Classify some waste electrical devices and components, and wastes from their treatment
Source: gov.uk (2025-02-19)

For waste operators and exporters classifying some waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) devices, waste components, and wastes from their treatment.

You must classify any waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) that leaves your premises. In your waste transfer note or consignment note you must:
- give the WEEE a List of Waste (LoW) code
- describe it
It is the chemical makeup of waste that determines the LoW code and if hazardous waste controls or persistent organic pollutant (POP) controls apply to the waste. WEEE can be:
- hazardous waste – if it contains hazardous chemicals above certain concentration limits
- POP waste – if the chemicals are POPs and above certain concentration limits
Read the guidance Classify different types of waste (https://www.gov.uk/how-to-classify-different-types-of-waste/electronic-and-electrical-equipment) to find LoW codes for WEEE types known to include:
- hazardous chemicals
- POPs
If your WEEE type is not listed in this guidance you will need to assess the items yourself.

Assessing items of WEEE

These are examples of the types of WEEE you may need to assess yourself:
- office equipment – non-household type such as photocopiers and printers
- medical devices – category 8
- monitoring and control instruments – category 9
- automatic dispensers – category 10
Components such as printed circuit boards, cables and plastic parts can contain hazardous chemicals and POPs.

To assess the WEEE you must first identify if hazardous chemicals and POPs are present and then the quantity present.

To do this you compare the concentration of the chemical in the whole item with the legal concentration limits that apply. You can find information on concentration limits and advice on how to do an assessment in the guidance:
- Waste classification technical guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/waste-classification-technical-guidance)
- Check if your material is waste (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-your-material-is-waste)
If you are assessing more than 1 item of WEEE, follow the advice on waste sampling in Appendix D Waste classification technical guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/waste-classification-technical-guidance). However, do not compare the chemical concentration in the component (as stated in Appendix D) to the limit, compare the amount in the whole item. The Environment Agency will update the technical guidance in the future.

You must keep a copy of your assessment and it must be available to the Environment Agency on request.

If you cannot do this assessment or get the information you need, you should classify the WEEE as hazardous and POPs waste as a precaution.

Wastes from treating WEEE and WEEE components

You must identify if any item of WEEE is POPs waste before you treat it. See the guidance on classifying electronic and electrical equipment (https://www.gov.uk/how-to-classify-different-types-of-waste/electronic-and-electrical-equipment) for advice on how to do this.

When POPs affect the outputs from WEEE treatment

Where an item of WEEE is POPs waste, you must destroy the POPs. If you treat an item of WEEE that is POPs waste, the material containing the POPs ends up in the treatment output. This means these outputs are classed as POPs waste, and they must be destroyed. This applies even if the treatment has diluted the level of POPs to below the concentration limit.

If you know the WEEE item is not POPs waste, it may still contain low levels of POPs. Therefore separating materials during a treatment activity may result in increased concentrations of POPs in outputs that contain plastics, cable or printed circuit boards. These are POPs waste if the level of POPs is above the concentration limit. You must assess the concentration of POPs in these wastes, or manage it as POPs waste.

If you treat an item of WEEE that has not been assessed or identified as POPs waste, you should manage the device and treatment outputs as POPs waste as a precaution.

If you have assessed your waste and are still not sure if a WEEE item is POPs waste, you should manage it as POPs waste.

Here is some advice on how to classify some:
- components removed from WEEE before or after treatment
- plastic containing wastes produced by the WEEE treatment
The Environment Agency has not provided advice on all waste streams from WEEE treatment.

Printed circuit boards

The Environment Agency expects printed circuit boards to contain levels of POPs, hazardous brominated flame retardants and antimony trioxide above concentration limits. Nickel may also be present.

This advice also applies to printed circuit boards removed or separated during waste treatment. Use this code to classify the waste.

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

Cables and granulated cable plastics

The Environment Agency expects internal and external cables and wiring to contain levels of POPs, hazardous brominated flame retardants, antimony trioxide, plasticisers, and other chemicals above concentration limits.

This advice also applies to cables or wiring removed from devices or separated during waste treatment.

Use these 2 codes together to classify waste cables.

Use this code to classify waste granulated cable plastics, from which copper and other non-plastic materials have been removed.

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

If the cable plastics contain non-plastic materials, like copper, the waste is mixed. You must also check the concentration of hazardous chemicals and use the appropriate 19 12 11* or 19 12 12 code instead of 19 12 04.

Plastic cases removed from display devices

Plastic cases from display devices, including both flat panel displays and cathode ray tubes, will contain hazardous chemicals and POPs above concentration limits. These are hazardous and POPs waste.

This advice also applies to compact, baled or shredded plastics from display devices.

Use these 2 codes to classify the waste.

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

Compressors removed from waste temperature exchange equipment (WTEE)

The classification and description of compressors removed from WTEE such as fridges, freezers and air conditioning units, depends upon whether they contain hazardous substances and POPs.

POPs may be found in electrical components, plastic compressor casings and other pieces of plastic found around the compressor. You must classify the compressor as POPs waste unless you either:
- remove these components
- demonstrate that they do not contain POPs
You must classify compressors as hazardous waste unless you have:
- removed the plastic and electrical components
- fully treated the compressors (degassed and depolluted) at an appropriately authorised facility in line with the requirements and standards set out in the waste temperature exchange equipment appropriate measures guidance (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/waste-temperature-exchange-equipment-appropriate-measures-for-permitted-facilities)
You may classify other compressors as non-hazardous and non-POPs where they have been treated to the equivalent standards.

