Hazardous Waste Guide

What is hazardous waste?

The definition of hazardous waste is:

“waste which has properties that may make it harmful to human health or the environment”.

Examples of hazardous waste include: 

• Construction and demolition waste, such as contaminated soil and wood, asbestos, glass and plastic
• Electronic waste, such as fluorescent tubes, computer monitors and televisions
• Industrial waste, such as solvent, paint, varnish, oils, cleaning cloths, filters and soiled protective clothing
• Residue from other waste treatments, such as ash from incinerators

To identify whether your waste is hazardous and to ensure the safe disposal of such waste requires regular review of various Regulations, such as: 

• The Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005 (HWR);
• The List of Waste Regulations 2005 (LoWR)
• Technical Guidance WM2: Interpretation of the Definition and Classification of Hazardous Waste
• European Waste Catalogue (EWC)
• The Eighth Approved Supply List

Keeping up to date and understanding the regulations relating to this complex industry can be time consuming, especially as your time is precious and can be used more efficiently. 

Our experienced Technical Sales Advisors can provide you with a more straightforward understanding of these regulations.

One of the documents used regularly is the European Waste Catalogue developed by the European Union. 

The Catalogue provides a full list of wastes grouped according to industry or process to establish if your waste is hazardous. To be able to find the correct EWC code for your waste type, information relating to the waste and the process in producing the waste needs to be obtained.

A six-digit code is given to each waste type and hazardous wastes are identified with an asterisk (*). 

Certain wastes are always classified as hazardous.  However, others require assessment to ascertain whether they are hazardous or not.  This will depend on whether the amounts of hazardous substances within the waste are above threshold limits.  Our Technical Sales Advisors are highly trained in waste analysis and can advise you whether your waste is hazardous or not and assist in identifying the correct EWC code for your waste stream. 

For more information or guidance, contact our Technical Sales Advisors