MRF Regulations

The MRF Regulations, sometimes known colloquially as the MRF Code of Practice (MRF CoP), were published in February 2013 and required all material recovery facilities over a certain size to measure the quality of their inputs and outputs. In October 2024 these regulations were amended and the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 entered into force which aims to place a greater onus on the frequency of sampling and the range of materials to be measured.

Introduction

The MRF Regulations, sometimes known colloquially as the MRF Code of Practice (MRF CoP), were published in February 2013 and required all material recovery facilities over a certain size to measure the quality of their inputs and outputs. The MRF Regulations introduced a new requirement to make all results from these tests publicly available, for example to businesses buying the material as well as to Local Authorities and others who supply material to the MRFs . It did not set any minimum quality standards. A full list of sites can be found on the page Qualifying MRFs.

At the beginning of October 2024 the regulations were amended to place a greater onus on the frequency of sampling and the range of materials to be measured; more facilities were brought into the scope of the new Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 which were not previously included such as facilities which receive single waste streams and facilties which consolidate waste material into bulk quantities.

The regulations place the onus on the operator of the site to self-assess whether their facility is a MF (Materials Facility) under the regulations.

MRF Code

The MRF Code of Practice is enacted through Part 2 Sch 9 of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 as amended by the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 which entered into force in October 2024 and required that MRFs to whom the regulations applied must:

• sample and test the materials they receive and send out
• record the information
• report every 3 months to the regulator

The Regulations apply to any facility (known as 'Qualifying MRFs') that receive over 1,000 tonnes or more of ' Waste Material' which is waste that is:

• Household Waste, or oriniates from a source other than household waste but is similar to household waste in terms of its nature and composition
• has been seperately collected (whether as a single kind of material or two or more kinds of material mixed together) for the primary purpose of preparing it for reuse or recycling, and
  • consists (whether wholly or in part) of any of the following kinds of material—
  • Glass
  • Metal
  • Paper
  • Card
  • Plastic
  • Fibre based composite material

Wastes 'similar to household waste' are those typically found in a household waste stream such as plastic bottles (typically ≤5 litres), pots, tubs and trays (PTTs) used for food packaging, flexible plastic packaging, glass bottles and jars, food tins, steel or aluminium drinks cans, newspapers and magazines and cardboard packaging.

Material Facilities which are in scope

A facility (or part of a facility) may be classed as a MF if you:

• hold a permit under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016
• receive and handle waste classed as waste material
• consolidate waste material into bulk quantities from multiple suppliers - for example, bulking or transfer stations
• sort incoming waste material into specified output materials, such as aluminium cans or cardboard

A facility (or part of a facility) will not be considered a MF if:

• it only receives waste material from a single supplier and does not seperate the material into specified out put materials
• It is a HWRC
• it solely undertakes the processing or sorting of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), waste batteries or accumulators.
• it solely undertakes the processing and sorting of residual waste.

Examples of materials facilites

Facilities likely to be considered MFs include

• materials recovery facilities (MRFs) sorting household dry recyclables
• Commercial and Industrial Waste facilities that receive waste material to consolidate or sort into specified output materials
• Waste Transfer Stations (WTS) that receive waste material to consolidate or sort into specified output materials
• facilites receiving and sorting single streams such as paper and cardboard
• facilities consolidating waste material received from 2 or more suppliers into bulk outputs

Material Facilities which are out of scope

Facilites not likely to be considered MFs include:

• commercial and industrial MRFs that consolidate and sort commercial and industrial wastes, unless the commercial waste meets the definition of waste material
• MRFs or parts of MRFs sorting only residual waste (‘dirty’ MRFs)
• mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facilities, unless they accept material that meets the definition of waste material and undertake MRF operations on part of the site
• refuse derived fuel (RDF) including solid recovered fuel (SRF) production facilities
• MRFs sorting materials from Construction and Demolition Waste

What counts as waste material

The material received is likely to be considered waste under the regulations if it meets the following criteria:

• it’s from a household source or it’s from a non-household source and is similar to household waste in nature or composition
• it was separately collected for the primary purpose of preparing for reuse or recycling
• it’s a single kind of material (a single stream) or multiple materials mixed together (a multiple stream)
• it contains one or more material types including glass, metal, paper, card, plastic, or fibre-based composite materials.

Assessing whether you are a materials facility

You are probably operating a MF under the regulations if:

• you receive waste material which is:
  • prepared for recycling or reuse
  • includes sorting the waste material into specified output materials suppliers into commom bulked quantities.

