Home › Waste codes › Chapter 02

02 01 01 Sludges from washing and cleaning

EWC / List of Waste code · Last checked 21 October 2026 · Applies across the UK (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)

Not hazardous Absolute non-hazardous entry

Official description: “sludges from washing and cleaning”

Where it sits: chapter 02 (wastes from agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture, forestry, hunting and fishing, food preparation and processing), section 02 01 (wastes from agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture, forestry, hunting and fishing).

What the hazard status means

Waste that matches this description is not hazardous waste. Check that nothing hazardous has been mixed in: a load that contains hazardous waste needs a different code.

Using this code

Write the code on the paperwork when waste is passed on: a waste transfer note for non-hazardous waste, or a consignment note for hazardous waste (called special waste in Scotland).
Choose the code from where the waste came from first (the chapter), then what it is. If a load is mixed, you may need more than one code.
The waste must go to a site whose permit allows that code. A registered carrier can tell you which codes they accept: check a waste carrier.
Businesses have a duty of care to describe their waste correctly.

Other codes in section 02 01

02 01 02 Animal-tissue waste Not hazardous
02 01 03 Plant-tissue waste Not hazardous
02 01 04 Waste plastics (except packaging) Not hazardous
02 01 06 Animal faeces, urine and manure (including spoiled straw), effluent, collected separately and treated off-site Not hazardous
02 01 07 Wastes from forestry Not hazardous
02 01 08* Agrochemical waste containing hazardous substances Hazardous
02 01 09 Agrochemical waste other than those mentioned in 02 01 08 Not hazardous
02 01 10 Waste metal Not hazardous
02 01 99 Wastes not otherwise specified Not hazardous

This page explains the code in plain English. It is not a classification of your waste. The official List of Waste and the classification guidance decide which code applies, and you are responsible for the code you use.

02 01 01 Sludges from washing and cleaning

What the hazard status means

Using this code

Other codes in section 02 01

Official sources