Chipping wood and other plant materials

What you must do

Carrying out waste disposal activities on your site may require a:

• registered exemption
• waste management licence or
• pollution prevention and control (PPC) permit

You may qualify for an exemption to chip, shred, cut or pulverise waste plant material if:

• the material is to be recovered or reused
• the quantity does not exceed 1,000 tonnes over any period of seven days.

The exemption you may require is a paragraph 21 exemption.

You must register this exemption with your environmental regulator.

You must still ensure that your activity does not:

• endanger human health or cause pollution to water, air or soil
• constitute a risk to plants or animals
• cause a nuisance in terms of noise, dust, fumes, smoke and odour
• adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest.

DAERA: Paragraph 21 - Chipping, shredding, cutting or pulverising plant matter

SEPA: Waste management licensing exemptions

Waste management licences

If you are shredding waste plant material in several locations on an extended site, for example a motorway embankment, you can register a single exemption for the work.