Reference
UK Disposal & Recovery Codes (D and R Codes)
A disposal or recovery code records what actually happens to a load of waste once it reaches its destination. D codes cover disposal operations and R codes cover recovery operations. The code appears on waste transfer notes and hazardous waste consignment notes, and is a required field on every movement filed to DEFRA's digital waste tracking service.
All 28 codes below come from DEFRA’s own digital waste tracking reference data, last checked 25 July 2026. This is the same list WTNcloud validates against when it files a movement, so what you see here is what the service accepts.
Recovery operations (R1–R13)
- R1Use principally as a fuel or other means to generate energy
- R2Solvent reclamation/regeneration
- R3Recycling/reclamation of organic substances which are not used as solvents (including composting and other biological transformation processes)
- R4Recycling/reclamation of metals and metal compounds
- R5Recycling/reclamation of other inorganic materials
- R6Regeneration of acids or bases
- R7Recovery of components used for pollution abatement
- R8Recovery of components from catalysts
- R9Oil re-refining or other reuses of oil
- R10Land treatment resulting in benefit to agriculture or ecological improvement
- R11Use of wastes obtained from any of the operations numbered R1 to R10
- R12Exchange of wastes for submission to any of the operations numbered R1 to R11
- R13Storage of wastes pending any of the operations numbered R1 to R12 (excluding temporary storage, pending collection, on the site where it is produced)
Disposal operations (D1–D15)
- D1Deposit into or onto land, e.g. landfill
- D2Land treatment, e.g. biodegradation of liquid or sludgy discards in soils
- D3Deep injection, e.g. injection of pumpable discards into wells, salt domes or naturally occurring repositories
- D4Surface impoundment, e.g. placement of liquid or sludgy discards into pits, ponds or lagoons
- D5Specially engineered landfill, e.g. placement into lined discrete cells which are capped and isolated from one another and the environment
- D6Release into a water body, except seas/oceans
- D7Release into seas/oceans, including sea-bed insertion
- D8Biological treatment resulting in final compounds or mixtures which are discarded by any of the operations numbered D1 to D12
- D9Physico-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
- D10Incineration on land
- D11Incineration at sea
- D12Permanent storage, e.g. emplacement of containers in a mine
- D13Blending or mixing prior to submission to any of the operations numbered D1 to D12
- D14Repackaging prior to submission to any of the operations numbered D1 to D13
- D15Storage pending any of the operations numbered D1 to D14 (excluding temporary storage, pending collection, on the site where it is produced)
Other waste code references
The other code lists you need to complete a waste movement.
Filing these codes for real from October 2026?
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