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Disposal & recovery codes
The D (disposal) and R (recovery) codes record what happens to a waste at its destination — from landfill and incineration to recycling and energy recovery. Permitted sites give a D/R code on every load they receive.
What are D and R codes?
Where an EWC code says what a waste is, a D or R code says what is done with it. Recovery (R1–R13) operations put the waste to use — recycling, reclamation or energy recovery. Disposal (D1–D15) operations get rid of it, such as landfill or incineration without energy recovery. You record the D/R code when you log a waste receipt in Digital Waste Tracking, and on the waste returns you submit to your regulator.
Recovery codes (R1–R13)
- R1Use principally as a fuel or other means to generate energy
- R2Solvent reclamation/regeneration
- R3Recycling/reclamation of organic substances which are not used as solvents (including composting and other biological transformation processes)
- R4Recycling/reclamation of metals and metal compounds
- R5Recycling/reclamation of other inorganic materials
- R6Regeneration of acids or bases
- R7Recovery of components used for pollution abatement
- R8Recovery of components from catalysts
- R9Oil re-refining or other reuses of oil
- R10Land treatment resulting in benefit to agriculture or ecological improvement
- R11Use of wastes obtained from any of the operations numbered R1 to R10
- R12Exchange of wastes for submission to any of the operations numbered R1 to R11
- R13Storage of wastes pending any of the operations numbered R1 to R12 (excluding temporary storage, pending collection, on the site where it is produced)
Disposal codes (D1–D15)
- D1Deposit into or onto land, e.g. landfill
- D2Land treatment, e.g. biodegradation of liquid or sludgy discards in soils
- D3Deep injection, e.g. injection of pumpable discards into wells, salt domes or naturally occurring repositories
- D4Surface impoundment, e.g. placement of liquid or sludgy discards into pits, ponds or lagoons
- D5Specially engineered landfill, e.g. placement into lined discrete cells which are capped and isolated from one another and the environment
- D6Release into a water body, except seas/oceans
- D7Release into seas/oceans, including sea-bed insertion
- D8Biological treatment resulting in final compounds or mixtures which are discarded by any of the operations numbered D1 to D12
- D9Physico-chemical treatment resulting in final compounds or mixtures which are discarded by any of the operations numbered D1 to D12, e.g. evaporation, drying, calcination
- D10Incineration on land
- D11Incineration at sea
- D12Permanent storage, e.g. emplacement of containers in a mine
- D13Blending or mixing prior to submission to any of the operations numbered D1 to D12
- D14Repackaging prior to submission to any of the operations numbered D1 to D13
- D15Storage pending any of the operations numbered D1 to D14 (excluding temporary storage, pending collection, on the site where it is produced)