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Policy Paper Published 15 Jul 2025 Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs ↗ View on GOV.UK

Reforming the waste exemptions system

Defra and the Welsh government’s approach to tackling abuse of the waste exemptions system.

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This policy paper explains the approach that Defra and the Welsh Government are taking to reform the waste exemptions system.

The plans include:

  • prohibiting the use of waste exemptions in specified circumstances
  • increased requirements for waste operators to record information about exemptions
  • technical changes to waste codes and conditions to increase consistency