This Chapter has been extracted from the ONS Explanatory Notes and provides a more detailed explanation of possible activities that could fall within the SIC Codes related to the Chapter.
This division includes the collection, treatment, and disposal of waste materials. This also includes localhauling of waste materials and the operation of materials recovery facilities (i.e. those that sort
recoverable materials from a waste stream).
38.1 Waste collection
This group includes the collection of waste from households and businesses by means of refuse bins,
wheeled bins, containers, etc. It includes collection of non-hazardous and hazardous waste e.g. waste
from households, used batteries, used cooking oils and fats, waste oil from ships and used oil from
garages, as well as construction and demolition waste.
38.11 Collection of non-hazardous waste
This class includes:
- collection of non-hazardous solid waste (i.e. garbage) within a local area, such as collection of waste, which may include mixed recoverable materials, from households and businesses by means of refuse bins, wheeled bins, containers etc.
- collection of recyclable materials
- collection of refuse in litter-bins in public places
This class also includes:
- collection of construction and demolition waste
- collection and removal of debris and rubble
- collection of waste output of textile mills
- operation of waste transfer facilities for non-hazardous waste
This class excludes:
- collection of hazardous waste, see 38.12
- operation of landfills for the disposal of non-hazardous waste, see 38.21
- operation of facilities where mixed recoverable materials such as paper, plastics ,etc. are sorted into distinct categories, see 38.32
38.12 Collection of hazardous waste
This class includes the collection of solid and non-solid hazardous waste, i.e. explosive,
oxidising, flammable, toxic, irritant, carcinogenic, corrosive, infectious or other substances and
preparations harmful to human health and the environment. It may also entail identification, treatment,
packaging and labelling of waste for the purposes of transport.
This class includes:
- collection of hazardous waste, such as:
• used oil from shipment or garages
• bio-hazardous waste
• nuclear waste
• used batteries etc.
- operation of waste transfer stations for hazardous waste
This class excludes:
- remediation and clean up of contaminated buildings, mine sites, soil, ground water, e.g. asbestos
removal, see 39.00
38.2 Waste treatment and disposal
This group includes the disposal and treatment prior to disposal of various forms of waste by different
means, such as treatment of organic waste with the aim of disposal; treatment and disposal of toxic live
or dead animals and other contaminated waste; treatment and disposal of transition radioactive waste
from hospitals, etc.; dumping of refuse on land or in water; burial or ploughing-under of refuse; disposal of
used goods such as refrigerators to eliminate harmful waste; disposal of waste by incineration or
combustion. Energy recovery resulting from waste incineration processes is also included.
This group excludes
- treatment and disposal of waste water (see class 37.00).
- materials recovery, see 38.3
38.21 Treatment and disposal of non-hazardous waste
This class includes the disposal and treatment prior to disposal of solid or non-solid non-hazardous waste:
- operation of landfills for the disposal of non-hazardous waste
- disposal of non-hazardous waste by combustion or incineration or other methods, with or without the
resulting production of electricity or steam, compost, substitute fuels, biogas, ashes or other by-products for further use etc.
- treatment of organic waste for disposal
This class excludes:
- incineration and combustion of hazardous waste, see 38.22
- operation of facilities where mixed recoverable materials such as paper, plastics, used beverage cans and metals are sorted into distinct categories, see 38.32
- decontamination, clean up of land, water; toxic material abatement, see 39.00
38.22 Treatment and disposal of hazardous waste
This class includes the disposal and treatment prior to disposal of solid or non-solid hazardous waste,
including waste that is explosive, oxidising, flammable, toxic, irritant, carcinogenic, corrosive, infectious
and other substances and preparations harmful to human health and the environment.
This class includes:
- operation of facilities for treatment of hazardous waste
- treatment and disposal of toxic live or dead animals and other contaminated waste
- incineration of hazardous waste
- disposal of used goods such as refrigerators to eliminate harmful waste
- treatment, disposal and storage of radioactive nuclear waste including:
• treatment and disposal of transition radioactive waste, i.e. decaying within the period of transport, from
hospitals
• encapsulation, preparation and other treatment of nuclear waste for storage
This class excludes:
- reprocessing of nuclear fuels, see 20.13
- incineration of non-hazardous waste, see 38.21
- decontamination, clean up of land, water; toxic material abatement, see 39.00
38.3 Materials recovery
38.31 Dismantling of wrecks
This class includes dismantling of wrecks of any type (automobiles, ships, computers, televisions and
other equipment) for materials recovery.
This class excludes:
- disposal of used goods such as refrigerators to eliminate harmful waste, see 38.22
- dismantling of automobiles, ships, computers, televisions and other equipment to obtain re-sell usable
parts, see section G
38.32 Recovery of sorted materials
This class includes the processing of metal and non-metal waste and scrap and other articles into secondary
raw materials, usually involving a mechanical or chemical transformation process.
Also included is the recovery of materials from waste streams in the form of (1) separating and sorting recoverable materials from non-hazardous waste streams (i.e. garbage) or (2) the separating and sorting of mixed recoverable materials, such as paper, plastics, used beverage cans and metals, into distinct categories
Examples of the mechanical or chemical transformation processes that are undertaken are:
- mechanical crushing of metal waste from used cars, washing machines, bikes etc.
- mechanical reduction of large iron pieces such as railway wagons
- shredding of metal waste, end-of-life vehicles etc.
- other methods of mechanical treatment such as cutting, pressing to reduce the volume
- reclaiming metals out of photographic waste, e.g. fixer solution or photographic films and paper
- reclaiming of rubber such as used tyres to produce secondary raw material
- sorting and pelleting of plastics to produce secondary raw material for tubes, flower pots, pallets and the
like
- processing (cleaning, melting, grinding) of plastic or rubber waste to granulates
- crushing, cleaning and sorting of glass
- crushing, cleaning and sorting of other waste such as demolition waste to obtain secondary raw material
- processing of used cooking oils and fats into secondary raw materials
- processing of other food, beverage and tobacco waste and residual substances into secondary raw
materials
This class excludes:
- manufacture of new final products from (whether or not self-manufactured) secondary raw materials,
such as spinning yarn from garnetted stock, making pulp from paper waste, retreading tyres or production
of metal from metal scrap, see corresponding classes in section C (Manufacturing)
- reprocessing of nuclear fuels, see 20.13
- remelting ferrous waste and scrap, see 24.10
- materials recovery during waste combustion or incineration process, see 38.2
- treatment and disposal of non-hazardous waste, see 38.21
- treatment of organic waste for disposal, including production of compost, see 38.21
- energy recovery during non-hazardous waste incineration processes, see 38.21
- treatment and disposal of transition radioactive waste from hospitals etc., see 38.22
- treatment and disposal of toxic, contaminated waste, see 38.22
- wholesale of recoverable materials, see 46.77
For all queries related to this Chapter or any other aspect of SIC Codes, please contact the Office of National Statistics on 01329 444970 or email classifications.helpdesk@ons.gov.uk.