If you have not treated compressors to the equivalent standards you must classify them as hazardous waste on a precautionary basis, or assess them in line with the WM3 waste classification technical guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/waste-classification-technical-guidance) to determine the appropriate classification.

Other components removed from WEEE

If you remove components from WEEE, by manual separation or mechanical treatment, you must check if they are hazardous or POPs waste.

You must check the concentration of hazardous substances in each WEEE component to see if it is hazardous waste.

You only need to check for POPs if the component is, or contains, plastics, cables, or printed circuit boards. If the item is upholstered seating, for example an electric reclining chair, you must also consider the foam and textiles.

How you check depends on whether the item of WEEE you remove the component from is POPs waste or not. You must check if a component removed from an item of WEEE:
- that is POPs waste, contains POPs – if it does, you must manage the component as POPs waste
- that is not POPs waste, contains POPs above the concentration limit – if it does, you must manage the component as POPs waste
Use these codes to classify the waste.

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

Mixed wastes, containing plastic from the treatment of WEEE devices that are hazardous and POPs waste

The mixed wastes, which includes wastes produced from treating devices that are hazardous and POPs waste, is a hazardous and POPs waste.

An example of a hazardous and POPs waste is mixed waste from treating small mixed WEEE (SMW). This is because it contains the contaminated plastics.

Read the guidance classifying electronic and electrical equipment (https://www.gov.uk/how-to-classify-different-types-of-waste/electronic-and-electrical-equipment) to find out which categories of WEEE are known to be hazardous and POPs waste.

Use this code to classify the waste.

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

Dust and particulates from treating WEEE, including dust collected by air emission control measures

Dust and particulates from treating WEEE devices, or components, that are POPs waste may contain hazardous substances and POPs.

You must assess the dust and particulates for both hazardous substances and POPs.

If the waste contains:
- hazardous substances at or above hazardous waste limits – you must classify the waste as hazardous waste
- POPs – you must destroy it, and send it for destruction as a POPs waste
(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

Metal fractions, containing plastic, printed circuit boards or cables

Metal fractions from treating items of WEEE that are POPs waste remain POPs waste if they contain plastic, printed circuit boards or cables. You can only treat the item of WEEE if you destroy the POPs.

You must check if the metal fractions from treating items of WEEE that are not POPs waste contain plastic, printed circuit boards or cables. If they do, you must check if the level of POPs is above the concentration limit and must manage as a POPs waste.

In both cases, they are mixed waste. Therefore you must assess the concentration of hazardous substance to classify them correctly.

This is an example of how to classify metal fractions from the treatment of SMW.

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

Plastic wastes from treating fridges and freezers

Fridges and freezers have plastic components, printed circuit boards, and cable containing POPs, hazardous flame retardants and antimony trioxide. These will be present in the treated waste.

You must check the concentration of POPs in the plastic to determine if the waste is POPs waste.

Use these codes to classify pure plastic fractions from treating fridges and freezers.

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

If your plastic fraction contains other materials like foam, printed circuit boards, or cable it is a mixed waste. You must also check the concentration of hazardous chemicals and use the appropriate 19 12 11* or 19 12 12 code instead of 19 12 04.

Plastic containing residues from treating certain large domestic appliances (LDA)

White goods like household type washing machines, tumble driers, dishwashers and cookers are not hazardous or POPs waste.

However they include plastic components and printed circuit boards which may contain POPs, hazardous flame retardants, and antimony trioxide. The concentration of these chemicals may be increased in the treatment outputs that contain these components.

You must check the concentration of hazardous chemicals and POPs in these treatment residues to determine if the waste is hazardous or POPs waste.

The code you select will also depend on the process you use to produce the waste and the output from that. Here are some examples.

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

If other types of devices are present in the LDA waste stream, you should remove those that are hazardous or POPs waste before processing. If you process a WEEE device that is POPs waste, the outputs containing those POPs will remain POPs waste – even if diluted below concentration limits by the treatment process.

Wastes from treating outputs from other WEEE treatments by density separation

Density separation treatment is used to separate plastics containing brominated flame retardants (including hazardous chemicals and POPs) from uncontaminated plastics. The brominated (heavy) fraction is POPs waste.

Where the process reliably separates these plastics, and removes other contaminating materials, to produce pure plastic output fractions use these codes for those fractions.

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

If your plastic fraction contains other materials you must also check the concentration of hazardous chemicals and use the appropriate 19 12 11* or 19 12 12 code instead of 19 12 04.

You should only use 19 12 04 if the plastic output contains no non-conforming materials.

Mixed batteries from treating WEEE

See the guidance on classifying WEEE (https://www.gov.uk/how-to-classify-different-types-of-waste/electronic-and-electrical-equipment) for the codes you can use for batteries.

You must give the appropriate 16 06 XX codes for each type of battery present.

You must not use the 20 01 33* code for separately collected municipal fractions of mixed batteries for batteries you have separated during waste treatment.