T29: carbon filtering non-hazardous pesticide washings
Source: gov.uk (2025-08-19)

T29 exemption allows farmers, landscapers and other land managers to treat non-hazardous pesticide washings produced during their work.

There’s a charge for most waste exemptions

This exemption is in band 3. Read waste exemption charges (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/waste-exemptions-how-to-choose-register-and-pay/waste-exemption-charges) to find out what the charges and charging bands are.

Activities you can carry out

You can use a sealed carbon filtration unit, such as a sentinel unit, to treat spray and pesticide washings produced on a farm or in landscaping and similar work.

Activities you cannot carry out

You cannot:

import pesticide washings from other places to treat on your site

treat hazardous pesticide washings (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/classify-different-types-of-waste-your-legal-responsibilities)

Conditions

You must:

treat and store waste in the same place that the pesticides were used

ensure that no pesticide washings (treated or untreated) can get into drains, watercourses or onto land

carry out treatment of the pesticide washings in a sealed carbon filtration unit with sealed drainage

Sealed drainage means the system has an impermeable surface so that:

no liquid will run off the surface, except via the system

all liquids entering the system are collected in a sealed sump, unless they can be lawfully discharged

Types of waste you can treat

Your waste must fit with the waste codes and description in the table.

You can store or treat up to 8,000 litres of waste over any 24-hour period. This is the maximum amount allowed.

Check if you need an environmental permit

You will need to apply for a permit if you want to dispose of the treated pesticide washings by discharging them to land.

Read about environmental permits for discharging liquid waste (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/discharges-to-surface-water-and-groundwater-environmental-permits).

Registering your waste exemption

Register a T29 exemption with the Environment Agency. You can register and pay through the waste exemption service (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/register-your-waste-exemptions).

Registration rules

You cannot:

register more than one T29 at the same site

register a T29 if it’s already been registered at the site by another business

renew your registration more than one month before the 3-year registration period ends

store waste that’s not included in the exemption

deregister an exemption then register it again within 3 years of the start of the earlier registration

Waste exemption charges

Read waste exemption charges (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/waste-exemptions-how-to-choose-register-and-pay) to find out what the charges are.

T29 exemption has a band 3 compliance charge.

There’s a registration charge to register one or more exemptions at a time.

Farmer charges

Farmers pay a capped charge for any number of farming exemptions. T29 is included in the list of farming exemptions.

Charities

If your organisation works exclusively for a charitable purpose (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charitable-purposes/charitable-purposes) you do not have to pay waste exemption charges.

Related exemptions

T32 – treatment of waste in a biobed or biofilter (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/waste-exemption-t32-treatment-of-waste-in-a-biobed-or-biofilter) allows you to treat dilute pesticide washings in a biobed or biofilter.

Read the waste exemptions guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/waste-exemptions-how-to-choose-register-and-pay/) in full.

Contact the Environment Agency

General enquiries

National Customer Contact Centre PO Box 544RotherhamS60 1BY

Email xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx)

Telephone 03708 506 506

Telephone from outside the UK (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm GMT) xx-xxxx-xxxx

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.