What is hazardous waste?

Waste is hazardous when it contains properties that might make it harmful to our health or the environment.

The European Commission revised its list of hazardous waste and incorporated it into the European Waste Catalogue (EWC), which lists all wastes, grouped according to generic industry or process. Each waste type is allocated a six-digit code. Those that are hazardous are identified in the EWC with an asterisk (*). Some wastes are classed as hazardous outright known as absolute entries and are highlighted in red and marked with an "A".

Other wastes require separate assessment to determine whether they are hazardous or not, depending on the amount of dangerous substances present above threshold concentrations. These are known as mirror entries and are highlighted in blue and marked with an "M". Wastes not classified as hazardous are shown in black without any markings.

For guidance on how to use the EWC, please download Appendix A - Consolidated European Waste Catalogue (pdf) from the Environment Agency's what is hazardous waste section. This is part of technical guide 'WM2' produced by the UK Regulators.

Next => How does this affect my company?