Dredging spoil not containing hazardous substances

Building tracks, paths, bridleways or car parks

You can use up to 1,000 tonnes of these waste types in any combination over the 3-year registration period, for building tracks, paths, bridleways or car parks.  

The waste must have been processed into chips.  

Table 4 

Waste code	Type of waste
17 03 02	Bituminous mixtures not containing coal tar
02 01 03	Plant tissue waste
03 01 01 03 03 01	Untreated waste bark, cork and wood only
03 01 05	Untreated wood, including sawdust, shavings and cuttings from untreated wood only
17 02 01	Untreated wood only
19 12 07	Untreated wood not containing hazardous substances
20 01 38	Untreated wood not containing hazardous substances

Building roads 

You can use up to 50,000 tonnes of these waste types in any combination, over the 3-year registration period, for building roads.

Roads must be built to a specific engineering standard and have a sealed surface. 

Table 5

Waste code	Type of waste
17 03 02	Bituminous mixtures not containing coal tar
17 05 04	Road sub base only

RegisterMaintaining a U1linear waste exemption network  

You must register with the Environment Agency.

There’s a different registration process for using waste totypes carryper out repairs along a linear network.mile, Seeper theyear, sectionin ‘Wasteany activity along a linear network’. combination.

Charities register by phone 

CharitiesYou andcan organisations that work only for charitable purposes do not have to pay for waste exemptions. If you’re a charity, call the Environment Agency to register free of charge.

Registration rules 

You cannot: 

• register more than one U1 at the same site 

• register a U1 if it’s already been registered at the site by another business 

• renew your registration more than one month before the 3-year registration period ends 

• increase the storage limit by registering a separate storage exemption  

• store waste that is not included in your exemption 

Once you’ve registered a U1 exemption, the maximum waste limit applies to the site for 3 years. 

Waste activity along a linear network 

Linearnetwork networksto arecarry longout stretchesmaintenance that do not have a defined address or gridpoint. They may run for several miles and haverepairs, more than one site postcode. They include roads, rivers, canals and railways.  

You can use a U1 exemption for maintenance or repair work along a linear network, such as fillingusing inwaste potholes along several miles of road.

You’ll need to fill in a linear networks registration form instead of using the online registration service.  potholes. 

Maintaining a linear network  

You can use up to 500 tonnes of these waste types per linear mile, per year, in any combination, for maintenance and repair activity. 

Table 6

Waste code	Type of waste
01 01 02	Waste from mineral non-metalliferous excavation
01 04 08	Waste gravel and crushed rock other than those mentioned in 01 04 07
01 04 09	Waste sand and clays
02 02 02	Shellfish shells from which the soft tissue or flesh has been removed
10 12 08	Waste ceramics, bricks, tiles and construction products (after thermal processing)
10 13 14	Waste concrete and concrete sludge
17 01 01	Concrete
17 01 02	Bricks
17 01 03	Tiles and ceramics
17 01 07	Mixtures of concrete, bricks, tiles and ceramics other than those mentioned in 17 01 06
17 05 06	Dredging spoil other than that mentioned in 17 05 07. This waste can only be used for drainage work carried on for the purposes of the Land Drainage Act 1991, Water Resources Act 1991 or Environment Act 1995.
17 05 08	Track ballast, other than that mentioned in 17 05 07
19 12 05	Glass
19 12 09	Minerals (such as sand and stones)
19 12 12	Aggregates only

Register a U1 waste exemption 

You can register and pay through the waste exemption service.  

There’s a different process for registering along a linear network. 

Registering along a linear network 

Linear networks are long stretches that do not have a defined address or gridpoint. They include roads, rivers, canals and railways.  

You can use a U1 exemption for maintenance or repair work along a linear network.

Fill in the linear networks registration form instead of using the online registration service.  

Register in the name of the business, at the registered office or main place of business.   

You’ll need to provide one of the following: 

• grid references for the start point A and end point B of your area of waste activity 

• a map showing all your areas of activity with descriptions of the locations   

Email your form, and map if necessary, to waste-exemptions@environment-agency.gov.uk.

New construction and linear network maintenance 

If you’reyou planningneed a U1 exemption for a new construction at a linear site that’s already registered with a U1, email details of your plans to waste-exemptions@environment-agency.gov.uk.

The Environment Agency will then contact you to discuss the registration.

Registration rules 

You cannot: 

• register more than one U1 at the same site 

• register a U1 if it’s already been registered at the site by another business 

• renew your registration more than one month before the 3-year registration period ends 

• increase the storage limit by registering a separate storage exemption  

• store waste that is not included in your exemption 

Once you’ve registered a U1 exemption, contactthe maximum waste limit applies to the Environmentsite Agency.for 3 years. 

Charges for registering a U1 waste exemption 

Read waste exemption charges to find out what the charges and charging bands are.  

U1 exemption has a band 1 compliance charge. 

There’s a registration charge to register one or more exemptions at a time.  

You may get a discount on the compliance charge if you register other exemptions at the same time. 

Charges for farmers 

Farmers pay a capped charge for any number of farming exemptions. U1 is included in the list of farming exemptions.

Read waste exemptions guidance in full.

Charities register free   

Charities do not have to pay for waste exemptions. If you’re a charity, call the Environment Agency to register free of charge. 

To qualify as a charity, your organisation’s aims and purposes must be exclusively charitable. Your organisation must operate for the public benefit.  

Read the Charity Commission’s list and descriptions of charitable purposes to find out if your organisation falls within one of the 13 types of charitable activity.

Waste limits at a site

Waste limits apply to the site for 3 years from registration.  

If the exemption is deregistered before it expires, any new U1 registration inherits the waste limit left by the previous registration, until the original end date of the previous registration. 

Example scenario 

Related exemptions 

These are related exemptions for using or treating waste: 

• U8: using waste for a specified purpose 

• T5: screening and blending of waste 

• T6: treating waste wood and waste plant matter by chipping, shredding, cutting or pulverising 

• T7: treating waste bricks, tiles and concrete by crushing, grinding or reducing size (you need to register this with your local authority) 

Contact the Environment Agency