Licensed and permitted sites
| Quarter | Reporting Period | Deadline for Submission to SEPA |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 January to 31 March | 28 April |
| 2 | 1 April to 30 June | 28 July |
| 3 | 1 July to 30 September | 28 October |
| 4 | 1 October to 31 December | 28 January |
| OR | ||
| Annual | 1 January to 31 December | 28 January |
Waste management activities in Scotland are regulated by SEPA to prevent pollution and to prevent harm to human health. SEPA regulates these activities through Waste Management Licences (WMLs) and Pollution Prevention and Control permits (PPCs).
All operators holding a WML and some site operators holding a PPC are required to submit waste data returns to SEPA on a quarterly or annual basis. A summary report for each data return is placed on SEPA’s public register and a summary is published in the Scottish waste sites and capacity tool.
The reporting periods and submission deadlines are shown above. Late submission or submissions of poor quality data may affect compliance scores.
Operators are asked to submit their waste data returns in Excel format (.xlsx) using the standard Licensed/Permitted Site Return (LSR) form and guidance provided below. Please check this webpage regularly for any updates to the return form or guidance.
- Licensed/permitted site return form (excel - preferred .xlsx format)
(0.7mb) - Licensed/permitted site return form (excel - older .xls format) (2.42mb)
- Licensed/permitted guidance November 2016
(399kb)
Further information on the coding of waste is available:
- Guidance on using EWC - November 2015 (1.24mb)
- SEPA waste thesaurus
- List of Waste Commission Decision (2014/955/EU)
- Technical guidance on the classification and assessment of waste WM3
- UK density conversion factors for waste
In response to a waste data consultation, from autumn 2022 onwards, non-confidential and non-personal information from waste data returns will be available to the public through our waste sites and capacity tool. This will be implemented as an update to the site return section of the waste sites and capacity tool and covers all years of data published. Additional information to be published will include:
- Geographical origin and/or destination of waste accepted on site (where non-confidential)
- Waste treatment method(s) on site
- Publication of tables C (waste treated on site) and C4 (waste landfill or incinerated on site after treatment).
Where the publication of waste geographical origin or destination will impact you commercially, you can apply to have the origin or destination withheld from publication for a period of three years. To do so, please complete and return the following form to the email address therein:
More information and links to the various reports we produce using the LSR data are available on our Waste data page.