Planned waste exemption charges to hit farmers from April

Proposed changes to Defra’s waste management strategy could cost the agricultural industry more than £2.9m a year in waste exemption permit charges, while increasing disposals to landfill.

At present, it is free to recycle items such as bale wrap at local recycling centres.

But Defra plans to impose charges from April 2025, as part of a major drive to raise revenue to help cover the cost of the Environment Agency tackling waste crime.

See also: Three men convicted for ‘industrial scale’ waste crimes

The agricultural sector will feel the biggest impact from these fee changes due to the number of waste exemption registrations that are already available and used by the industry.

Richard Bunning, who farms near Tiverton, Devon, has concerns about how much the changes will affect his farm.

He takes bale wrap to his local recycling scheme, which is a quick, clean and free option.

If the proposed waste management charges come into effect, it will cost the farm more than £700 to recycle in this way, he says. The only other option would be to take it all to landfill.

“We’re doing all we can for the environment and wildlife on our farm,” he says.

“But this ill-thought-out policy will reduce the incentive for farmers to recycle; it feels like a shot in the foot.”

Waste exemption charges

As part of its consultation, which closed on 20 January, Defra considered 15 waste exemptions for farmers, covering activities including the use of wood in biomass boilers, or spreading plant matter to suppress weeds.

The exemptions are needed to avoid having to pay for a full environmental permit.

Under the proposals, there will be a registration charge of £56 to acquire an exemption, and a reduced compliance charge of £88 a year for the 15 farm activities listed.

However, for other waste activities not covered by this so-called “common on-farm” approach, Defra is proposing a four-band charging system for waste exemptions, based on relative environmental risk.

The upper band compliance charge is proposed at £1,236 annually, which will apply to activities such as storing waste in secure containers, or using animal manures in anaerobic digestion.

Although now closed, the full consultation can be found here.