SPRI Activity & SIC codes
In order to complete a SPRI return, operators must obtain the relevant codes.
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes
Every registered company in the UK has a SIC, which can be found through Companies House website.
The SIC code for a registered company reflects the economic activity of the company. The SIC code reported in SPRI should represent the main economic activity of the site and not the registered company. The current SIC codes are available to download.
Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) activity codes
The SPRI code reflects the activity or activities permitted to take place on a site as specified in the site authorisation. The SPRI codes allow Scottish sites to be compared to European sites by providing a common system of categorising industrial activities. Most SPRI codes are the same as those listed in the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register Regulation. Only the Radioactivity codes are different.
The table below provides complete details of the reporting activities and capacity thresholds in SPRI.
| SPRI Activity Code | Description of Activity | Capacity Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Energy sector | |
| 1(a) | Mineral oil and gas refineries | * |
| 1(b) | Installations for gasification and liquefaction | * |
| 1(c) | Thermal power stations and other combustion installations | With a heat input of 50 megawatts (MW) |
| 1(d) | Coke ovens | * |
| 1(e) | Coal rolling mills | With a capacity of 1 tonne per hour |
| 1(f) | Installations for the manufacture of coal products and solid smokeless fuel |
* |
| 2 | Production and processing of metals | |
| 2(a) | Metal ore (including sulphide ore) roasting or sintering installations | * |
| 2(b) | Installations for the production of pig iron or steel (primary or secondary melting) including continuous casting | With a capacity of 2.5 tonnes per hour |
| 2(c) | Installations for the processing of ferrous metals: | |
| 2(c).i | Hot-rolling mills | With a capacity of 20 tonnes of crude steel per hour |
| 2(c).ii | Smitheries with hammers | With an energy of 50 kilojoules per hammer, where the calorific power used exceeds 20 MW |
| 2(c).iii | Application of protective fused metal coats | With an input of 2 tonnes of crude steel per hour |
| 2(d) | Ferrous metal foundries | With a production capacity of 20 tonnes per day |
| 2(e) | Installations: | |
| 2(e).i | For the production of non-ferrous crude metals from ore, concentrates or secondary raw materials by metallurgical, chemical or electrolytic processes | * |
| 2(e).ii | For the smelting, including the alloying, of non-ferrous metals, including recovered products (refining, foundry casting, etc.) | With a melting capacity of 4 tonnes per day for lead and cadmium or 20 tonnes per day for all other metals |
| 2(f) | Installations for surface treatment of metals and plastic materials using an electrolytic or chemical process | Where the volume of the treatment vats equals 30m3 |
| 3 | Mineral industry | |
| 3(a) | Underground mining and related operations | * |
| 3(b) | Opencast mining | Where the surface of the area being mined equals 25 hectares |
| 3(c) | Installations for the production of: | |
| 3(c).i | Cement clinker in rotary kilns | With a production capacity of 500 tonnes per day |
| 3(c).ii | Lime in rotary kilns | With a production capacity of 50 tonnes per day |
| 3(c).iii | Cement clinker or lime in other furnaces | With a production capacity of 50 tonnes per day |
| 3(d) | Installations for the production of asbestos and the manufacture of asbestos-based products | * |
| 3(e) | Installations for the manufacture of glass, including glass fibre | With a melting capacity of 20 tonnes per day |
| 3(f) | Installations for melting mineral substances, including the production of mineral fibres | With a melting capacity of 20 tonnes per day |
| 3(g) | Installations for the manufacture of ceramic products by firing, in particular roofing tiles, bricks, refractory bricks, tiles, stoneware or porcelain |
With a production capacity of 75 tonnes per day, or with a kiln capacity of 4m3 and with a setting density per kiln of 300 kg/m3 |
| 4 | Chemical industry | |
| 4(a) | Chemical installations for the production on an industrial scale of basic organic chemicals, such as: | * |
| 4(a).i | Simple hydrocarbons (linear or cyclic, saturated or unsaturated, aliphatic or aromatic) | * |
| 4(a).ii | Oxygen-containing hydrocarbons such as alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, acetates, ethers, peroxides, epoxy resins | * |
| 4(a).iii | Sulphurous hydrocarbons | * |
| 4(a).iv | Nitrogenous hydrocarbons such as amines, amides, nitrous compounds, nitro compounds or nitrate compounds, nitriles, cyanates, isocyanates | * |
| 4(a).v | Phosphorus-containing hydrocarbons | * |
| 4(a).vi | Halogenic hydrocarbons | * |
| 4(a).vii | Organometallic compounds | * |
| 4(a).viii | Basic plastic materials (polymers, synthetic fibres and cellulose-based fibres) | * |
| 4(a).ix | Synthetic rubbers | * |
| 4(a).x | Dyes and pigments | * |
| 4(a).xi | Surface-active agents and surfactants | * |
| 4(b) | Chemical installations for the production on an industrial scale of basic inorganic chemicals, such as: | * |
| 4(b).i | Gases, such as ammonia, chlorine or hydrogen chloride, fluorine or hydrogen fluoride, carbon oxides, sulphur compounds, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen, sulphur dioxide, carbonyl chloride | * |
