HP15: Capable of exhibiting a hazardous property not directly displayed
Waste that can go on to show a hazardous property (HP1 to HP14) that it doesn't show itself, such as becoming explosive when dry.
What HP15 means
HP15 covers waste that doesn't show a hazardous property now but can develop one, mostly by becoming explosive: when it dries out, when it's heated in a closed space, or as peroxides build up over time.
How WM3 decides a waste is HP15
A waste holding a substance with one of these statements is HP15, unless it's in a form that can't become explosive under any circumstances. There's no cut-off; the waste can be tested or assumed to be HP15.
| Hazard statement | Meaning |
|---|---|
| H205 | May mass explode in fire |
| EUH001 | Explosive when dry |
| EUH019 | May form explosive peroxides |
| EUH044 | Risk of explosion if heated under confinement |
H205 and EUH001 don't make a waste HP1, explosive, which is why they sit here. The law also allows HP15 to be judged on other grounds, such as what leaches from the waste, but WM3 gives no such test for Great Britain.
What it changes when the waste moves
A waste needs only one hazardous property to be hazardous waste. In England and Wales it then moves on a hazardous waste consignment note in place of a waste transfer note, and the note goes with the load to the site that receives it.
On Digital Waste Tracking, the site that receives a hazardous load records its HP codes alongside the EWC code (the six-digit code from the List of Wastes that says what a waste is).
Sources
- WM3: Waste classification technical guidance (v1.2.GB): Appendix C15, pages C52 to C53
- Annex III to the Waste Framework Directive (HP1 to HP15)
- GOV.UK: Hazardous waste consignment notes
- The Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026: the paragraphs on hazardous properties and POPs, 15 and 16
This page explains the rules. Check the waste itself against WM3 before it moves.
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CarrierNote is on the GOV.UK software provider list, connected to DEFRA's Digital Waste Tracking service. Receiving sites are in scope from October 2026 and carriers from October 2027, and you can be recording to DEFRA's standard from your first load, whenever you start.