In October 2025, the way we classify and manage excavated waste from street and utility works changed with the introduction of the Street Works UK Material Classification Protocol. This replaced the previous RPS 298 and 299 guidance and applies to all street works, including unplanned or emergency excavations.
The updated protocol is designed to make waste management safer, more consistent, and easier to track, while giving regulatory bodies like the Environment Agency better oversight.
Key requirements
Contractors and utilities teams now need to follow a structured approach, which includes:
- Risk assessments before excavation – understanding potential hazards in the material before digging.
- Segregation of waste streams on site – keeping soils, asphalt, hazardous and non-hazardous materials separate.
- Sampling and lab testing – a minimum of 1 % of excavations must be tested, with the potential to increase to 3 % if accuracy isn’t maintained.
- Quarterly reporting – upload results to Street Manager to provide visibility to regulators.
- Oversight by the Environment Agency – ensuring compliance with the protocol and accuracy of classifications.
What this means for your team
These changes mean that careful planning, clear communication between office and site teams, and thorough record-keeping are now essential. Making sure your team understands the requirements and has processes in place for risk assessment, sampling, and reporting will help reduce errors, avoid regulatory issues, and improve safety and efficiency on site.
By adopting a consistent approach, contractors can ensure waste is classified correctly, handled safely, and reported accurately keeping projects compliant and reducing unnecessary risk.
Full protocol and guidance documents are available here:
https://www.streetworks.org.uk/resources/street-works-uk-material-classification-protocol/