Waste Management Glossary

A waste code in the List of Wastes that is definitively classified as either hazardous (AH - Absolute Hazardous, marked with *) or non-hazardous (AN -...

Waste absorbents, filter materials, wiping cloths, and protective clothing covered by Chapter 15 02 of the List of Wastes. Materials contaminated by d...

The European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road. ADR sets requirements for packaging, labelling, and vehicle s...

Waste from agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing, covered by Chapter 02 of the List of Wastes. Since 2006, agricultur...

A biological process where microorganisms break down organic matter in the absence of oxygen, producing biogas (methane and carbon dioxide) and digest...

The legal requirement under Duty of Care for waste holders to take all reasonable steps available to ensure waste is managed correctly throughout its ...

A group of naturally occurring fibrous minerals that were widely used in building materials until banned in the UK in 1999. All asbestos waste is haza...

A recovery operation where suitable waste is used in excavated areas for land reclamation or engineering purposes. Backfilling uses waste as a substit...

The international treaty formally known as the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, whic...

Laboratory analysis of representative samples from a defined quantity of waste to determine its composition and hazardous properties for classificatio...

The Batteries and Accumulators (Placing on the Market) Regulations 2008 (as amended) and Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009, implementi...

A substance or object resulting from a production process whose primary aim is not the production of that item, which is not waste if specific conditi...

Technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions from industrial processes including Energy from Waste facilities, transport it via pipeline, and perman...

The complete documented trail tracking waste from production through to final disposal or recovery, demonstrating compliance with Duty of Care require...

An economic model that aims to keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract maximum value, then recover and regenerate materials at end of l...

Waste arising from healthcare activities that poses a risk of infection or contains medicinal products, sharps, or human tissue. Clinical waste is cov...

Waste arising from premises used wholly or mainly for trade, business, sport, recreation, or entertainment. Unlike household waste, there is no statut...

The controlled biological decomposition of organic waste in the presence of oxygen to produce compost. Composting is used for garden waste, food waste...

A legally required document for the movement of hazardous waste in England and Wales. It provides a full audit trail of hazardous waste from its point...

Waste arising from construction, renovation, and demolition activities, covered primarily by Chapter 17 of the List of Wastes. This includes concrete,...

The legal term encompassing household, industrial, and commercial waste as defined by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and Controlled Waste Regul...

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, UK legislation requiring employers to control exposure to hazardous substances. While prim...

A mandatory UK-wide electronic system for recording waste movements, replacing paper-based waste transfer notes and consignment notes. Implementation ...

Any operation that is not recovery, even if a secondary consequence is reclamation of substances or energy. Disposal operations are coded D1-D15 and i...

A legal obligation under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requiring anyone who produces, imports, keeps, stores, transports, treats or disposes o...

Assessment of whether waste exhibits hazardous property HP14 'Ecotoxic' as defined by Council Regulation (EU) 2017/997. Waste is ecotoxic if it presen...

A physical waste treatment process that coats or surrounds hazardous materials to prevent release of contaminants, achieved through solidification or ...

The point at which a material ceases to be waste and becomes a product or secondary raw material. End of waste is achieved when material has been reco...

Vehicles that have reached the end of their useful life and are disposed of as waste. ELVs are regulated under the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations 20...

Facilities that burn waste to generate electricity or heat. EfW is considered a recovery operation (R1) rather than disposal when it meets energy effi...

The environmental regulator for England, responsible for waste regulation, issuing environmental permits, enforcing waste management legislation, and ...

Authorisation required under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 for waste operations, industrial activities, and other ...

The standardised system for classifying waste across the European Union, which forms the basis of the UK's List of Wastes. Each waste type is assigned...

A registration allowing certain low-risk waste operations without needing a full environmental permit. Exemptions cover activities like storing waste ...

An enhanced form of producer responsibility where producers pay the full net costs of managing products at end of life. The UK is implementing EPR for...

