Blog

later post  |  index  |  earlier post

How to classify the different types of waste your business produces

  Friday, 14 July 2017

Before any waste a business produces is retrieved for recycling and disposal, it needs to be classified to enable waste transporters and recyclers such as ASM Metal Recycling to determine how to handle it whilst being disposed of.

As a business with commercial waste, your responsibilities and duty of care are to sort and store waste safely and securely whilst you wait for its collection. For every load of waste that leaves your premises it’s important to make a waste transfer note that’s easily accessible should your local council or the Environment Agency ask for proof of its disposal in the future.

When arranging for waste contractors to collect and manage your business waste you’ll need to include the following in your description:

  • The waste classification code – also known as the List of Waste (LoW) or European Waste Catalogue (EWC) code.
  • Acknowledgement of its hazardous or non-hazardous nature.
  • The type of premises or business where the waste is derived from.
  • The name of the substance(s) requiring collection.
  • The process that produced the hazardous or non-hazardous waste.
  • Analysis of its chemical and physical state.
  • An outline of any special issues or knowledge regarding the waste.

The five different types of waste classification

* denotes hazardous waste.

Construction and demolition waste

Insulation and asbestos
  • Insulation containing asbestos (17-06-01*)
  • Other insulation containing hazardous substances (17-06-03*)
  • Other insulation materials (17-06-04)
  • Other construction materials containing asbestos (17-06-05*)
Building materials
  • Untreated wood (17-02-01)
  • Uncontaminated glass (17-02-02)
  • Plastic (excluding packaging waste) (17-02-03)
  • Treated wood, glass, plastic, containing hazardous substances (17-02-04*)
Bituminous mixtures, coal tar and tar
  • Bituminous mixtures containing coal tar (17-03-01*)
  • Other bituminous mixtures (17-03-02)
  • Coal tar and tarred products (17-03-03*)
Metallic waste, including cable
  • Copper, bronze and brass (17-04-01)
  • Aluminium (17-04-02)
  • Lead (17-04-03)
  • Iron and steel (17-04-05)
  • Tin (17-04-06)
  • Mixed metals (17-04-07)
  • Metals containing hazardous substances (17-04-09*)
  • Cables containing oil, coal, tar and other hazardous substances (17-04-10*)
  • Other cables (17-04-11)
Soil, contaminated soil, stones and dredging soil
  • Soil and stones containing hazardous substances (17-05-03*)
  • Other soil and stones (17-05-04)
  • Dredging soil containing hazardous substances (17-05-05*)
  • Other dredging soil (17-05-06)
Gypsum
  • Gypsum materials containing hazardous substances (17-08-01*)
  • Other gypsum materials (17-08-02)
Cement
  • Unused or unset cement (17-09-03*)
Paints and Varnishes
  • Containing organic solvents or other hazardous substances (08-01-11*)
  • Not containing organic solvents or hazardous substances (08-01-12)
  • Paint or varnish remover (08-01-21*)
  • Paint cans (15-01-10*)
Adhesives and sealants
  • Containing organic solvents or other hazardous substances (08-04-09*)
  • Not containing organic solvents or hazardous substances (08-04-10)
  • Adhesive or sealant containers (15-01-10*)

Packaging waste and recyclables

Clean packaging
  • Plastic (15-01-02)
  • Metal (15-01-04)
  • Paper and cardboard (15-01-01)
  • Glass (15-01-07)
  • Textiles (15-01-09)
Other clean material (unmixed)
  • Plastic (20-01-39)
  • Metal (20-01-40)
  • Paper and cardboard (20-01-01)
  • Glass (20-01-02)
  • Textiles (20-01-11)
Mixed clean material (inc. packaging)
  • Plastic (15-01-02 & 20-01-39)
  • Metal (15-01-04 & 20-01-40)
  • Paper and cardboard (15-01-01 & 20-01-01)
  • Glass (15-01-07 & 20-01-02)
  • Textiles (15-01-09 & 20-01-10)
Empty packaging contaminated with residues of hazardous substances
  • Plastic (15-01-10*)
  • Metal (15-01-10*)
  • Paper and cardboard (15-01-10*)
  • Glass (15-01-10*)
  • Textiles (15-01-10*)
Empty packaging contaminated with residues of non-hazardous substances
  • Plastic (15-01-02)
  • Metal (15-01-04)
  • Paper and cardboard (15-01-01)
  • Glass (15-01-07)
  • Textiles (15-01-09)

Electronic and electrical equipment

Batteries
  • Lead acid – vehicle (16-06-01*)
  • Lead acid – other (16-06-01*)
  • Nickel-Cadmium (16-06-02*)
  • Mercury containing (16-06-03*)
  • Alkaline (16-06-04)
  • Other – Lithium or Lithium ion (16-06-05)
  • Mixed batteries – unsorted (not allowed)
Lightbulbs and lamps
  • Fluorescent tubes and low energy – excluding LED (16-02-13*)
  • LED, halogen and incandescent (16-02-14)
TVs, laptops, tablets and smartphones
  • Cathode ray tube, flat screen (16-02-13*)
  • Laptops, tablets and smartphones (not applicable)
Fridges, freezers, chillers and air-conditioning units
  • Containing ozone-depleting substances i.e. foam blowing agents and coolants (16-02-11*)
  • Other (16-02-13*)
Other white goods
  • White goods e.g. washing machines, dishwashers and tumble dryers with hazardous components (16-02-13*)
  • White goods without hazardous components (16-02-14)
Other devices
  • With hazardous components (16-02-13*)
  • Without hazardous components (16-02-14)

