HP7: Carcinogenic
Waste that can cause cancer or make it more likely.
What HP7 means
HP7 covers waste that can cause cancer or make it more likely. Asbestos, coal tar and waste oils all bring it.
The HP7 thresholds
Each limit applies to any one substance. Nothing is added up, and there's no cut-off.
| Hazard statement | Makes the waste HP |
|---|---|
| H350 (carcinogen, category 1A or 1B) | 0.1% or more |
| H351 (carcinogen, category 2) | 1% or more |
Coal tar at 0.1% or more makes a waste HP7, counting every coal tar fraction together, and a test for PAHs alone can't clear it. Asphalt whose black top holds 50 mg/kg or more of benzo[a]pyrene is coded 17 03 01*.
For oil whose identity isn't known, total petroleum hydrocarbons of 0.1% or more make the waste HP7 (and HP11), unless tests show benzo[a]pyrene is below 0.01% of the oil.
Where you're likely to meet it
- Construction and demolition waste containing asbestos (17 06 01* or 17 06 05*). Loose fibres make the whole waste hazardous at 0.1% asbestos; a piece you can pick out is judged on its own.
- Road planings and asphalt containing coal tar (17 03 01*).
- Waste oils, generally HP7.
- Cytotoxic and cytostatic medicines (18 01 08*).
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 C7, pages C27 to C28; asbestos and coal tar, pages 19 to 20; oils, pages 28 to 30
- GOV.UK: Healthcare and related wastes, how to classify
- 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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Start on the free plan
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.