You are not a MF if:

• only consolidate waste material from a single supplier into bulked outputs
• do not prepare the material for reuse or recycing

Input sampling, measuring and recording

As a MF receiving 1,000 tonnes or more of waste material in 12 months and you meet the criteria above (as a facility within the scope of the new regulations) then sampling, measurement and recording of information by each individual supplier must be undertaken.

This involves measuring and recording the following:

• the total weight in tonnes of input waste material for each supplier during each reporting period
• the name and address of the supplier (or of each supplier) for each batch of material
• the date on which the batch of material was received, from which a sample has been taken

For input sampling the following information must be taken and recorded for each input sample:

• its composition in relation to the input sampling categories
• details of each supplier from whose inputs the sample was taken
• total weight in kilograms of each sample
• date the sample was taken
• details of the sampling methodology used to take a representative sample

In addition to measuring and recording the above, you also need to report:

• the total number of samples taken for each supplier
• the total weight of all samples

Input sample size and frequency

An input sample must be taken for every 75 tonnes of incoming waste material received for each supplier in a given reporting period.

The samples must meet the following requirements:

• the minimum weight of each sample is 55kg
• the average weight of all samples taken should be at least 60kg

Input sampling categories

The composition of all the samples taken against specific categories must be measured. You must measure and record the weight of all categories identified in kilograms.

Measurement of all input samples must be undertaken to identify whether the material is:

• target material
• non-target material
• non-recyclable material

Target material refers to one or more kind of materials identified by the operator of a MF, as destined for:

• separation from waste material received
• consolidation to produce bulk quantities of the identified material

Non-target material is material that may be recyclable but is not identified as a target material by the operator of the MF.

Non-recyclable material is waste material that currently cannot be viably recycled.

Input material types

There are 10 input material categories:

• glass
• aluminium
• steel
• paper
• card
• plastic bottles
• plastic pots, tubs and trays
• film or other flexible
• other plastic
• fibre-based composite material

Fibre-based composite material is a category of packaging material that is typically made of paperboard or paper fibres and laminated with plastic.

Packaging materials

For each category of target, non-target and non-recylcable materials the proportions of packaging items (except for glass unless its specifically required by the regulator) must be identified and measured. 'Packaging' is any product used for containing, handling, delivering and presenting goods.

Drinks containers

For each category of target, non-target and non-recyclable materials, drinks containers must also be seperately identified and measured, as a category of packaging.

Drinks containers include bottles and cans that:

• are made entirely or mainly from steel, aluminium or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic
• are made to hold between 50 millilitres and 3 litres of liquid
• come into direct contact with the drink inside
• are designed to be airtight and watertight when they’re supplied
• are not made for reuse or refilling

Additional sampling of glass packaging

There is no requirement to routinely measure and record whether glass in a sample is packaging or not. However, regulators can request input and output sampling of glass packaging. They will have to:

• give MFs at least 4 weeks notice before the start of the reporting period in which measurements will be taken
• specify the minimum number of samples you need to take for these measurements for each supplier

Material particles

Material particles in an input stream must also be seperately identified and recorded.

The following may be considered material particles in waste material:

• for material types other than glass, particles of that material measuring less than 55 millimetres along their longest dimension
• for material with a majority proportion of glass, glass particles measuring less than 13 millimetres along their longest dimension

The total weight of material particles in the sample will need to be identifed.

The composition of the material particles based on the composition of the remaining non-particle contents of the sample will also have to be calculated. This includes proportions within the non-particle contents of:

• target, non-target and non-recyclable material
• glass, aluminium, steel, paper, card, plastic, plastic bottles, plastic pots, tubs and trays, film or other flexible plastic, fibre-based composite material
• packaging materials and drinks containers

You must divide the total weight of the material particles using the non-particle content proportions recorded for that sample.

Output measurement, recording and sampling

All outputs must be measured and recorded and includes all materals identified as target, non-target, non-recyclable and any other waste material.