The illegal deposit of waste on land without an environmental permit or exemption. Fly-tipping is a criminal offence under the Environmental Protectio...

Waste food from households, hospitality, food manufacturing, and retail. The UK produces around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste annually. From 2025, ...

An Advanced Thermal Treatment (ATT) process using limited oxygen at temperatures above 700°C to convert waste into combustible synthesis gas (syngas) ...

A set of 15 properties (HP1-HP15) that define how a waste can be hazardous. These include explosive (HP1), flammable (HP3), irritant (HP4), toxic (HP6...

Waste that contains substances or has properties that might make it harmful to human health or the environment. In England and Wales, this is defined ...

Oil wastes and wastes of liquid fuels covered by Chapter 13 of the List of Wastes, including hydraulic oils, engine oils, insulating oils, bilge oils,...

A broad category of waste from medical, nursing, dental, veterinary, and pharmaceutical practices covered by Chapter 18 of the List of Wastes. Include...

Waste from domestic property including residential homes, caravans, and residential parts of mixed-use premises. Local authorities have a statutory du...

The 15 hazardous properties used to assess waste: HP1 Explosive, HP2 Oxidising, HP3 Flammable, HP4 Irritant, HP5 STOT/Aspiration, HP6 Acute Toxicity, ...

Remediation or treatment of contaminated land, groundwater, or waste materials at their original location without excavation or removal. Techniques in...

The controlled burning of waste at high temperatures to reduce its volume and destroy organic compounds. Incineration facilities in the UK are regulat...

Waste from industrial processes including manufacturing, construction, and utilities. Industrial waste can range from non-hazardous general waste to h...

A disposal site for the deposit of waste onto or into land. UK landfills are classified as hazardous, non-hazardous, or inert, each accepting only spe...

Laboratory testing to determine what hazardous substances could leach from waste into groundwater or soil, required for Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC...

The official catalogue of waste types used in the UK for classification purposes, implemented through the List of Wastes (England) Regulations 2005. I...

The List of Wastes (England) Regulations 2005 (and equivalent regulations in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland) that implement the European List o...

A facility that receives, separates, and prepares recyclable materials for marketing to end-user manufacturers. MRFs use manual sorting, mechanical se...

Waste from exploration, mining, quarrying, and physical and chemical treatment of minerals, covered by Chapter 01 of the List of Wastes. Mining waste ...

A pair of waste codes in the List of Wastes where one is hazardous (MH - Mirror Hazardous, marked with *) and one is non-hazardous (MN - Mirror Non-Ha...

Waste from households and similar waste from commerce, industry, and institutions that is similar in nature and composition to household waste. Munici...

The environmental regulator for Wales, responsible for waste regulation, environmental permitting, and enforcement of waste management legislation. NR...

An executive agency within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) that protects and enhances Northern Ireland's environm...

Waste from packaging materials including paper/cardboard, plastic, glass, metal, and wood. The UK has specific regulations for packaging waste through...

Wastes from paint and varnish manufacture, formulation, supply, and removal, covered by Chapter 08 of the List of Wastes. Includes waste paints, varni...

Toxic chemicals that persist in the environment, bioaccumulate in the food chain, and pose risks to human health and ecosystems. Wastes containing POP...

Wastes from the photographic industry covered by Chapter 09 01 of the List of Wastes, including developer solutions, fixer solutions, bleach solutions...

A UK tax introduced on 1 April 2022 on plastic packaging that does not contain at least 30% recycled content, charged at £200 per tonne (increased to ...

A fundamental environmental principle established in UK law through Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and reinforced by the Environmen...

Processing of waste before it undergoes recovery or disposal operations. Since 2007, it has been a legal requirement that most waste going to landfill...

The principle that producers (manufacturers, importers, brand owners) should bear responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products throu...

A planning principle set out in Article 16 of the Waste Framework Directive and implemented through the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011. It...

