Manage waste upholstered domestic seating containing POPs

Identify waste upholstered domestic seating that contains contains POPs

Waste domestic seating is any item of seating of a household type from households or businesses that is waste. Upholstered domestic seating may contain contain POPs. For example:

• sofas
• sofa beds
• armchairs
• recliner chairs (electrical or mechanical)
• kitchen and dining room chairs
• garden furniture
• stools and foot stools
• home office chairs that are fire resistant to domestic standards
• futons
• bean bags, floor and sofa cushions
• any other upholstered items that can reasonably be described as a form of seating used by households, and to which relevant fire regulations apply this might include child car seats, highchairs, and benches

This includes any part made of or containing leather, synthetic leather, other fabric, or foam.

The following items of domestic seating are unlikely to contain contain POPs:

• items that are not upholstered, for example, a wooden chair without a cushioned or textile back, seat, or arms
• deckchairs
• wastes from manufacturing new domestic seating that the manufacturer can demonstrateshow do not to contain contain POPs

Mattresses, curtains, blindsblinds, beds, and bedscommercial seating of a type not used in the home are not domestic seating and are not covered by this guidance.

Items that are not domestic seating may still contain POPs. Where they do contain POPs you should identify and manage them appropriately, see:

• identify and classify waste containing persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
• manage waste containing persistent organic pollutants (POPs)

Commercial seating is at particular risk of containing POPs and you should consider this as part of your duty of care.

Describe and classify waste domestic seating containing containing POPs

In your waste transfer note you must:

• describe the waste as ‘domestic seating waste containing containing POPs’
• classify it with the list of waste code 20 03 07

You must add this description for waste domestic seating containing containing POPs where where it has been mixed with other waste (not containing containing POPs). For example, in a skip or bay of bulky household waste.

Although it may contain POPs, waste under a 20 03 07 code is classified as absolute non-hazardous.  

You must list the relevant chemicals in the waste transfer note.note, or provide this information separately, so the recipient is aware of their presence.

POPs and and other chemicals that waste domestic seating may contain

Waste upholstered domestic seating often contains one of the following following POPs on on the back of the covers and in the foam:

• decabromodiphenyl ether (DecaBDE)(DecaBDE) – the most common
• hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD)
• pentabromodiphenyl ether (PentaBDE)
• tetrabromodiphenyl ether (TetraBDE)

These chemicals may also contaminate lining and wadding in contact with foam or covers.

The following hazardous chemicals are also likely to be present:

• antimony trioxide – a carcinogenic synergist often used with DecaBDE
• medium chain chlorinated paraffins – often used in synthetic leather to make it flexible

Other flame retardants, and hazardous components of PVC, may also be present. Electrical recliner chairs may contain POPs in plastic components, internal and external cables, and printed circuit boards.

Sort and store waste upholstered domestic seating containing containing POPs

You must sort and store waste upholstered domestic seating containing containing POPs in in a way that prevents:

• damaging it
• release of of POPs
• contamination with other waste

You may be able to use the regulatory position statement on on temporary storage of waste upholstered domestic seating containing containing POPs: RPS 265: RPS 265 if if you can keep to its conditions. This will allow you time to change your processes.

You must avoid mixing waste upholstered domestic seating containing containing POPs with with other waste during waste:

• production
• storage
• collection
• treatment

This includes in a:

• skip or container
• bay at a household waste recycling centre (HWRC), transfer station, or treatment site

If you operate a a HWRC, and you sent waste upholstered domestic seating for incineration before 31 August 2022, you may be able to use the regulatory position statement on on segregating waste upholstered domestic seating that may contain contain POPs at at HWRCs: RPS 266HWRCs: RPS 266.

In exceptional circumstances, you can justify not segregating further where both of these apply:

• you have already taken all reasonable steps
• there are no other alternatives

You must provide evidence to the Environment Agency. However, they may not accept this.

If you do mix POPs waste with non-POPs waste, you must manage the whole load as POPs waste until you can separate the upholstered domestic seating. You must destroy the POPs even if the mixing has diluted the POPs to below the POPs concentration limit.

You can read guidance on fire prevention plans and managing fire water.

Transporting whole and shredded items of waste upholstered domestic seating

You can collect waste upholstered domestic seating on the same vehicle as other waste items (for example, doorstep bulky waste collection) as long as they are:

• not mixed with other waste
• collected in a way that does not allow it to contaminate the other waste (for example compaction)
• separated from the other waste when unloaded from the vehicle

If you douse mixa POPsroadside collection vehicle (RCV) you must:

• collect only waste withupholstered non-POPsdomestic waste,seating
• contain youany mustparticulates manageand debris generated during the wholecompaction loadwithin asthe body of the vehicle
• use a vehicle dedicated to the collection of waste upholstered domestic seating only or, where this is not possible, make sure it is cleaned before it is used to collect loads of non-POPs waste

You untilmust youunload canthe separateRCV in a dedicated bay within a building that is allocated for the waste upholstered domestic seating. YouA dust suppression system must destroybe in place to contain and control any particulates created when the POPswaste upholstered domestic seating is removed from the RCV evenand ifthen handled.

