Tardis Environmental offer a Waste Sample Collection service that will provide composition analysis of the waste to assist in correct classification prior to removal and disposal.

As a waste operator, you have the responsibility to fulfil your duty of care. Secondly, you are responsible for classifying the waste so that it can be disposed of at the correct disposal facility.

Our waste Sample Collection service will provide chemical composition analysis to assist you in classifying and assessing your waste. 

Further information on the classification of waste can be found here.

WAC Analysis

When classifying and assessing your waste it is important to understand the difference between Chemical Composition Analysis and Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC).

WAC analysis whilst it does cover some defined analytes covering elements of composition, it is primarily a series of limit tests to indicate how the waste might behave in a landfill. It therefore measures the levels of organic contaminants, as the legislation aims to minimise the amount of organic waste that is disposed of in certain classes of landfill. It also measures the amounts of various contaminants that might leach out and impact of the quality landfill leachate to ensure that they don’t exceed the legislative limits.

Key Point, page 23 of WM3 is very clear: Landfill WAC analysis (specifically leaching test results) must not be used for waste classification and hazardous waste assessment purposes. This analysis is only applicable for landfill acceptance and does not give any indication as to whether a waste may be hazardous or non-hazardous.

As part of your waste duty of care you must classify the waste your business produces:

• Before it is collected, disposed of or recovered.
• To identify the controls that apply to the movement of the waste.
• To complete waste documents and records.
• To identify suitably authorised waste management options.
• To prevent harm to people and the environment.

If the waste is classified under ‘mirror hazardous’ or ‘mirror non-hazardous’ entries you will need to continue with the assessment of hazardous properties in steps 4 to 7. This will be used to

• identify which code applies, and
• complete the hazardous waste consignment note.

Waste holders have a duty to determine if a “mirror entry” waste is hazardous or non-hazardous.

A EWC/List of Waste code cannot be assigned until steps 4 to 7 have been completed. For more information on EWC codes, please click here.

If a waste is classified as an ‘absolute hazardous’ entry, you must use that EWC code and you must assess your waste to determine which hazardous properties it displays to complete a hazardous waste consignment note.

Waste classification and assessment procedure

Steps to classify the waste

1. check if the waste needs to be classified
2. identify the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) code or codes that may apply to the waste
3. identify the assessment needed to select the correct code

Steps to assess the waste

4. determine the chemical composition of the waste
5. identify if the substances in the waste are ’hazardous substances’ or ’Persistent Organic Pollutants’
6. assess the hazardous properties of the waste

7. Assign the classification code and describe the classification code