Guidance

Legal definition of waste guidance

How to decide if a material is waste or not – advice for organisations such as businesses, local authorities and charities.

• From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Welsh Government, Environment Agency, and Natural Resources Wales
• Published: 5 May 2016
• Last updated: 31 August 2021 — See all updates

This publication was withdrawn on 30 March 2023

This publication is out of date. It has been replaced with:

• Check if your material is waste
• Get an opinion from the Environment Agency’s definition of waste service

Applies to England, Northern Ireland and Wales

• Publication for Scotland

Documents

Definition of waste: 2018 Waste Framework Directive amendments

HTML

View online

Decide if a material is waste or not: general guide (updated version of part 2 of original full document)

HTML

View online

[Withdrawn] Legal definition of waste (original full document)

PDF, 559 KB, 70 pages

View online

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Details

The general guide explains how to work out if waste rules apply to your material. You will need to:

• decide if your material is waste
• identify when waste rules apply
• find out when waste ceases to be waste
• find out when waste rules do not apply

The full document is set out in 3 parts. They are:

• part 1 – the background and rationale for providing guidance on end of waste
• part 2 – a practical guide for businesses and other organisations
• part 3 – detailed guidance on the legal definition of waste and its application

Check when a material is waste, is a by-product or meets ‘end of waste’ status.

Published 5 May 2016
Last updated 31 August 2021 + show all updates

1. 31 August 2021

   Updated links to the new 'Check if your material is waste' and 'Get an opinion from the definition of waste service' guidance.

2. 16 March 2021

   Updated to add references to Natural Resources Wales.

3. 17 February 2021

   Updated links to the Waste Framework Directive.

4. 29 December 2020

   Added attachment 'Definition of waste: 2018 Waste Framework Directive amendments' which summarises the changes to the law and the Environment Agency's approach to this.

5. 5 May 2016

   First published.

6. 5 May 2016

   Published revised general guide to businesses.