# Cardboard EWC code 15 01 01 for boxes and packaging, 20 01 01 for other paper and card.

> Cardboard EWC code: 15 01 01 for boxes and packaging, 20 01 01 for other paper and card, and why cardboard can’t go in a building site skip.
> Web page: https://complyonsite.com/tools/ewc-code-finder?waste=cardboard

- Free, no account
- Based on the UK List of Waste and GOV.UK guidance
- Nothing is stored

## Is cardboard 15 01 01 or 20 01 01?

- **Boxes and packaging**: 15 01 01. Packaging always goes in 15 01, never 20 01.
- **Other paper and card**: 20 01 01, collected separately.
- **A mix of both**: 15 01 01 and 20 01 01 together.
- **Packaging with a hazardous residue**: 15 01 10*.

## Can cardboard go in a skip on a building site?

Not in England. Since 31 March 2025, construction sites must keep cardboard packaging, such as the boxes new appliances come in, apart from other construction waste. GOV.UK says recyclables shouldn’t be mixed or compacted with construction waste “under any circumstances”. Your collector may ask you to put cardboard in a bag on top of the skip so it can be taken separately. Firms with fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees have until 31 March 2027.

## What code is baled cardboard from a recycling yard?

19 12 01, paper and cardboard from the mechanical treatment of waste, used only when it has been separated from other wastes. It’s for sorting and baling sites. Cardboard straight from a site or office stays 15 01 01.

### Sources

- [List of Waste, as retained in UK law (legislation.gov.uk)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudn/2000/532/annex)
- [GOV.UK, Packaging waste and recyclables: how to classify](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/packaging-waste-and-recyclables-how-to-classify)
- [Environment Agency, WM3 waste classification guidance](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/waste-classification-technical-guidance)
- [GOV.UK, Simpler recycling: workplace recycling in England](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/simpler-recycling-workplace-recycling-in-england)
- [GOV.UK, Wastes from mechanical treatment of waste: how to classify](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wastes-from-mechanical-treatment-of-waste-how-to-classify)

The codes apply across the UK. The workplace recycling rules here are England’s; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own.