Who regulates what

Environmental permits, waste (carriers, exemptions, hazardous waste, digital waste tracking), water discharges and abstraction, ESOS (scheme administrator for the UK), UK ETS registry, climate change agreements, packaging EPR and WEEE producer registration in England, flood risk activities.

Contact: General enquiries 03708 506 506 (Mon–Fri 8am–6pm); enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk; 24-hour incident hotline 0800 80 70 60. Public register

Environmental permits, waste carrier and hazardous waste producer registration, workplace recycling separation duties, water discharges and abstraction, ESOS and packaging EPR enforcement in Wales, forestry and marine licensing.

Contact: 0300 065 3000; enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk; incident hotline 0300 065 3000 (24 hours). Public register

All EASR authorisations (waste, water, industrial, radioactive substances) since 1 November 2025, special waste, digital waste tracking in Scotland, UK ETS and ESOS in Scotland, the biodegradable municipal waste landfill ban.

Contact: 03000 99 66 99; pollution hotline 0800 80 70 60. Public register

Part of DAERA. Pollution prevention and control permits, waste management licences, carrier and broker registration, hazardous waste movements, water discharge consents, ESOS, packaging EPR and WEEE in Northern Ireland, the deposit return scheme from October 2027.

Contact: 0300 200 7856; emergency pollution hotline 0800 80 70 60. Public register

Plastic packaging tax, landfill tax (England and Northern Ireland), Climate Change Levy and carbon price support, aggregates levy, and the UK carbon border adjustment mechanism from 1 January 2027.

Contact: Plastic packaging tax and CBAM enquiries through your HMRC business tax account.

Policy owner for waste, packaging EPR, deposit return, WEEE and batteries, F-gas, biodiversity net gain, water and air quality in England; leads UK-wide producer responsibility reforms.

Contact: defra.helpline@defra.gov.uk; 03459 33 55 77.

Policy owner for ESOS, SECR, the UK ETS (through the UK ETS Authority with the devolved governments), climate change agreements and the Climate Change Levy's energy-efficiency discounts, and minimum energy efficiency standards for buildings.

Contact: Through GOV.UK contact forms for each scheme.

Scheme administrator for packaging extended producer responsibility across the UK: sets and invoices disposal fees, runs the recyclability assessment methodology and fee modulation, and distributes payments to local authorities.

Contact: Through the GOV.UK packaging EPR pages and your regulator or compliance scheme.

The not-for-profit body appointed in 2025 to run the deposit return scheme for drinks containers in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland from 1 October 2027: registers producers and return points, sets the deposit level and producer fees. Exchange for Change was appointed for Wales in August 2026.

Contact: Through the scheme's producer and retailer registration channels once open.

Smaller industrial processes (Part B permits in England and Wales), statutory nuisance, fly-tipping and household duty of care penalties, single-use plastics bans, carrier bag charges, WEEE and battery take-back by retailers, minimum energy efficiency standards for let buildings, and biodiversity net gain through planning.

Contact: Your local council's environmental health or trading standards team.

Trade effluent consents and agreements for discharges to the public sewer (for example Thames Water, Severn Trent, Scottish Water, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and NI Water), including sampling, charges and prohibited substances.

Contact: Your sewerage undertaker's trade effluent team.

Sustainability and climate disclosure rules for listed companies under the UK Listing Rules, including the UK SRS-based requirements that apply to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027.

Contact: Through the FCA's listed-company contact channels.