Clinical waste removal glossary
Plain-English explanations of the terms you will come across.
- Alternative treatment
- Processes other than incineration, such as high-temperature steam or other heat treatment, that make infectious waste safe before disposal or recovery. It is the route for orange-stream waste that contains no medicines or chemicals.
- Cytotoxic and cytostatic
- Medicines that are toxic to cells or stop cells growing, including many chemotherapy drugs. Waste containing them is hazardous, goes in purple-lidded containers and must be sent for high-temperature incineration.
- Denaturing kit
- A container with a substance that makes controlled drugs irretrievable and unusable before disposal. Nursing homes, pharmacies and clinics use them for stock controlled drugs, with the destruction recorded in the register.
- Duty of Care
- The legal duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 for anyone producing or handling waste to keep it safe, pass it only to authorised people and describe it accurately with the right paperwork.
- EWC code
- A six-digit code from the List of Waste, often still called the European Waste Catalogue, that identifies a waste type. Codes with an asterisk are hazardous, such as 18 01 03* for infectious waste.
- Hazardous waste consignment note
- The document that must go with each movement of hazardous waste in England and Wales, recording the producer, carrier, waste codes and destination. Producers must keep copies for at least three years.
- High-temperature incineration
- Burning waste at very high temperatures in a permitted facility. It is required for cytotoxic and cytostatic waste and is used for yellow-stream waste, medicines and anatomical waste.
- HTM 07-01
- Health Technical Memorandum 07-01, the NHS England guidance on safe and sustainable management of healthcare waste. It sets out the colour-coding system and good practice widely used across UK healthcare.
- Offensive waste
- Non-infectious, non-hazardous waste that may be unpleasant, such as gloves, aprons and incontinence pads with no infection risk. It goes in yellow-and-black tiger bags and costs less to treat than infectious waste.
- Pre-acceptance audit
- A check of a producer's waste segregation and practices, which treatment facilities may require before accepting healthcare waste. It confirms waste is classified and packaged correctly, and is usually repeated at set intervals.
- Segregation
- Separating waste at the point it is produced into the correct streams, such as sharps, infectious, offensive and medicines. Good segregation keeps people safe, keeps you compliant and avoids paying for the most expensive treatment unnecessarily.
- Swan-neck tie
- A method of sealing a clinical waste bag by twisting the neck, folding it over and securing it with a tie or tag. It stops leaks and makes clear the bag has been properly closed.
- UN3291
- The UN number for clinical, unspecified, medical or biomedical waste, regulated as a dangerous good in transport. Clinical waste containers and bags must be approved for UN3291 transport.
- Upper-tier waste carrier
- A business registered with the environmental regulator to carry, broker or deal in other people's waste, or to carry construction waste. Clinical waste contractors must hold this registration, which must be renewed periodically.
- Waste transfer note
- The document recording the transfer of non-hazardous waste, such as offensive waste, from one holder to another. A single annual note can cover regular collections, and copies are kept for at least two years.
Last updated 6 November 2026