What is hazardous waste?
Summary
Some wastes are harmful to human health or to the environment, either immediately or over an extended period of time. These are called hazardous wastes. If your business produces hazardous waste you have a 'duty of care' to make sure it's disposed of properly.
We updated our WM2 guidance in May 2008. See the links below to get the latest guidance.
How do I know whether my waste is hazardous?
Your waste will fall into one of the following categories:
- Waste considered to be hazardous under the hazardous waste regulations - for example, lead acid batteries, fluorescent tubes
- Waste that is not considered to be hazardous - for example, paper, edible oil
- Waste that needs to be assessed to find out whether it is hazardous or not - for example, ink or paint
- What is a hazardous waste?
A guide to help you determine if your waste is hazardous or not. You should be able to assess most of your wastes using this non-technical guide.
WM2 Hazardous Waste: Interpretation of the definition and classification of hazardous waste
WM2 goes into more depth about hazardous waste assessment. You can download each section below.
- Hazardous Waste - Interpretation of the definition and classification of hazardous waste (pdf)
Background information to the Hazardous Waste Regulations and how wastes are assessed. - Appendix A - Consolidated European Waste Catalogue (pdf)
How to use the List of Wastes (European Waste catalogue) - Appendix B - Wastes and potential hazards for absolute and mirror entries in the European waste catalogue
Advice on dangerous substances and/or properties that could be associated with particular hazardous waste entries. An explanation on classification is provided through case studies, along with discussion points to highlight key issues. - Appendix C - Hazardous Property Assessment
Advice on the 14 hazardous properties; determining assessment methods, threshold concentrations and advice on which test methods should be considered. - Appendix D - Data sources
Advice on the use of data sources thatmay be used when trying to find appropriate data for substances within the waste. - Glossary of terms
Appendix to Hazardous waste - interpretation of the definition and interpretation guide - Summary of changes
Summary of the changes made to the WM2 document
Future revisions to WM2
The WM2 guidance was updated in November 2005, as a result of changes in domestic legislation. This was updated in October 2006 (version 2.1) to accommodate changes in the Approved Supply List. Another revision in May 2008 amended the assessment of H14 Ecotoxic. Further revisions are anticipated to maintain alignement with the Approved Supply List and CHIP. When we update or review this document we will seek comments from external stakeholders where that is appropriate.
