The common healthcare and related wastes includes materials and substances like medicines, plaster, laboratory chemicals, and sharps. The tables list most waste codes for healthcare waste disposed of in United Kingdom.
Review the technical guidance for additional classifications not found in these waste code tables. The asterisk (*) at the end of a code signifies that the waste is hazardous.
The Environment Agency produce waste classification technical guidance on how to assess and classify waste. It can help if you cannot find a code for your waste or you need information on classification, hazardous materials, or waste sampling.
What is 'offensive waste'? It is non-clinical, non-infectious waste that does not contain pharmaceutical or chemical substances. But, anyone coming into contact with offensive waste may find it unpleasant.
| TYPE OF WASTE | STATUS | HUMAN | ANIMAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare offensive waste (e.g. outer dressings and protective clothing such as gowns, gloves, and masks not contaminated with body fluids), and other sterilised laboratory waste | Non-hazardous | 18-01-04 | 18-02-03 |
| Municipal offensive waste (e.g. hygiene waste and sanitary protection such as incontinence pads and nappies) | Non-hazardous | 20-01-99 | 20-01-99 |
You will need to segregate healthcare offensive waste from clinical and from mixed municipal wastes. You must segregate it from any mixed municipal waste if (either):
Note: Producing less means you can dispose of municipal offensive waste in your mixed municipal waste (black bag) and use classification code 20-03-01.
A medicine should be considered as cytotoxic or cytostatic for waste classification purposes if it is acutely toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic for reproduction.
| TYPE OF WASTE | STATUS | HUMAN | ANIMAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plaster and similar wastes (e.g. from dentistry and fracture clinics) | Non-hazardous | 18-01-04 | 18-02-03 |
Note: The majority of plaster waste is non-infectious. But, you should keep it separate to any 'infectious' plaster waste. Place this type of healthcare waste in the bagged infectious clinical waste stream.
| TYPE OF WASTE | STATUS | HUMAN | ANIMAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cytotoxic and cytostatic medicines | Hazardous | 18-01-08* | 18-02-07* |
| Other types of medicines | Non-hazardous | 18-01-09 | 18-02-08 |
Note: Any household medicines returned to a community pharmacy should be coded as cytotoxic and cytostatic medicines as 20-01-31* and other medicines as 20-01-32.
| TYPE OF WASTE | STATUS | HUMAN | ANIMAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cytotoxic and cytostatic contaminated | Hazardous | 18-01-08* and 18-01-03* | 18-02-07* and 18-02-02* |
| Other medicinally contaminated | Hazardous | 18-01-03* and 18-01-09 | 18-02-02* and 18-02-08 |
| Non-medicinally contaminated | Hazardous | 18-01-03* | 18-02-02* |
| TYPE OF WASTE | STATUS | HUMAN | ANIMAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not chemically preserved (infectious) | Hazardous | 18-01-03* | 18-02-02* |
| Not chemically preserved (non-infectious) | Non-hazardous | 18-01-02 | 18-02-03 |
| Chemically preserved (infectious or non-infectious) | Hazardous | 18-01-06* and 18-01-02*/03 | 18-02-05* and 18-02-02*/03 |
| TYPE OF WASTE | STATUS | HUMAN | ANIMAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infectious clinical waste - orange bag (no chemicals or pharmaceuticals) | Hazardous | 18-01-03* | 18-02-02* |
| Infectious clinical waste - yellow bag | Hazardous | 18-01-03* and 18-01-06* | 18-02-02* and 18-02-05* |
Note: Only put waste items that are infectious and chemically contaminated into the yellow bag waste stream (e.g. some diagnostic kits and samples). People living in England or Wales may be able to request clinical waste collection (e.g. drugs, pharmaceuticals, surgical waste, syringes) and have it disposed of by the local council.
| TYPE OF WASTE | STATUS | HUMAN | ANIMAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other chemicals (hazardous) | Hazardous | 18-01-06* | 18-02-05* |
| Other chemicals (non-hazardous) | Non-hazardous | 18-01-07 | 18-02-06 |
Note: Classify photochemicals and film (including X-ray related products) using codes from chapter 9 of the waste code section in the technical guidance on waste.
The Department of Health and Social Care produce Health Technical Memorandum (HTM 07-01). You should use it as an extra guide to the safe management practices while classifying clinical and healthcare waste.
List of Waste Codes for Healthcare and Related Wastes in United Kingdom
