UK Steel – Submission to Environment Agency Consultation ‘Reducing Waste Crime and Updating Time and Materials Charges’

20 January 2025

Before Christmas, the Prime Minister wrote to the regulators, including the Environment Agency, calling for them to take a “more pro-growth and pro-investment” approach to their duties. The proposed reforms to exemptions outlined in this consultation explicitly go against his direction. Exemptions were introduced to help facilitate small scale recycling activities that would otherwise require a permit, which would be (and still is) completely disproportionate and discourage recycling by adding to the regulatory burden.