EWC code (List of Waste code)
An EWC code is the six-digit List of Waste code that says what a load of waste actually is, and it goes on the transfer note for every movement off your site. This page explains how the list is put together, how to work down it to a code, and which entries a skip yard or transfer station uses week in, week out.
What an EWC code is
An EWC code is a six-digit code from the List of Waste, the catalogue that classifies waste by the activity or process that produced it. The Environment Agency's guidance calls them List of Waste codes; most yards still say EWC, after the European Waste Catalogue the list came from.
The code is not a nice-to-have on the paperwork. It is the thing that identifies the waste on a transfer note, on a hazardous waste consignment note, and in the tonnage figures that end up in a quarterly return. The written description tells a person what is in the skip. The code tells the regulator, and it is the code the numbers get counted under.
A worked example. A skip comes back from a house extension holding broken concrete, bricks and a few smashed floor tiles, no plasterboard, no asbestos, no soil. The waste came from construction and demolition, so you are in chapter 17. Within that, the subchapter for concrete, bricks, tiles and ceramics is 17 01, and the entry for a mixture of those materials with no hazardous substances in it is 17 01 07. That code, not "builders' rubble", is what goes on the note.
How to read the six digits
The six digits are three pairs, and they narrow down from left to right.
- The first pair is the chapter: where the waste came from, such as chapter 17 for construction and demolition, or chapter 20 for municipal wastes.
- The second pair is the subchapter: the group of materials or processes inside that chapter.
- The third pair is the entry itself, the actual code you write down.
Work top down, not material first. The same material can sit in different chapters depending on what produced it, so a sheet of timber off a demolition is not classified in the same place as timber waste out of a manufacturing process. Start with the origin of the load, then find the entry that matches what is in it.
Entries ending in 99 are the "wastes not otherwise specified" catch-alls. They exist, but the Environment Agency's guidance treats them as a last resort once you have genuinely ruled out the specific entries, so a yard that codes half its loads to a 99 entry is giving an inspector something to ask about.
Codes a skip yard sees most
| Code | List of Waste entry | What it looks like in the yard |
|---|---|---|
| 17 01 07 | Mixtures of concrete, bricks, tiles and ceramics, other than those containing hazardous substances | Hardcore off a driveway dig |
| 17 02 01 | Wood | Stripped-out joists, fencing, pallets |
| 17 04 05 | Iron and steel | Radiators and scrap sections pulled off a load |
| 17 05 04 | Soil and stones other than those mentioned in 17 05 03 | Muck away from a footings dig |
| 17 08 02 | Gypsum-based construction materials other than those mentioned in 17 08 01 | Plasterboard off a strip-out |
| 17 09 04 | Mixed construction and demolition wastes, other than 17 09 01, 17 09 02 and 17 09 03 | A general builder's skip with nothing hazardous in it |
| 17 06 05* | Construction materials containing asbestos | Bonded sheet, hazardous, travels on a consignment note |
| 20 03 01 | Mixed municipal waste | A household clearance skip |
The asterisk and mirror entries
An asterisk on the end of a code means the entry is hazardous waste. That single character changes the paperwork, the carrier and the destination, because hazardous waste moves on a consignment note to a site permitted to take it.
Some entries are absolute: they are hazardous whatever the concentration. Construction materials containing asbestos, 17 06 05*, is one, which is why the asterisk on that code is not optional shorthand.
Others come in pairs, often called mirror entries, where the code depends on whether hazardous substances are present in the waste. Mixed construction and demolition waste is the everyday case: 17 09 03* if it contains hazardous substances, 17 09 04 if it does not. Deciding which side of a mirror pair a load falls on is an assessment of the waste, not a guess from the tipping face. The Environment Agency publishes the classification guidance for that, and where a load is genuinely unclear it needs assessing properly before it is coded.
Related terms
Waste transfer note (WTN)
The record of a non-hazardous waste movement between two parties. The EWC code is one of the fields on it, alongside the description, the quantity and both parties' details.
Consignment note
The equivalent record for hazardous waste, the paperwork that follows an asterisked code.
Duty of care
The obligation on everyone who produces, carries or receives waste to describe it accurately and pass it only to someone authorised to take it. Accurate coding is part of describing it.
Season ticket
One transfer note covering repeat collections of the same waste from the same place over a period. The convenience is in the paperwork, not the classification: the code still has to match what is actually in the skip.
Weighbridge ticket
The source of the quantity that sits next to the code on the note, usually in kilograms.
Quarterly return to the EA
The periodic summary a permitted site sends in, built out of the coded movements it recorded over the three months.
If you are moving off a duplicate book and want to see how the same fields work as a digital record, the use case page on swapping the duplicate book for a digital transfer note record covers that ground.
Questions
How do I find the right EWC code for mixed construction waste?
Start in chapter 17 and go to the 17 09 subchapter. If the load contains hazardous substances it is 17 09 03*, and if it does not it is 17 09 04. Separating the load on site is often easier than arguing the mirror entry, because segregated hardcore, wood and metal each have their own clean code.
Is the EWC code list the same as the List of Waste?
In practice, yes. The codes came from the European Waste Catalogue and the UK list is the List of Waste, which is what Environment Agency guidance calls them. If someone asks for your EWC code they mean the six-digit List of Waste code.
Where can I get the full code list?
The Environment Agency's own waste classification guidance on gov.uk carries the complete list and the technical detail on assessing mirror entries. Treat that as the reference rather than a third-party summary, including this page.
What does the asterisk after a code mean?
It marks the entry as hazardous waste, which means a consignment note rather than a plain transfer note and a destination permitted to accept it. Asbestos-containing construction material, 17 06 05*, is hazardous whatever the concentration.
What happens if the wrong code goes on a transfer note?
The record no longer describes the waste accurately, and the tonnage lands under the wrong stream in your own figures and in any return built from them. If you spot it, correct the record and keep the corrected version with the original; if the error put hazardous waste on the wrong paperwork, that is worth raising with your regulator rather than quietly fixing.
Can software choose the code for me?
No. Software can hold the code on the record and carry it through to your figures, but it cannot look in the skip and assess what is in it, and no software should tell you that it has. The classification, and the responsibility for it, sits with the operator.
Do I need a code for every single skip?
Every waste movement needs a record that describes the waste, and the code is part of that description. A season ticket can cover repeated collections of the same waste from the same place, but if what turns up in the skip changes, the code has to change with it.