| 4(b).ii | Acids, such as chromic acid, hydrofluoric acid, phosphoric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid, oleum, sulphurous acids | * |
| 4(b).iii | Bases, such as ammonium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide | * |
| 4(b).iv | Salts, such as ammonium chloride, potassium chlorate, potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, perborate, silver nitrate | * |
| 4(b).v | Non-metals, metal oxides or other inorganic compounds such as calcium carbide, silicon, silicon carbide | * |
| 4(c) | Chemical installations for the production on an industrial scale of phosphorous-, nitrogen- or potassium-based fertilizers (simple or compound fertilizers) | * |
| 4(d) | Chemical installations for the production on an industrial scale of basic plant health products and of biocides | * |
| 4(e) | Installations using a chemical or biological process for the production on an industrial scale of basic pharmaceutical products | * |
| 4(f) | Installations for the production on an industrial scale of explosives and pyrotechnic products | * |
| 5 | Waste and waste-water management | |
| 5(a) | Installations for the recovery or disposal of hazardous waste. | Receiving 10 tonnes per day |
| 5(b) | Installations for the incineration of municipal waste | With a capacity of 3 tonnes per hour |
| 5(c) | Installations for the disposal of non-hazardous waste | With a capacity of 50 tonnes per day |
| 5(d) | Landfills (excluding landfills of inert waste) | Receiving 10 tonnes per day or with a total capacity of 25,000 tonnes |
| 5(e) | Installations for the disposal or recycling of animal carcasses and animal waste | With a treatment capacity of 10 tonnes per day |
| 5(f) | Municipal waste-water treatment plants: | |
| 5(f).i | Municipal waste-water treatment plants | With a capacity below 100,000 population equivalent |
| 5(f).ii | Municipal waste-water treatment plants with the capacity of 100,000 population equivalents | MWWTP with a capacity of 100,000 population equivalent |
| 5(g) | Independently operated industrial waste-water treatment plants which serve one or more activities of this list | With a capacity of 100,000 population equivalent |
| 5(h).v | Recovery, or a mix of recovery and disposal, of non-hazardous waste with a capacity exceeding 75 tonnes per day | When the only waste treatment activity carried out is anaerobic digestion, the capacity threshold for this activity shall be 100 tonnes per day |
| 6 | Paper and wood production and processing | |
| 6(a) | Industrial plants for the production of pulp from timber or similar fibrous materials | * |
| 6(b) | Industrial plants for the production of paper and board and other primary wood products (such as chipboard, fibreboard and plywood) | With a production capacity of 20 tonnes per day |
| 6(c) | Industrial plants for the preservation of wood and wood products with chemicals | With a production capacity of 50m3 per day |
| 7 | Intensive livestock production and aquaculture | |
| 7(a) | Installations for the intensive rearing of poultry or pigs: | |
| 7(a).i | Installations for the intensive rearing of poultry | With 40,000 places for poultry |
| 7(a).ii | Installations for the intensive rearing of pigs | With 2,000 places for production pigs (over 30 kg) |
| 7(a).iii | Installations for the intensive rearing of pigs | With 750 places for sows |
| 7(b) | Intensive aquaculture: | |
| 7(b).i | Intensive aquaculture |
Not exceeding 1,000 tonnes of fish and shellfish per year |
| 7(b).ii | Intensive aquaculture |
With 1,000 tonnes of fish and shellfish per year |
| 8 | Animal and vegetable products from the food and beverage sector | |
| 8(a) | Slaughterhouses | With a carcass production capacity of 50 tonnes per day |
| 8(b) | Treatment and processing intended for the production of food and beverage products from: | |
| 8(b).i | (i) Animal raw materials (other than milk) | With a finished product production capacity of 75 tonnes per day |
| 8(b).ii | (ii) Vegetable raw materials | With a finished product production capacity of 300 tonnes per day (average value on a quarterly basis) |
| 8(c) | Treatment and processing of milk | With a capacity to receive 200 tonnes of milk or more per day (average value on an annual basis) |
| 9 | Other activities | |
| 9(a) | Plants for the pre-treatment (operations such as washing, bleaching, mercerization) or dyeing of fibres or textiles | With a treatment capacity of 10 tonnes per day |
| 9(b) | Plants for the tanning of hides and skins | With a treatment capacity of 12 tonnes of finished product per day |
| 9(c) | Installations for the surface treatment of substances, objects or products using organic solvents, in particular for dressing, printing, coating, degreasing, waterproofing, sizing, painting, cleaning or impregnating | With a consumption capacity of 150 kg per hour or 200 tonnes per year |
| 9(d) | Installations for the production of carbon (hard-burnt coal) or electrographite by means of incineration or graphitization | * |
| 9(e) | Installations for the building of, and painting or removal of paint from ships | With a capacity for ships 100m long |
| 10 | Radioactive Substances Act Activities | |
| 10(a) | All nuclear installations (including plants undergoing decommissioning) and all non-nuclear installations holding authorisation for air, water and waste water releases: Radioactive substances activity - nuclear | |
| 10(b) | All nuclear installations (including plants undergoing decommissioning) and all non-nuclear installations holding authorisation for air, water and waste water releases: Radioactive substances activity - non-nuclear |