# POPs waste EWC code There’s no POPs code. Use the waste’s own code and write “containing POPs”.

> POPs waste EWC code: there isn’t one. Use the waste’s own code, such as 20 03 07 for sofas and upholstered seats, and write “containing POPs”.
> Web page: https://complyonsite.com/tools/ewc-code-finder?waste=pops

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

## EWC code for sofas and upholstered seating

Use 20 03 07, bulky waste, and describe it on the transfer note as “domestic seating waste containing POPs”, listing the POPs chemicals on the note or separately. That covers household-type upholstered seating, including office chairs made to domestic fire standards. 20 03 07 isn’t a hazardous code, but in England this waste must be incinerated, not landfilled, and kept apart from other waste.

## Which other wastes can be POPs waste?

Any waste holding a persistent organic pollutant above its limit: for example 500 mg/kg in total for the listed brominated flame retardants (PBDEs), or 50 mg/kg for PCBs. From electricals, the Environment Agency expects circuit boards and cables to be POPs waste, and screens and plastic parts can be; hazardous parts taken out of equipment are 16 02 15*. Wherever POPs are present, name them in the waste’s description.

## Can POPs waste be mixed or recycled?

Keep it apart. If POPs waste is mixed with other waste, the whole load has to be managed as POPs waste and the POPs destroyed, even if mixing has diluted them below the limit. Electrical waste that is POPs waste can’t be reused or recycled. The one exception: an item or part made after 1 January 2009 can be reused as equipment in the UK.

### Sources

- [List of Waste, as retained in UK law (legislation.gov.uk)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudn/2000/532/annex)
- [GOV.UK, Manage waste upholstered domestic seating containing POPs](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-waste-upholstered-domestic-seating-containing-pops)
- [GOV.UK, Identify and classify waste containing POPs](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/identify-and-classify-waste-containing-persistent-organic-pollutants-pops)
- [GOV.UK, Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE): how to classify](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/waste-electrical-and-electronic-equipment-weee-how-to-classify)
- [GOV.UK, Classify some waste electrical devices, components and treatment wastes](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/classify-some-waste-electrical-devices-components-and-wastes-from-their-treatment)

The POPs guidance here is for England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland publish their own.