EWC Code
17 05 04 soil and stones other than those mentioned in 17 05 03
This is a code under chapter 17 05 — Soil (including excavated soil from contaminated sites), stones and dredging spoil of the UK European Waste Catalogue, used on waste transfer notes to classify the type of waste being transferred.
17 05 04 is excavated material — topsoil, subsoil, clay, stones — arising from groundworks, foundations, drainage and landscaping. By volume it is one of the largest waste streams the construction industry moves, and most of it leaves site as dug, without any processing that would change what it is or reveal what is in it.
It is the non-hazardous half of a mirror pair with 17 05 03, soil and stones containing hazardous substances, and this is the pair where the two halves look identical in the back of a lorry. What separates them is not appearance but where the soil came from: former industrial land, fuel or chemical storage, made ground, or anywhere with a history that could have put contaminants into it. That question is worth answering before the load moves, not after.
Where this waste usually comes from
- Foundations, drainage and service trenches
- Basement digs and site levelling
- Landscaping and hard-standing removal
The common mistake with 17 05 04
Treating clean-looking soil as automatically 17 05 04. Appearance is not the test; the site's history is. Where that history suggests contamination, the load needs assessing against 17 05 03 first.
- Code
- 17 05 04
- Chapter
- 17 05
- Description
- soil and stones other than those mentioned in 17 05 03
- Chapter description
- Soil (including excavated soil from contaminated sites), stones and dredging spoil
- Entry type
- Mirror non-hazardous — part of a mirror pair. Whether this entry applies depends on a WM3 assessment of the substances present.
- Classification
- Non-hazardous. A standard Waste Transfer Note is required under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011.
Check the other half of this mirror entry
Whether 17 05 04 or its counterpart applies depends on a WM3 assessment of the substances present — the same waste stream classifies differently depending on what it contains.
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Compliance & guidance
Background reading for non-hazardous waste under UK regulations.
Other codes in chapter 17 05
Soil (including excavated soil from contaminated sites), stones and dredging spoil