Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed charge for waste exemption permits on the ability of small environmental farms to recycle.

The Environment Agency charges consultation included information on the affordability of waste exemption charges for the agriculture sector. It can be found online here.

Included in the document is the following estimates for a 3-year registration period:

• 43% of farmers will pay the lowest charge of £144 for the 3-year registration period (£56 registration charge plus common on-farm charge of £88). This equates to an average cost of £48 per year. This cost will be lower if the cost of individual waste exemptions being registered is less than the £88 common on-farm charge.
• 50% of farmers will pay less than £500 for the 3-year registration period
• 90% of farmers will pay less than £1,000 for a 3-year registration period

This is considered a worst-case scenario, as Environment Agency data suggests farmers often register more waste exemptions than they need. Approval to charge will be considered after the Environment Agency has analysed responses from the consultation.