Hazardous waste statistics with provisional England 2024 figures, the latest whole-UK total and clearly dated Scottish and Welsh data, drawn from official national sources.

Waste from hazardous-substance work may require both workplace exposure controls and waste-management controls. The waste classification depends on its properties and composition, rather than simply whether the original product was covered by COSHH. This guide combines official sources with different reporting periods: Defra’s September 2026 release includes provisional England 2024 data, while its latest whole-UK hazardous waste total remains 2020.

This handling-and-disposal page sits alongside the worker-exposure story told on our COSHH statistics page. Where that page counts the illness caused by using hazardous substances, this one counts the tonnage created when they are thrown away, and the duty-of-care rules that govern where it goes.

Key facts and figures

  • 3.88 million tonnes of hazardous waste were generated in England in 2024, provisionally — 3,883,865 tonnes, about 2.2% of all waste generated (Defra, September 2026).
  • 5.4 million tonnes of hazardous waste were generated across the UK in 2020, the latest whole-UK figure in Defra’s September 2026 dataset.
  • 1.11 million tonnes of discarded vehicles were generated as hazardous waste in England in 2024, provisionally — about 28.6% of hazardous arisings.
  • 22.8% of hazardous waste sent to final treatment in England in 2024 was deposited onto or into land (provisional Defra data).
  • 902,002 tonnes of England’s hazardous waste were generated by construction in 2024, provisionally — about 23.2% of the total.
  • 410,000 tonnes of hazardous (“special”) waste were generated in Scotland in 2023, down 4.2% on 2022 (SEPA, 2023 data).
  • ~225,000 tonnes of hazardous waste were estimated from Welsh industry and commerce in 2018 — 8% of I&C waste (NRW survey, 2018).
  • 2024 is the reporting year of the Environment Agency’s latest Hazardous Waste Interrogator checked here; it records reported hazardous waste movements, not new waste generation alone.

Checked on 15 October 2026. England’s provisional 2024 figures come from Defra’s 23 September 2026 release. The whole-UK total remains 2020; Scottish generation data cover 2023 and treatment data 2024. Older Welsh survey estimates are retained with their dates. These different populations and periods are not directly interchangeable.

How much hazardous waste does the UK produce each year?

England provisionally generated 3,883,865 tonnes of hazardous waste in 2024, about 3.88 million tonnes. This was approximately 2.2% of 178,062,119 tonnes of all waste generated. Both totals come from the same England generation table in Defra’s September 2026 dataset. Generation measures waste arising, rather than every subsequent movement between facilities.

The latest whole-UK hazardous generation figure in the same release is 5,400,255 tonnes in 2020, about 5.4 million tonnes or 2.8% of the UK’s total waste that year. It cannot be compared directly with England’s 2024 figure to infer a fall: both the geography and year differ.

What counts as hazardous waste in the UK?

Classify waste using the List of Waste and the relevant WM3 technical guidance. The six-digit waste codes include absolute hazardous entries and mirror entries requiring assessment of hazardous properties or relevant substances. Great Britain’s WM3 version and Northern Ireland’s guidance must be distinguished. The hazardous properties are HP1 to HP15; classification should follow the full guidance, including applicable persistent organic pollutant requirements.

In practice this captures much of what passes through a COSHH-controlled workplace once it is discarded: solvents and paints, waste oils, contaminated absorbents and rags, spent chemicals, hazardous parts of end-of-life vehicles and electrical equipment, batteries, and healthcare wastes. Many EWC entries are “mirror” codes, where the same material may be hazardous or non-hazardous depending on the concentration of dangerous substances it contains — which is why assessing the waste correctly under WM3, rather than guessing, is the first duty-of-care step. Asbestos waste carries its own EWC codes and is handled under separate asbestos rules; it is only mentioned here as a classification example, and the tonnages sit with our sister asbestos statistics guide.

What types of hazardous waste does the UK produce most?

Discarded vehicles were England’s largest hazardous category in the 2024 provisional data at 1,110,719 tonnes, about 28.6% of hazardous generation. Soils accounted for 676,019 tonnes and chemical wastes for 585,034 tonnes. These are waste-category totals, not counts of vehicles, contaminated sites or individual products.

Other 2024 provisional England categories included discarded equipment at 461,837 tonnes, used oils at 243,803 tonnes, batteries and accumulators at 138,575 tonnes, and healthcare and biological wastes at 104,781 tonnes. The table lists the same categories with their common reporting year.

Hazardous waste category (England)TonnesData period
Discarded (end-of-life) vehicles1,110,7192024 provisional
Chemical wastes585,0342024 provisional
Contaminated soils676,0192024 provisional
Discarded equipment (hazardous WEEE)461,8372024 provisional
Used oils243,8032024 provisional
Batteries & accumulators138,5752024 provisional
Healthcare & biological wastes104,7812024 provisional
All hazardous waste generated3,883,8652024 provisional

Which sectors produce the most hazardous waste?

