How to manage livestock manure and slurry appropriately
This advice is to support farmers, landowners and producers in managing livestock manure and slurry sustainably.
This is not intended to be comprehensive technical guidance on how to comply with all your obligations in relation to livestock manure and slurry and should not be construed as such. This generic advice is published to highlight key regulatory issues which you should be aware of to enable you to make your own decisions and/or to obtain your own independent advice.
Waste Classification
This applies to anyone managing and handling livestock manure and slurry. An assessment must be made by the producer/holder of these materials of the regulatory requirements for storage, transport, treatment and use and any potential environmental impacts of these activities. This is to inform the assessment of whether they are waste or not.
It is the responsibility of the producer/holders of materials to determine if they are managing and handling a waste and ensure they comply with relevant legal requirements.
When livestock manure and slurry are applied to land with no demonstrable benefit to soil and crop growth, for example they exceed the nutrient requirements and pose a risk of environmental harm in their use, they are considered waste. Livestock manure and slurry used in an on-farm treatment process, or dispatched to a treatment process, such as composting or Anaerobic Digestion (AD), is waste and will be subject to waste regulations, including duty of care for its movement and the need for an environmental permit or exemption for its treatment.
You can find more information on how to classify waste: Waste classification technical guidance - GOV.UK (this guidance applies in Wales).
You can find more information to assist in making the correct decision: Check if your material is waste - GOV.UK (this guidance applies in Wales).
Storage
The safe storage of livestock manure and slurry, where there is certainty of beneficial use controlled through planned and delivered measures may not come under waste control. These recognised good agricultural practice measures include and are not limited to manure and nutrient management plans and application records.
Read more about good agricultural practice in Wales.
Where your intention is to store livestock manure and slurry with no demonstratable certainty of beneficial use or where the use poses a risk of causing environmental harm, this storage will fall under waste control. This may apply to all, or a specific quantity of the livestock manure and slurry stored.
All livestock manure and slurry produced on or imported to your farm must be stored as detailed in The Water Resources Control of Agricultural Pollution Regulations 2021 (CoAPR). These are minimum requirements, and any additional storage of waste may require additional regulatory standards.
Read more about safely storing silage and slurry.
Livestock Manure and slurry use as a fertiliser/soil conditioner
Livestock manure and slurry that are certain to be used as fertiliser in accordance with CoAPR and good agricultural practice, are generally not regarded as waste. Livestock manure and slurry can provide some or all the nutrients the soil and crop require which can eliminate or reduce the need for manufactured fertiliser material. This supports a circular economy and follows the principles of the waste hierarchy.
If you declare that your livestock manure and slurry are not a waste and not subject to waste controls, you must be able to demonstrate this and provide evidence that it will not present a risk of causing harm.
You must be able to provide evidence that the quantity of livestock manure and slurry you produce is intended to be used beneficially and will not present a risk of environmental harm during its storage, transport and use. As a producer or holder of livestock manure and slurry it is your responsibility to ensure that this can be demonstrated through any supply chain. It is your responsibility to prevent environmental harm by having adequate risk control measures in place. You can use manure management and nutrient management plans to assist with this, but you must ensure any plan is suitable for your circumstances taking account of whether you will export, import, or use your own livestock manure and slurry.
Even when there are adequate manure and nutrient management plans in place for the appropriate use of livestock manure and slurry, if these materials are applied in an uncontrolled manner, they will be considered waste. Unlawful application that fails to deliver benefits and poses a risk of environmental harm indicates that the material has been disposed of rather than properly used.
Nutrient and Manure Management Plans
If you are declaring that your livestock manure and slurry are not waste then you must ensure that the manure and nutrient management plan/s ( and any other relevant evidence) can demonstrate that there is sufficient certainty of beneficial use for the quantity of livestock manure and slurry stored and there are clearly identified parcels of land assessed to receive this material without causing environmental harm.
A Manure Management Plan details the volume of livestock manures and slurries produced and how they are collected, moved, stored, treated and used. The plan must be in place from the point of production to the end destination, with a clear chain of management and responsibility in place. With each “holder” being able to provide evidence of the manures and slurries status.
If you are spreading livestock manure and slurry on your land you should produce a nutrient management plan as part of your manure management plan. This must also consider imported livestock manure and slurry. This nutrient management plan will be important for you to show what you intend to spread is required by the soil and crop. Where you are importing livestock manure and slurry onto your land you must ensure that you have agreed the nutrient content and quantity of material that you required prior to arrival. A nutrient management plan will detail the level and type of nutrients that will improve your crop growth based on soil and crop need.
If you are exporting livestock manure and slurry to another farm as a fertiliser/soil conditioner and declare it is not a waste. You must demonstrate that the receiving land has a nutrient management plan in place. This plan must show that the quantity of livestock manure or slurry you are supplying is required, and this is for beneficial use. You will be a producer if you are exporting livestock manure and slurry and it is your responsibility to ensure that you are storing and moving this material appropriately. This will include ensuring you have fully assessed its waste status.
Read more about Manure and Nutrient management plans.
What is beneficial use?
The soil and crop must require all of the available nutrients applied at the time of application. The application timing and method should also not risk causing environmental harm. If the application of your livestock manure or slurry contains nutrients the soil and crop does not require, these will be lost to the wider environment and risks causing environmental harm.
For instance, if the soil and crop require a certain level of nitrogen but does not require any phosphate taking into account residual nutrient content and availability in the soil then no additional phosphate should be applied. This would indicate that the application of your livestock manure or slurry is a waste disposal activity.
Ensure your livestock manure or slurry is being spread properly
Regardless of waste status, all land spreading of livestock manures and slurries must be carried out in accordance with the Water Resources Control of Agricultural Pollution Regulations 2021.
Download further guidance on these regulations for farmers on the Welsh Government website.
Find more information on evidence needs on our Manure and Nutrient Management Plan page.