Documents & codes
What is hazardous waste?
Hazardous waste is waste with properties that make it harmful to health or the environment. It carries stricter rules on movement, documentation and mixing than non-hazardous waste.
Whether waste is hazardous follows from its classification rather than from how dangerous it looks. Solvents, oils, batteries, fluorescent tubes, clinical waste and many construction materials are commonly hazardous and commonly missed.
Mixing is restricted in a way it is not for other waste. Mixing hazardous waste with non-hazardous waste generally contaminates the whole load, which turns a small quantity into a large problem and a larger bill.
The terminology and the procedures differ between the UK nations, including whether and how producers must register. Operating across a border means operating two processes.
What goes wrong in practice
- Small quantities put into general waste because the amount felt trivial.
- Mixing that contaminates an otherwise non-hazardous load.
- Producer registration requirements assumed to be the same across the UK.