Does your textiles and clothing business require a PPC permit?

Your business may require a pollution prevention and control (PPC) permit from your environmental regulator or local council. For example, you will need a permit if your business has a production capacity above a certain level or if you use certain hazardous substances.

If your business is an installation or mobile plant you will need a pollution prevention and control (PPC) permit from your environmental regulator.

An installation is a stationary technical unit, such as a self-contained building, permanent structure or fixed plant, used for listed activities.

A mobile plant is plant that can be moved and is used for listed activities.

Listed activities

These are industrial, waste or intensive farming activities that have an impact on the environment and are listed in the PPC regulations. They are split into categories:

Part A, B and C in Northern Ireland
Part A and B in Scotland

Listed activities that might be carried out by textile and clothing businesses include:

	Permit Categories
Listed activity	Northern Ireland	Scotland
pre-treating or dyeing fibres or textiles if you have an installed capacity of more than 10 tonnes per day	Part A	Part A
surface treating products using organic solvents if you have a capacity of more than 150kg per hour or 200 tonnes per year	Part A	Part A
bulk storage of chemicals	Part B	Part B
using less than one tonne of organic chemicals such as toluene di-isocyanate in a 12-month period	Part B	Part B
using five tonnes or more of organic chemicals such as some di-isocyanate in a 12-month period	Part B	Part B
using five tonnes or more of organic solvents in a 12-month period	Part C	Part B

This guidance does not provide a complete list of PPC activities. If you are unsure whether you are affected by PPC contact your environmental regulator or, in Northern Ireland, your local council

What you must do

If your installation or mobile plant carries out listed activities you will need a permit from your environmental regulator.

Permits and regulators for listed activities

Activity category	Northern Ireland	Scotland
Part A	PPC permit regulated by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA)	PPC permit regulated by SEPA
Part B	PPC permit regulated the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA)	PPC permit regulated by SEPA
Part C	PPC permit regulated by local council	N/A

Contact your environmental regulator

You should contact your environmental regulator or local council for further information about listed activities. NetRegs does not provide detailed guidance on Part A activities.

If you are unsure whether you are affected by PPC, contact your environmental regulator or local council.

Contact your environmental regulator

Contact your local council

How to apply for a permit

NIEA: Apply online

SEPA: Application forms

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