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New Zealand working definition of hazardous waste

The Ministry has developed a national working definition of hazardous waste. The purpose of the working definition is to provide consistency in defining hazardous waste, for the purposes of resource consents, waste management planning, and other aspects of hazardous waste management. This is a 'working' definition, and does not have legal status. However, it may serve as the basis for definitions incorporated into legal instruments, such as national environmental standards. While a legal definition incorporated into regulation or statute might draw on the working definition, the definition would first need modification to reflect the purpose of the legal instrument. Guidance on how to use the working definition can be found in the Guidelines for the Management of Hazardous Waste.

Working definition of hazardous waste

Hazardous waste is any waste1 that:

  • Contains hazardous substances at sufficient concentrations to exceed the minimum degrees of hazard specified by Hazardous Substances (Minimum Degrees of Hazard) Regulations 2000 under the Hazardous Substances and New Organism Act 1996, or
  • Meets the definition for infectious substances included in the Land Transport Rule: Dangerous Goods 1999 and NZ Standard 5433: 1999 - Transport of Dangerous Goods on Land2, or
  • Meets the definition for radioactive material included in the Radiation Protection Act 1965 and Regulations 19823.

1 Waste is defined as any material, whether it is liquid, solid or gas, that is unwanted and unvalued (defined by the W-Code)and discarded or discharged (defined by the D/R-Code) by its holder. In the context of defining waste, 'unwanted and unvalued' relates, but is not limited to, any material from the categories listed in the W-Code.

W-Code: Categories of materials that are unwanted or unvalued

This list is taken from Table 1 of OECD Decision C(88)90(Final).

W1 Production residues not otherwise specified below
W2 Off-specification products
W3 Products whose date for appropriate use has expired
W4 Materials spilled, lost or having undergone other mishap including any materials, equipment etc. contaminated as a result of the mishap
W5 Materials contaminated or soiled as a result of planned actions (e.g. residues from cleaning operations, packing materials, containers, etc.)
W6 Unusable parts (e.g. reject batteries, exhausted catalysts, etc.)
W7 Substances which no longer perform satisfactorily (e.g. contaminated acid, contaminated solvents, exhausted tempering salts, etc.)
W8 Residues of industrial processes (e.g. slags, still bottoms, etc.)
W9 Residues from pollution abatement processes (e.g. scrubber sludges, baghouse dusts, spent filters, etc.)
W10 Machining/finishing residues (e.g. lathe turnings, mill scales, etc.)
W11 Residues from raw materials processing (e.g. mining residues, oil field slops, etc.)
W12 Adulterated materials (e.g. oils contaminated with PCBs, etc.)
W13 Any materials, substances or products whose use has been banned by law in the country of exportation
W14 Products for which there is no further use (e.g. agriculture, household, office, commercial and shop discards, etc.)
W15 Materials, substances or products resulting from remedial actions with respect to contaminated land
W16 Any materials, substances or products which the generator or exporter declares to be wastes and which are not contained in the above categories

2 Substances that are known, or reasonably expected, to contain pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, ricksettia, parasites, fungi or recombinant micro-organisms (hybrid or mutant) that are known, or reasonably expected, to cause infectious disease in humans or animals that are exposed to them.

3 Radioactive material means any article containing a radioactive substance giving it a specific radioactivity exceeding 100 kilobecquerels per kilogram and a total radioactivity exceeding 3 kilobecquerels.

Last updated: 17 September 2007