Vehicle and oily wastes

Hydraulic oils
  • Containing polychlorinated biphenyls (13-01-01*)
  • Mineral-based and chlorinated (13-01-09*)
  • Mineral-based and non-chlorinated (13-01-10*)
  • Synthetic (13-01-11*)
  • Readily biodegradable (13-01-12*)
  • Other oils (13-01-13*)
Engine, gear and lubricating oils
  • Containing polychlorinated biphenyls (Not applicable)
  • Mineral-based and chlorinated (13-02-04*)
  • Mineral-based and non-chlorinated (13-02-05*)
  • Synthetic (13-02-06*)
  • Readily biodegradable (13-02-07*)
  • Other oils (13-02-08*)
Insulating and transmission oils
  • Containing polychlorinated biphenyls (13-03-01*)
  • Mineral-based and chlorinated (13-03-06*)
  • Mineral-based and non-chlorinated (13-03-07*)
  • Synthetic (13-03-08*)
  • Readily biodegradable (13-03-09*)
  • Other oils (13-03-10*)
Interceptor wastes
  • Interceptor sludges (13-05-03*)
  • Oily water from interceptor (13-05-07*)
  • Solid waste from interceptor (13-05-01*)
Fuels, brake and anti-freeze fluids
  • Fuel, oil and diesel (13-07-01*)
  • Petrol (13-07-02*)
  • Other fuels, including mixed fuels from misfuelling (13-07-03*)
  • Brake fluids (16-01-13*)
  • Antifreeze containing hazardous substances (16-01-14*)
  • Antifreeze not containing hazardous substances (16-01-15*)
End-of-life tyres
  • Unusable tyres (16-01-03)
Vehicles
  • End-of-life vehicles – un-depolluted (16-01-04*)
  • End-of-life vehicles – depolluted (16-01-06)
Vehicle components including oil filters
  • Oil filters (16-01-07*)
  • Components containing mercury (16-01-08*)
  • Components containing PCBs (16-01-09*)
  • Air bags (16-01-10*)
Brake pads
  • Brake pads containing asbestos (16-01-11*)
  • Other brake pads (16-01-12)
Car batteries
  • Lead acid car batteries (16-06-01*)
Catalytic converters
  • Catalytic converters containing refractory ceramic fibres (16-01-21*)
  • Catalytic converters not containing refractory ceramic fibres (16-01-22)
End-of-life vehicle wastes
  • Ferrous metals (16-01-17)
  • Non-ferrous metals (16-01-18)
  • Plastics (16-01-19)
  • Vehicle glass (16-01-20)
Contaminated materials
  • Clothing, absorbents or wiping cloths contaminated with hazardous substances (15-02-02*)
  • Clothing, absorbents or wiping cloths contaminated with non-hazardous substances (15-02-03)

Healthcare and related wastes

Offensive waste (non-clinical)
  • Healthcare offensive waste e.g. outer dressings and protective clothing that aren’t contaminated with bodily fluids (18-01-04)
  • Municipal offensive waste e.g. hygiene waste and sanitary protection (20-01-99)
Plaster and other non-infectious wastes
  • Plaster and similar wastes from dentistry and fracture clinics (18-01-04)
Waste medicines
  • Cytotoxic and cytostatic medicines (18-01-08*)
  • Other medicines (18-01-09)
Sharps and related waste
  • Cytotoxic and cytostatic contaminated (18-01-08* & 18-01-03*)
  • Other medicinally contaminated (18-01-03* & 18-01-09)
  • Non-medicinally contaminated (18-01-03*)
Anatomical waste
  • Not chemically preserved – infectious (18-01-03*)
  • Not chemically preserved – non-infectious (18-01-02)
  • Chemically preserved – infectious or non-infectious (18-01-06* & 18-01-02*/03)
Bagged clinical waste
  • Infectious clinical waste (no chemicals or pharmaceuticals) (18-01-03*)
  • Infectious clinical waste (18-01-03* & 18-01-06*)
Laboratory chemicals and photochemicals
  • Other chemicals – hazardous (18-01-06*)
  • Other chemicals – non-hazardous (18-01-07)

* denotes hazardous waste.

If you’re looking for a licensed and reputable recycling company to collect and transport your metallic business waste in line with current legislation, make sure that you give ASM Metal Recycling a call on 01296 33 77 11.

We’re members of the British Metals Recycling Association and are a fully-approved Contractors Health and Safety Scheme provider – we do everything by the book to ensure all your hazardous waste is transported safely and responsibly to our approved recycling site.

later post  |  index  |  earlier post