What is Hazardous/Special Waste and who is involved in its transfer?
Hazardous/special waste is waste that contains materials that are classed as hazardous and could cause harm to human health or the environment.
For example used oil, materials containing asbestos, fluorescent light bulbs, contaminated soil.
Check the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) to find out if a waste is hazardous/special waste.
The EWC is a list of waste types, with six-digit codes for all types of waste. Hazardous wastes' codes are marked with an asterisk (*). In Scotland, 'hazardous waste' is called 'special waste'.
There are two kinds of hazardous waste entry in the EWC, absolute hazardous entries and mirror hazardous entries:
- 'Absolute Hazardous' entries – the waste is always hazardous/special waste, whatever the concentration of the dangerous substances in it. These wastes are marked in the List with an asterisk (*) For example: 07 07 07* halogenated still bottoms and reaction residues A
- 'Mirror' hazardous entries – the waste is considered hazardous/special waste if the hazardous substance(s) it contains are above a specified threshold concentration(s) For example: 17 05 03* Soil and stones containing dangerous substances M
Mirror hazardous entries have an alternative paired non-hazardous entry (or entries). For example: 17 05 04 soil and stones other than those mentioned in 17 05 03
And there are also Absolute Non-Hazardous entries – the waste type is always non-hazardous and they do not have a link to a mirror hazardous entry. For example: 03 01 01 waste bark and cork
Entries marked with an asterisk * are the wastes with hazardous properties.
NetRegs: European Waste Catalogue (EWC) - waste codes
You must store hazardous/special waste securely and you must keep it separate from other waste, and from other types of hazardous/special waste. This is part of your Duty of Care for Waste.
NetRegs: Duty of care for waste
Who is involved in the transfer of Hazardous/Special Waste?
The waste producer
Any person whose business activities produce waste. (The producer may sometimes also be the consignor)
The waste consignor
The person who organises the removal of waste from the premises where it has been held. (This could be a member of staff in the company, a waste broker or dealer, or the producer)
The waste carrier
The authorised person who transports the waste from the producer to the consignee. An authorised waste carrier.
The consignee
This means the person acting for the final destination of the waste. This could be the place where it is transferred on, recovered, recycled or disposed of.
Sometimes the waste carrier and the consignee will be the same, for example if a waste site also sends out vehicles and collects waste from customers.
The Environmental Regulator
This will be the NIEA or SEPA. The regulator maintains records of all movements of hazardous/special waste.
Contact your Environmental Regulator