England – classification & coding of mixed wastes at waste treatment facilities

The Environment Agency has issued guidance which sets out how wastes produced at authorised waste treatment sites should be classified and coded according to the European Waste Catalogue (EWC).



Where hazardous wastes are being mixed with other wastes then generally, unless all of the hazardous waste components have been fully chemically reacted, the resulting treated waste should be coded under the EWC as:





“19 02 04* pre-mixed wastes composed of at least one hazardous waste.”





All such wastes would be classified as hazardous wastes, even where the mixing process results in concentrations of hazardous components below threshold limits. However, despite the above general principle, the guidance does take into account that where a waste is being properly treated with the primary aim of rendering a hazardous property or properties less harmful, then it may be acceptable to apply a non-hazardous EWC code. This could be acceptable despite a secondary component not being fully our guidance. In all cases, threshold concentrations must be below those that would make the treated waste hazardous