Hazardous Waste
Hazardous Waste is defined within Art 3(2) of the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) as waste which displays one or more of the hazardous properties listed in Annex III (of the WFD).
The macro Hazardous Waste tonnage arisings reported by DEFRA for the UK in 2020 was 5,400,255 tonnes.
UK Hazardous Waste Arisings by Waste Category (2020)
Total UK Waste Arisings 191.21 million tonnes (2020) of which 5.40 million tonnes was hazardous (2.8%). Data souce: [1]
Waste Arisings by Economic Classification
Economic Classification | UK 2020 | England 2020 | England 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
Agricultural | 234.7 | 148.8 | 146.6 |
Mining & Quarrying | 95.5 | 1.1 | 1.1 |
Manufacturing | 1,226.1 | 980.6 | 843.0 |
Water Treatment | 3.7 | 1.6 | 1.8 |
Services | 2,812.1 | 2,533.5 | 1,857.4 |
Households | 262.0 | 210.8 | 224.1 |
Construction | 766.2 | 595.5 | 550.3 |
Total Arisings | 5,400.3 | 4,472.0 | 3,624.3 |
England as % of UK | 82.8% |
All figures in thousand tonnes. Data souce: [1]
Hazardous Waste by Category
- 50% of Hazardous Waste were Batteries, ELV and WEEE, 65% of which (32% of the total) were ELV Wastes
- 31.7% of Hazardous Waste were Chemical and Healthcare Wastes
- There were virtually no Dry Recyclables categorised as hazardous, and very little mixed waste materials
Hazardous Waste by Classification
- 52% of Hazardous Waste arisings were from the Service Sector, of which 84.7% were in Batteries, ELV and WEEE Wastes
- 22.7% of Hazardous Waste arisings were from the Manufacturing Sector, of which 83.3% were Chemical Wastes
- 14% of Hazardous Waste was from the Construction Sector
Hazardous Waste Treatment in UK (2020)
Notes
- Hazardous Waste requires specialist handling and treatment as defined within the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) and is regulated by the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 in England and Wales and by The Special Waste Regulations 1996 and The Special Waste Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2004 in Scotland.
- The total treated in the UK in 2020 was 2,920.5 thousand tonnes.
- 38.5% was treated via Incineration and Energy Recovery (which includes co-incineration in Cement Kilns).
All figures in thousand tonnes