An Advanced Thermal Treatment (ATT) process that thermally decomposes waste in the absence of oxygen at temperatures typically above 430°C. Pyrolysis ...

Any operation where waste serves a useful purpose by replacing other materials that would otherwise have been used. Recovery operations are coded R1-R...

The process of reprocessing waste materials into products, materials, or substances, whether for original or other purposes. Recycling excludes energy...

A fuel produced by shredding and processing municipal solid waste to remove recyclables and inert materials. RDF is used in energy from waste plants a...

Waste remaining after separation of recyclable materials, typically disposed of in 'black bins' or sent to Energy from Waste facilities. Residual wast...

Any operation by which products or components that are not waste are used again for the same purpose for which they were conceived. Reuse is second on...

A document required under UK REACH Regulation providing comprehensive information on chemical products, including hazards, handling, storage, and emer...

A waste management principle requiring that waste should be treated or disposed of within the region or country where it is produced. Implemented thro...

Scotland's environmental regulator responsible for protecting and improving the environment. SEPA regulates waste management activities including land...

UK government policy requiring all businesses and households to have access to consistent recycling collections. From 2025-2026, all workplaces must s...

A document setting out how waste will be managed on a construction project. While no longer legally required in England since 2013, SWMPs remain good ...

A solid fuel prepared from non-hazardous waste to be used for energy recovery in co-incineration plants. SRF must meet specific quality standards defi...

A treatment process that minimises contaminant spread by converting waste into a solid impermeable mass with low surface-to-volume ratio, reducing mob...

Waste organic solvents, refrigerants, and propellants covered by Chapter 14 of the List of Wastes. Includes halogenated and non-halogenated solvents, ...

The term used in Scotland for waste that is hazardous under the Special Waste Regulations 1996 (as amended). It is broadly equivalent to hazardous was...

The determination of the precise chemical form or oxidation state of a substance in waste, critical for accurate hazard assessment. Different chemical...

A treatment process inducing chemical reactions between stabilising agents and contaminants to produce more chemically stable constituents with reduce...

Waste treatment using high temperatures to reduce volume, destroy organic compounds, or recover energy. Includes incineration, Advanced Thermal Treatm...

The concentration limit at which a substance in waste triggers a hazardous classification. Different substances have different thresholds depending on...

The international movement of waste between countries, regulated in the UK by the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007 (as amended). Expor...

The criteria that waste must meet to be accepted at a particular type of landfill. There are different WAC for hazardous, non-hazardous, and inert lan...

A systematic analysis of waste streams to identify types, quantities, composition, and management practices within a business or site. Waste audits he...

A person or business that arranges for the transport, recovery or disposal of waste on behalf of others. Brokers do not physically handle or take poss...

Any person or business that transports waste as part of their business, or transports construction or demolition waste regardless of whether it is the...

The initial assessment process to determine the properties, composition, and origin of waste, forming the basis for classification and determining app...

The process of determining the correct waste code and hazardous status for a waste. Classification is a legal requirement before waste can be transfer...

Illegal waste activities including fly-tipping, operating without permits, misdescribing waste, and illegal exports. Waste crime costs the UK economy ...

EU Directive 2008/98/EC that established the legal framework for waste management across Europe. It introduced the waste hierarchy, defined key concep...

A framework ranking waste management options from most to least preferred: Prevention, Reuse, Recycling, Other Recovery (including energy recovery), a...

Measures taken before a substance, material, or product becomes waste, reducing the quantity of waste, adverse impacts on the environment and human he...

Under UK law, any person or business whose activities produce waste (original producer) or who carries out pre-processing, mixing or other operations ...

A legal document required when non-hazardous waste is transferred between parties in England and Wales. It must contain details of the waste, the tran...

Discarded electrical and electronic equipment regulated under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013. WEEE includes everything...

The official UK technical guidance document for the classification of hazardous waste. Produced by the Environment Agency, SEPA, and Natural Resources...