# Tarmac EWC code 17 03 02 for asphalt and planings, or 17 03 01* if it contains coal tar.

> Tarmac EWC code: 17 03 02 for asphalt and road planings, 17 03 01* if it contains coal tar, and the test that decides between the two.
> Web page: https://complyonsite.com/tools/ewc-code-finder?waste=tarmac

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

## How do you know if tarmac has coal tar in it?

By testing it. The regulators’ WM3 guidance treats black top as containing coal tar, and so 17 03 01*, when benzo[a]pyrene is 50 mg/kg or more, measured in the black top alone. Sample each layer separately. A test for PAHs alone can’t show that it’s non-hazardous. Without a test, or records showing it has no coal tar, use 17 03 01*.

## What is EWC code 17 03 03*?

- **17 03 02**: Bituminous mixtures, such as asphalt, with no coal tar.
- **17 03 01***: Bituminous mixtures containing coal tar.
- **17 03 03***: Coal tar itself and tarred products. Always hazardous.

## Tarmac mixed with soil or hardcore: one code or two?

Two, if they can be told apart. The coal tar test is done on the black top alone, so soil or hardcore dug up with it is a separate waste with its own code, such as [17 05 04](https://complyonsite.com/tools/ewc-code-finder?code=17-05-04) or 17 01 07. Each goes on its own line of the note.

### Sources

- [List of Waste, as retained in UK law (legislation.gov.uk)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudn/2000/532/annex)
- [GOV.UK, Construction and demolition waste: how to classify](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/construction-and-demolition-waste-how-to-classify)
- [Environment Agency, WM3 waste classification guidance](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/waste-classification-technical-guidance)