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15 01 01 Paper and cardboard packaging

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: “paper and cardboard packaging”

Where it sits: chapter 15 (waste packaging; absorbents, wiping cloths, filter materials and protective clothing not otherwise specified), section 15 01 (packaging (including separately collected municipal packaging waste)).

In plain English

Paper and cardboard packaging, for example boxes from deliveries.

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 15 01

15 01 02 Plastic packaging Not hazardous
15 01 03 Wooden packaging Not hazardous
15 01 04 Metallic packaging Not hazardous
15 01 05 Composite packaging Not hazardous
15 01 06 Mixed packaging Not hazardous
15 01 07 Glass packaging Not hazardous
15 01 09 Textile packaging Not hazardous
15 01 10* Packaging containing residues of or contaminated by hazardous substances Hazardous
15 01 11* Metallic packaging containing a hazardous solid porous matrix (for example asbestos), including empty pressure containers 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.