EWC Code
Absorbents, filter materials, wiping cloths and protective clothing
EUR-Lex Commission Decision 2000/532/EC — Official Journal L 226, 06/09/2000Annual Volume
1.2 million tonnes/year EU-wide
Valorisation Range
€180M recovered materials market
Primary Route
Industrial laundering & reuse
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Get contacts for EWC 15 02EWC 15 02 covers absorbents, filter materials (including oil filters not otherwise specified), wiping cloths and protective clothing contaminated with dangerous substances. Non-hazardous variants arise when contamination does not confer hazard properties; hazardous mirror entries apply when contaminated with substances classified HP1–HP14.
Industrial wipes, filter cloths, respirator filters, chemical-resistant gloves, contaminated overalls and oil-absorbent booms fall within this sub-chapter. Classification requires assessment of contaminant identity and concentration against threshold limit values under Commission Regulation 1357/2014.
Generators must maintain contaminant records to substantiate non-hazardous classification. Mixed consignments containing both hazardous and non-hazardous absorbents default to hazardous classification for the batch. Separate collection streams are best practice to preserve non-hazardous status.
Typical Generators
Established valorisation pathways for EWC 15 02, ranked by economic value and market depth. Industrial laundering & reuse is the primary route.
Contract laundry operators wash and re-certify industrial wipes and protective garments for re-issue. Reduces virgin textile demand; laundry wash water treated as contaminated effluent.
Contaminated wipes and filter media with calorific value ≥12 MJ/kg processed into solid recovered fuel. Co-fired in cement kilns or power stations under IED permit conditions.
Heavily contaminated materials not suitable for laundering or energy recovery disposed at permitted hazardous landfill under Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC leachate control conditions.
These are the established routes for EWC 15 02. Which one your stream qualifies for depends on its composition, volume and region.
Get the ranked options for your streamPrimary & secondary off-takers
Accepts contaminated absorbents for approved treatment or incineration
Contract cleaning and re-certification of reusable industrial wipes
Internal reuse of oil-contaminated absorbents in waste oil recovery circuits
Processing of lightly contaminated filter media for fibre recovery
Source: NACE Rev.2 — Eurostat, 2008
Key legislative frameworks governing EWC 15 02 classification, transport, and treatment.
Absorbents contaminated with substances meeting HP14 (ecotoxic) criteria classified hazardous. Mirror entry 15 02 02* applies. Non-hazardous 15 02 03 applies when contaminant concentrations fall below threshold limits per Regulation 1357/2014.
Protective clothing containing SVHCs (substances of very high concern) subject to SVHC communication requirements. Recyclers must receive SVHC information from waste holders to assess suitability for re-processing.
Energy recovery of contaminated absorbents in cement kilns or dedicated incinerators subject to IED Chapter IV co-incineration emission limits. Dioxin monitoring required for halogenated contaminants.
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Sectors that valorise EWC 15 02 as an input material or secondary raw material.
Waste-stream pages and resources connected to EWC 15 02 valorisation.
Explore EU waste flows — Waste Atlas
Visualise 17 years of E-PRTR industrial facility data. See how EWC 15 02 and related waste streams flow across European industries and sectors.
Source: EUR-Lex Commission Decision 2000/532/EC · NACE Rev.2 — Eurostat 2008
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