Recovery & Disposal Codes
Every waste movement must declare the intended recovery (R) or disposal (D) operation at its destination. Browse the official list below.
Recovery Operations (R Codes)
Use principally as a fuel or other means to generate energy
Land treatment resulting in benefit to agriculture or ecological improvement
Use of wastes obtained from any of the operations numbered R1 to R10
Exchange of wastes for submission to any of the operations numbered R1 to R11
Storage of wastes pending any of the operations numbered R1 to R12 (excluding temporary storage, pending collection, on the site where it is produced)
Solvent reclamation/regeneration
Recycling/reclamation of organic substances which are not used as solvents (including composting and other biological transformation processes)
Recycling/reclamation of metals and metal compounds
Recycling/reclamation of other inorganic materials
Regeneration of acids or bases
Recovery of components used for pollution abatement
Recovery of components from catalysts
Oil re-refining or other reuses of oil
Disposal Operations (D Codes)
Deposit into or onto land, e.g. landfill
Incineration on land
Incineration at sea
Permanent storage, e.g. emplacement of containers in a mine
Blending or mixing prior to submission to any of the operations numbered D1 to D12
Repackaging prior to submission to any of the operations numbered D1 to D13
Storage pending any of the operations numbered D1 to D14 (excluding temporary storage, pending collection, on the site where it is produced)
Land treatment, e.g. biodegradation of liquid or sludgy discards in soils
Deep injection, e.g. injection of pumpable discards into wells, salt domes or naturally occurring repositories
Surface impoundment, e.g. placement of liquid or sludgy discards into pits, ponds or lagoons
Specially engineered landfill, e.g. placement into lined discrete cells which are capped and isolated from one another and the environment
Release into a water body, except seas/oceans
Release into seas/oceans, including sea-bed insertion
Biological treatment resulting in final compounds or mixtures which are discarded by any of the operations numbered D1 to D12
Physico-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