UK Hazardous Waste Disposal Legislation

UK hazardous waste legislation covers how waste is classified, described, transferred, transported and received. Businesses that produce or hold chemical waste have duties that continue when the waste is passed to another party.

Different legislation and regulator procedures apply across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The GOV.UK hazardous waste overview explains the position in England and links to the other national regulators.

The waste duty of care applies to organisations that produce, import, carry, keep, treat or dispose of controlled waste. The GOV.UK duty of care guidance summarises the responsibilities placed on businesses.

These responsibilities include describing waste accurately and transferring it only to an authorised person. Records provide evidence of the description and movement.

Waste is assigned a List of Waste code, commonly called a European Waste Catalogue (EWC) code. The code and the hazardous properties determine how the waste is described for transfer.

The Environment Agency’s Waste Classification Technical Guidance, WM3, sets out the technical assessment process. It uses information about the source and composition of the waste rather than relying solely on the name of the original product.

A Safety Data Sheet (SDS) provides information about a supplied substance or mixture. The Health and Safety Executive’s Safety Data Sheet guidance explains their purpose and the information they contain.

An SDS can support a waste assessment, but it does not automatically describe changes caused by use, contamination or mixing. The assigned EWC code and an accurate description relate to the waste as presented for collection.

The duty of care requires waste to be transferred to an authorised person. Carrier registration and the receiving site’s authorisation are separate parts of the waste movement.

Chemical Disposal operates as a licensed waste carrier and transports waste to licensed disposal sites in its network. The receiving site operates within its own authorisation. Chemical Disposal does not treat the waste.

Hazardous waste movements require the relevant consignment documentation. In England and Wales, the note records information including the producer, carrier, waste description, quantity and receiving site.

Chemical Disposal provides digital hazardous waste consignment notes for collections where they are required. National procedures differ, so the rules of the regulator responsible for the collection location apply.

Some chemical waste is also classified as dangerous goods for transport. The Department for Transport’s moving dangerous goods guidance describes the road transport framework commonly known as ADR.

Chemical Disposal uses ADR drivers where required. Transport requirements are assessed from the identified waste, its classification, quantity and collection details.

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have separate environmental regulators and do not use identical hazardous waste procedures. A business with sites in more than one nation may therefore see differences in documentation and notification requirements.

This article does not provide legal advice on which procedure applies to a particular movement. The relevant regulator’s current guidance is the authoritative source for that location.

Chemical Disposal cannot accept unidentified or unknown chemicals. Available information such as the source, process, product label and SDS is reviewed first.

Where more information is needed, testing or analysis may be arranged only by agreement with the customer. A quote or collection can be considered after the material is identified and assigned an EWC code.

Chemical Disposal requires an SDS for every product or substance and an assigned EWC code for each waste stream before quoting or collecting. Quantities, container types, the full collection address and photographs are also required.

This applies to streams such as cyanide waste, solvent waste and bulk liquid chemical waste. Each stream must have its own supporting information.

For information about a specific collection, contact the Chemical Disposal team with the SDS and assigned EWC code for each stream. Our team can review the collection information and explain what is still needed before a quote can be prepared.