# Working in Wales - environmental regulations and waste
In Wales, the rules around waste and pollution are basically the same idea as England - you still need a waste carrier licence, you still need permits for certain activities, and you still get hammered if you cause pollution. The key difference is who you're dealing with.
If you rock up in Wales assuming it's the Environment Agency, you'll spend time on the wrong website, ringing the wrong number, and putting the wrong name on your paperwork.
1. Who's actually in charge in Wales
In England, you're used to the Environment Agency (EA).
In Wales, the equivalent is Natural Resources Wales (NRW).
NRW deals with:
- Waste carrier registrations
- Environmental permits for certain activities
- Water pollution and incident reporting
- Flood risk and river/land issues
If you're working in Wales and you see "contact the Environment Agency" on some old form or template, that's your cue to stop and swap it for NRW.
2. Same legal duties, different logo on the letterhead
The expectations on you don't soften just because you've crossed Offa's Dyke. You still need to:
- Register as a waste carrier if you regularly carry away waste from jobs.
- Handle and dispose of waste properly.
- Get the right permits if you're storing, treating or moving certain wastes.
- Report pollution and serious environmental incidents.
The big difference is:
- In England: you register and deal with the Environment Agency.
- In Wales: you register and deal with Natural Resources Wales.
If you're a border business, that can mean two registrations - one with EA for your English work, and one with NRW for Welsh work - depending on how you operate.
3. Practical stuff that actually changes
When you move from England to Wales, you're not just swapping a name. In practice, you've got:
- Different website to use
- Different online forms and logins
- Different helpline numbers
- Different branding on any certificates or letters you print or show to clients
So if your site paperwork bundle says "Environment Agency waste carrier licence" and you're stood on a job in Wales - and the council or a client looks twice at it - you want to be ready to explain that you're correctly registered in the right country, not waving the wrong bit of paper.
4. How to handle this if you work both sides of the border
If you're doing jobs in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Cheshire, etc., and dipping into Wales:
On your job sheet, note the jurisdiction:
- "Environmental regulator: NRW (Wales)" or
- "Environmental regulator: Environment Agency (England)"
Make sure your office knows:
- Which jobs need NRW details
- Which jobs need EA details
Keep copies of your waste carrier registration and any permits from both bodies somewhere obvious and labelled:
- "EA - England waste carrier cert"
- "NRW - Wales waste carrier cert"
When a client or inspector asks, you don't want to be thinking "hang on, which one is it here?" - you want it written down and easy to show.
Environmental checklist for border builders
Use this any time you're pricing or running a job near the border.
1. Work out who the regulator is
For every job, write on the job sheet:
- "Jurisdiction: England - Environment Agency" or
- "Jurisdiction: Wales - Natural Resources Wales (NRW)"
If you're not sure which side of the line it is, check the postcode properly. Don't guess.
2. Waste carrier registration
- Do we carry waste from site as part of the job? (rubble, soil, old kitchens/bathrooms, etc.)
- If yes, are we registered as a waste carrier with:
- Environment Agency for England work?
- NRW for Wales work?
- Keep digital copies of both registrations, clearly named, in a shared folder.
- Print a one-pager for vans/site file if you get spot-checked.
3. Permits and exemptions
Before you start anything that isn't just "put it in the skip and it gets taken away":
- Are we storing, treating, crushing, or processing waste on site or at our yard?
- If yes, check whether that needs a full permit or a registered exemption.
- Make sure any permit/exemption for England jobs is in the EA system, and any for Welsh work is in the NRW system.
4. Office checklist for every new job
For your office staff, make this standard on job setup:
- Tick: England or Wales
- Fill in: regulator (EA / NRW), waste carrier licence number for this job, any permits/exemptions (reference numbers)
- File copies of: relevant licence/permit PDF into the job folder, any emails/letters from EA or NRW
5. Site and client paperwork
On any site paperwork bundle or method statement:
- Use the right regulator name for the country you're in (EA for England, NRW for Wales).
- Don't hand a Welsh client a method statement that talks about "Environment Agency" for reporting spills. Swap it for NRW details.
Pin this up: the office one-pager
- Mark job as England (EA) or Wales (NRW).
- Add correct waste carrier licence number.
- Check if we need any permit/exemption for what we're doing.
- Save licence/permit PDFs in the job folder.
- Make sure any template we send (RAMS, waste notes) names the right regulator.
You get this admin tight now, and when someone asks "who regulates you here?" you've always got the right answer ready.
What to do next
- Read: Guide 11.1 - Waste carrier licence
- Read: Working in Wales - building regulations differences
- Read: Working in Wales - planning rules
Sources (UK)
- Natural Resources Wales (NRW) - waste carrier registration, environmental permits for Wales.
- Environment Agency - waste carrier registration, environmental permits for England.
- Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 - shared framework, different enforcement bodies.
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