Home › Waste codes › Chapter 05

05 01 99 Wastes not otherwise specified

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: “wastes not otherwise specified”

Where it sits: chapter 05 (wastes from petroleum refining, natural gas purification and pyrolytic treatment of coal), section 05 01 (wastes from petroleum refining).

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.

Codes ending in 99 (“not otherwise specified”) are a last resort. Use a more specific code if one fits the waste.

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 05 01

05 01 02* Desalter sludges Hazardous
05 01 03* Tank bottom sludges Hazardous
05 01 04* Acid alkyl sludges Hazardous
05 01 05* Oil spills Hazardous
05 01 06* Oily sludges from maintenance operations of the plant or equipment Hazardous
05 01 07* Acid tars Hazardous
05 01 08* Other tars Hazardous
05 01 09* Sludges from on-site effluent treatment containing hazardous substances Hazardous
05 01 10 Sludges from on-site effluent treatment other than those mentioned in 05 01 09 Not hazardous
05 01 11* Wastes from cleaning of fuels with bases Hazardous
05 01 12* Oil containing acids Hazardous
05 01 13 Boiler feedwater sludges Not hazardous
05 01 14 Wastes from cooling columns Not hazardous
05 01 15* Spent filter clays Hazardous
05 01 16 Sulphur-containing wastes from petroleum desulphurisation Not hazardous
05 01 17 Bitumen 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.

05 01 99 Wastes not otherwise specified

What the hazard status means

Using this code

Other codes in section 05 01

Official sources