As of the 1st of September 2023, the Regulatory Position Statement 250 (RPS 250) has officially been withdrawn in England by the Environment Agency. As a result, if you work with or handle demolition waste wood, you must handle potentially hazardous waste wood correctly.

RPS 250 WITHDRAWAL — WHAT IS CHANGING?

The withdrawal of RPS 250 means that certain kinds of potentially hazardous waste wood from pre-2007 buildings, which could previously be sent for recycling or recovery under the RPS, will no longer be accepted at wood recycling sites.

To ensure you handle your waste wood correctly, you will need to sort and categorise your materials into ‘Hazardous Treated’ and ‘Non-hazardous Treated’. We’ve put together a list of potentially hazardous items to look out for, so you can handle them accordingly.

WHAT WOOD ITEMS SHOULD I LOOK FOR?

From the 1st of September, the following ten wood items from pre-2007 buildings will automatically be classified as hazardous and cannot be sent to wood recyclers:

• Barge Boards
• External Fascia
• Soffit Boards
• External Joinery
• External Doors
• Roof Timber
• Tiling Cladding
• Tiling Battens
• Timber Frames
• Timber Joists

These items will require specialist hazardous waste disposal unless an external test provider can certify that they are not hazardous. There is more information on IDENTIFYING, TESTING, ASSIGNING and COSIGNING your waste wood via the WRA Toolkit.

HOW CAN ALFRED H KNIGHT HELP?

If you need an expert to help you assess your waste wood for classification purposes, Alfred H Knight can help.

As an industry leader in sampling and analysis, AHK is well-placed to help determine the composition of your waste wood. Our waste wood classification services build a reliable profile of your materials. With this, you can make informed decisions on how to handle them correctly.

If you would like to speak to an expert to see how we can help you with your waste wood, head to our contact page today.