The following information should be measured and recorded in each reporting period:

• the total weight in tonnes of waste material that has been identified and kept separate and will be transferred to another MF or person for the purpose of recycling or reuse
• total weight in tonnes of specified output materials leaving the MF in the given reporting period
• the total weight in tonnes of all other material leaving the MF in the given reporting period
• relevant details such as name and address of the destination where all the materials are sent
• the date on which the material was sent from the facility
• total weight in tonnes and grade of specified output material (such as aluminium, steel, glass where appropriate) that make up the batch of specified output material
• any other identifying details of the batch of specified output material, such as batch or bale numbers where these are provided

If output sampling on specified output materials has to be undertaken then records of the following must be taken for each output sample:

• date sample was taken
• the details of the batch of specified output material each sample was taken from
• measurements of composition by the categories each sample is identified against
• details of sampling methodology used, to show how MFs ensure samples accurately reflect the composition of the total waste material

In addition to measuring and recording the above, you will need to report:

• the total number of samples taken for each batch of specified output material
• the total weight in kg of all samples in a reporting period

Frequency and size of output materials

The minimum sampling frequency and samples size for different material types are:

Specified output material	Minimum frequency	Weight of sample
Glass	Once for every 50 tonnes	10kg
Paper and card	Once for every 60 tonnes	50kg
Metal (aluminium, steel or both)	Once for every 20 tonnes	10kg
Plastic	Once for every 15 tonnes	20kg
Fibre-based composites	Once for every 60 tonnes	50kg

When there are two or more materials in a specified output the frequency and size of the material that has the lowest figure in the minimum frequency column of the table should be used.

For example:

• a mixture of plastic and aluminium would need a frequency of once for every 15 tonnes, and a sample size of 20kg
• a mixture of steel and glass would need a frequency of once for every 20 tonnes, and a sample size of 10kg

Output sampling categories

As a minimum, the grade of glass, aluminium, steel, paper, card, plastic or fibre-based composite material making up the specified output materials produced in the MF must be identided and recorded.

The 'Grade' of material describes the particular material specification of that material type.

For example, you may identify different grades of the following material using physical or chemical characteristics as follows:

• grades of glass may be based on colour such as clear glass or mixed coloured glass
• grades of plastic may be based on polymers including natural high density polyethylene (HDPE) bottle, coloured HDPE bottles, or clear PET bottle

Each batch of specified output material must be sampled and measured to identify:

• target material
• non-target material
• non-recyclable material

The weight of all categories identified must be measured and recorded, including packaging and drink container proportions in kilograms.

Packaging and drinks containers

For each category of target, non-target and non-recyclable materials, the proportions of:

• packaging items, except for glass unless specifically required by the regulator
• drinks containers

must be measured and recorded.

Additional sampling of glass packaging

Requirements for additional sampling of glass packaging are similar to the input sampling rules. The minimum number of output samples you need to take for these measurements will be specified by the written notice from the regulator.

Material particles

Material particles must be seperately measured and recorded in the output sample, following the sampling andmesaurement rules given under the input sampling informtion above to calculate proportions.

Sampling Planning

MFs should develop a quarterly plan for sampling of input materials from different suppliers and for Specified Output Materials based on the requirements set out in the Regulations. Sampling should be scheduled so it is as representative as possible i.e. arranging for the incoming material to be undertaken at different times and on different days and for Specified Output Material, samples should be taken at different times and on different days as well as taken from all shifts including night and weekend shifts if possible .

A review of the overall sampling approach was published in July 2023 and the approach was found to be satisfactory.

Reporting

Reports must be submitted electronically to the Regulatory Authorities (in a form specified by them) within one month of the end of the reporting period which is:

• 1 January to 31 March
• 1 April to 30 June
• 1July - 30 September
• 1 OCtober to 31 December

The reports shlould include all relevant information about the materials facilities’ total incoming and outgoing waste material, suppliers and destinations as well as:

• any samples you take for incoming and outgoing material in a reporting period, including the total number of samples taken for each supplier or each batch of specified output material
• the total weight in kg of all samples for each supplier or each batch of specified output material
• all measurements recorded as part of any input or output sampling undertaken

All information recorded:

• before 1st October 2024 should be retained for a minimum of 4 years from the date that it was first recorded
• after 1st October 2024 should be retained for a minimum of 7 years from the date that it was first recorded

Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement of the regulations

The environmental permit conditions imposed by the regulations will be enforced by the Regulatory Authorities.

Regulators will monitor your compliance with sampling, recording and reporting requirements through a number of compliance activities which may include:

• announced and unannounced audits carried out by visits to facilities, including the inspection of activities and relevant documentation
• virtual or remote audits
• desktop audits of data submissions

Audits will focus on:

• how samples are taken
• whether samples are representative and follow the written methodology
• assessment of the recorded and reported data

Audits will not consider how operators of MFs can improve quality specified output material produced from material separation processes.

Additional compliance activities may be undertaken based on intelligence and outcomes of previous audits.

Audits may be combined with compliance monitoring of other waste regulations for example, Duty of Care and Transfrontier Shipments of wastes, as well as wider permit compliance.

The regulator will employ the enforcement powers available to them under the Environmental Permitting Regulations in England and Wales.