Construction generated 902,002 tonnes of hazardous waste in England in 2024, provisionally, about 23.2% of the total. The grouped services category was larger at 1,751,091 tonnes; construction should not be described as the largest source. Households accounted for 249,482 tonnes. Sector totals describe where waste arises, not the relative health risk of the activities.

Scotland generated 410,000 tonnes of hazardous or special waste in 2023, with 357,000 tonnes (86.9%) from commercial and industrial sources. For Wales, the 2018 industrial and commercial survey estimated 225,000 tonnes of hazardous waste, about 8% of its total waste. These dated estimates have different coverage: the Welsh figure excludes other sectors and should not be presented as a current all-Wales annual total.

How is hazardous waste disposed of in the UK?

Of 2,616,737 tonnes of hazardous waste sent to final treatment in England in 2024, provisionally, 1,318,754 tonnes (50.4%) went to recovery other than energy recovery, excluding backfilling. Backfilling accounted for 441,971 tonnes (16.9%), deposit onto or into land for 596,892 tonnes (22.8%), and incineration for 259,120 tonnes (9.9%). Energy recovery was recorded as zero in this table. Final treatment and generation have different coverage and must not be treated as a balanced flow of the same year’s waste.

SEPA reports 29,900 tonnes of hazardous waste landfilled in Scotland in 2024, representing 1.6% of all waste landfilled. Its latest release gives a decrease of 14,000 tonnes (31.8%) from the revised 2023 figure. The earlier published 60,400-tonne figure must not be combined with that revised percentage. Scotland also recorded 2 tonnes of hazardous waste incinerated in 2024. These figures concern treatment in Scotland, rather than the destinations of every tonne generated there.

Who is responsible for hazardous waste after it leaves the workplace?

A waste producer’s duty of care includes taking reasonable steps to prevent unlawful handling and checking that the carrier and receiving operation are appropriately authorised. For hazardous waste movements in England, consignment notes are normally required, subject to specified exceptions, and producers generally retain their register for three years. Check whether a permit, licence or applicable exemption authorises the particular activity; a general claim that every recipient must have a permit is too broad.

The Environment Agency’s 2024 Hazardous Waste Interrogator contains reported movements of hazardous waste in England. Movement totals can include waste transferred more than once and are not the same as generation or final treatment. At workplace level, correct classification, segregation, storage, transfer documentation and authorised handling remain important. Exposure controls can still be needed while waste is stored or handled; waste law does not replace COSHH at that point.

Frequently asked questions

How much hazardous waste does the UK produce each year?

England provisionally generated 3,883,865 tonnes of hazardous waste in 2024, about 3.88 million tonnes or 2.2% of all waste generated. The latest whole-UK total in Defra’s September 2026 release remains 5,400,255 tonnes for 2020. Different years and geographies prevent direct comparison as a trend.

What counts as hazardous waste in the UK (WM3 and EWC codes)?

Waste is classified using the List of Waste — six-digit European Waste Catalogue (EWC) codes — plus the WM3 technical guidance. A waste is hazardous if it has one or more hazardous properties (HP1–HP15, such as flammable, corrosive or toxic) or an absolute hazardous entry on the List of Waste. Common examples include solvents, waste oils, hazardous WEEE, batteries and contaminated soils.

How is hazardous waste disposed of in the UK?

In provisional England 2024 final-treatment data, 50.4% went to non-energy recovery excluding backfilling, 16.9% to backfilling, 22.8% to deposit onto or into land, and 9.9% to incineration. The recorded energy-recovery figure was zero. These are final-treatment shares, not shares of the generation total.

Who is responsible for hazardous waste after it leaves the workplace?

Waste producers retain a duty of care to take reasonable steps over its lawful handling and transfer, including checking appropriate authorisations. In England, hazardous waste movements normally require a consignment note, subject to exceptions; producer records are generally kept for three years. Requirements differ across UK nations.

How often are these statistics updated?

Official releases have different schedules and reporting lags. The figures checked on 15 October 2026 include Defra’s September 2026 release, Scotland’s 2023 generation and 2024 treatment reports, and Wales’s dated survey estimates. SEPA states that its 2024 and 2025 waste-from-all-sources releases are planned together for March 2027.

Sources & references

Safe waste disposal starts with controlling the substances upstream — make sure your team can classify, segregate and handle hazardous substances correctly.

Explore the COSHH Training course →
Mark McShane
Mark McShane
Health & Safety Training Specialist, Online CPD Academy

Mark writes about workplace health & safety, COSHH and accredited online training for COSHH Training, part of Online CPD Academy.