EWC waste code finder

How a waste code is put together

A code has three pairs of digits. The first pair is the chapter, usually the source of the waste. The second is the subchapter. The third is the specific entry. So 18 01 06* sits in chapter 18 (healthcare wastes), subchapter 01 (from human healthcare), entry 06.

An asterisk means the entry is hazardous. The Environment Agency's WM3 guidance divides entries into absolute hazardous, absolute non-hazardous, mirror hazardous and mirror non-hazardous. An absolute entry is one thing or the other, whatever the concentration. Dental amalgam (18 01 10*) and fixer solutions (09 01 04*) are absolute hazardous. A mirror entry is half of a pair, and the holder has a duty to determine which half applies.

Why a chemical name does not give you a code

People often ask for "the waste code for acetone". There is not one. WM3 starts from where the waste came from, and only then asks what it is. Acetone from a school prep room and acetone from a histology lab can fall in different chapters, and what it has been used for may change its hazards.

For a mirror entry, WM3 says a code cannot be assigned until the assessment steps have been completed. Those steps ask you to identify the substances in the waste and their concentrations, and to compare them with the hazardous property thresholds. A safety data sheet can help with what went in, but it describes the product as sold, not the used waste.

The entries laboratories meet most

Chapter 16 05, discarded chemicals and gases. This is the usual home of waste chemicals from a school or a non-healthcare laboratory.

Chapter 18, healthcare. Hospitals, clinics, dental surgeries and veterinary practices start here. Subchapter 18 01 covers human healthcare and 18 02 covers animal healthcare.

WM3 itself uses veterinary amalgam as an example: it should be coded 18 01 10* because that is clearly the most suitable entry, even though the entry refers to human healthcare.

Chapter 09, photographic. X-ray developers and fixers in dental or veterinary practices do not go under chapter 18. NHS England's HTM 07-01 notes that photochemicals are classified under subchapter 09 01. That gives 09 01 01* for water-based developer and 09 01 04* for fixer.

Chapter 20, municipal. You may see 20 01 13* (solvents) on a list. Chapter 20 is for municipal wastes and similar wastes from commercial and institutional sources, including separately collected fractions. It is an absolute hazardous entry. Whether it is the right choice for your solvents depends on where they came from, which is why the source question comes first.

A crate of bottles is not one waste

A common mistake is to treat a box of old chemicals as a single item. WM3 gives this very example: a crate holding bottles of three different laboratory chemicals, where each must be assessed as a separate waste. On a consignment note, each one needs its own line. That is also why a lab pack, the packed crate your chemicals leave in, comes with an itemised list.

The rules on mixing matter here too. You must not mix hazardous waste with non-hazardous waste, or mix different categories of hazardous waste, without a permit that specifically allows it. Items can share a vehicle or a container only if they are not physically mixed, cannot contaminate one another and are each described separately on the paperwork.

Using the finder

Start with the setting the waste came from, then the type of waste. Where the finder lands on a mirror pair it will show you both entries and say that an assessment is needed. Where it lands on an absolute entry it will say so.

Treat the result as something to check with whoever classifies your waste. If you are sending waste through us, the code on each line gets another check before the consignment note is prepared, but you remain responsible for an accurate description. The chemical pages in our database show the usual entries for each chemical, along with its storage class and hazards, and the consignment note guide shows where the code goes on the note.

Things the finder does not cover

Unknown substances cannot be coded until someone has found out what they are. Radioactive waste is not part of the List of Waste in the usual sense, and it has separate rules. Controlled drugs have additional requirements beyond the waste code. Gas cylinders, explosives and asbestos need specialist handling, and all of these are outside our self-serve route.