Hazardous property code
HP 3 Flammable
Waste that is easily ignited, including liquids with a flashpoint below 60°C, flammable gases, or solid waste that ignites through friction.
HP 3 covers waste that is easily ignited. DEFRA's own description puts liquids with a flashpoint below 60°C inside it, alongside flammable solids, gases and materials that can ignite on contact with air or water.
It is one of the most frequently recorded properties on solvent, fuel and paint-related loads, and it is recorded on the consignment note as a hazard code. Whether it applies to a given consignment is a WM3 assessment of what is actually in it.
- Code
- HP 3
- DEFRA code
- HP_3
Sourced from DEFRA’s digital waste tracking reference data, last checked 25 July 2026.
EWC codes that commonly carry this hazard property
15 of 61 entries from the UK List of Wastes.
These are EWC entries that typically carry this hazard property, not a determination that any particular load does. Under WM3, whether a hazard property applies depends on the substances actually present and their concentrations — the producer is responsible for assessing each consignment.
- 01 05 05oil-containing drilling muds and wasteshazardousOil-containing drilling muds — residual mineral oils are flammable and ecotoxic.
- 05 01 02desalter sludgeshazardousDesalter sludges — oily refinery residue, typically flammable and ecotoxic.
- 05 01 03tank bottom sludgeshazardousTank-bottom sludges — oily PAH-rich residue; flammable, carcinogenic (PAH) and ecotoxic.
- 05 01 05oil spillshazardousOil spills — recovered hydrocarbon; flammable and ecotoxic.
- 05 01 06oily sludges from maintenance operations of the plant or equipmenthazardousOily maintenance sludges — flammable and ecotoxic.
- 05 01 12oil containing acidshazardousOil containing acids — flammable hydrocarbon plus corrosive acid; ecotoxic.
- 05 01 15spent filter clayshazardousSpent filter clays from refining — oil-saturated; flammable and ecotoxic.
- 07 01 04other organic solvents, washing liquids and mother liquorshazardousNon-halogenated organic solvent / mother liquor (basic organic chem) — flammable and acutely toxic.
- 07 02 04other organic solvents, washing liquids and mother liquorshazardousNon-halogenated organic solvent (plastics manufacture) — flammable and acutely toxic.
- 07 03 04other organic solvents, washing liquids and mother liquorshazardousNon-halogenated organic solvent (dyes / pigments) — flammable, acutely toxic; heavy-metal pigment residue makes ecotoxic typical.
- 07 04 04other organic solvents, washing liquids and mother liquorshazardousNon-halogenated organic solvent (pesticide manufacture) — flammable, acutely toxic and ecotoxic.
- 07 04 08other still bottoms and reaction residueshazardousNon-halogenated still bottoms (pesticide manufacture) — flammable, acutely toxic and ecotoxic.
- 07 04 10other filter cakes and spent absorbentshazardousNon-halogenated filter cakes (pesticide manufacture) — flammable, acutely toxic and ecotoxic.
- 07 05 04other organic solvents, washing liquids and mother liquorshazardousNon-halogenated organic solvent (pharmaceutical manufacture) — flammable and acutely toxic.
- 07 06 04other organic solvents, washing liquids and mother liquorshazardousNon-halogenated organic solvent (fats / soaps / detergents) — flammable and acutely toxic.
Related
Recording HP 3 on real paperwork?
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