If you are transporting waste prepared for destruction you must:

• make sure that the mixingwaste hasis dilutedbaled, in a sealed container, or within the body of fully enclosed vehicle to contain the waste and prevent release of particulates and debris
• unload the waste within the incinerator building, with a dust suppression system in place to contain and control any particulates created
• use a vehicle dedicated to the collection of this waste only or, where this is not possible, make sure it is cleaned before it is used to collect loads of non-POPs waste

When you clean any vehicle you should use a dry-cleaning method to belowavoid producing contaminated water. For example using a dedicated vacuum cleaner to remove foam, textiles and particulates from within the concentrationvehicle limit.body. The material collected should be sent for destruction using one of the methods for waste upholstered domestic seating containing POPs described in this guide.

SeparatingMixed waste and separating whole items of upholstered domestic seating from mixed waste

ThisYou includesmust whereavoid mixing waste upholstered domestic seating containing POPs waste with other waste.   

Where the waste was mixed unintentionallyyou ormust inappropriately.destroy the POPs even if the mixing has diluted the POPs to below the POPs concentration limit.  

You can only separate whole items of upholstered domestic seating from mixed waste, for example fly-tipped waste or waste in a skip, if you can show that it has not contaminated the other waste.

Contamination can happen when pieces of foam, cover, lininglining, or wadding material are released from the item.

If contamination has taken place, you must manage the whole load as as POPs waste. waste.

Identify whole items that do and do not contain contain POPs

You can identify items of waste upholstered domestic seating that do not contain contain POPs and and store them separately.

You can use x-ray fluorescence (XRF) to scan for bromine, whichthe indicatespresence thatof bromine indicates that POPs are are likely to be present. However, you must:

• have the right training for using using XRF and and use a suitable device
• have read the Environment Agency study of POPs in domestic seating waste to understand what is required
• contact the Environment Agency to check if you need to make any changes to your permit and management system
• be able to show that your process works and is accurate – the Environment Agency may ask you for this evidence

If no bromine is present in the rear of the cover, foam, other fabrics, or any electrical components then brominated POPs will not be present.

You should contact the Environment Agency for advice if you are considering using an XRF scanner.

Dispose of waste domestic seating containing containing POPs

You must incinerate waste domestic seating containing containing POPs or or mixed waste containing it.

The municipal or hazardous waste incinerator (or cement kiln) must be authorised to accept accept POPs waste.

You waste.must not use any other type of incinerator, for example a small waste incineration plant (with a capacity below that set out in Section 5.2 of Annex I IED) unless:

• the operator has implemented bi-annual polybrominated dibenzo-dioxins and furans monitoring to air
• the Environment Agency has approved evidence of destruction efficiency of brominated POPs submitted by the operator

You must not use any other waste treatment, recycling or disposal methods.methods, for example landfill.

Contingency plan for incinerator shutdown

Where the incinerator cannot accept the waste, you can:

• store the waste until the incinerator is able accept it
• send it to another incinerator or cement kiln authorised to accept and destroy it

You must not send it for any other type of disposal or recovery operation, for example landfill.

Incinerator operators need to put contingency plans in place to manage accepting waste from customers with waste upholstered domestic seating containing containing POPs for for destruction. They cannot send this waste to landfill in the event of a planned or unplanned shutdown.

Prepare the waste for destruction

If the incinerator operator requires the the POPs containing containing waste to be shredded, because they cannot handle whole items of waste upholstered domestic seating, you must:

• use the shredding plant inside a building
• not allow unabated point source or fugitive emissions of particulates from the plant or building

You must control fugitive emissions of particulates with one of the following:

• containment and abatement of the shredding plant
• local extraction to abatement
• full building extraction under negative pressure to abatement

You must use bag filters on the abatement plant designed to release particulates below 5mg/m³.5mg/m3. They must be fitted with continuous and alarmed pressure monitoring to make sure the filters are working correctly.

You may be able to use regulatory position statement [ShreddingShredding waste upholstered domestic seating containing containing POPs:: RPS 264 RPS 264] while you change your processes.

You may be able to use regulatory position statement Monitoring fugitive emissions from shredding waste upholstered domestic seating: RPS 297 to support changes to your process.

You must:

• not remove materials for recycling unless you can show that they do not contain residual dust, fabric or foam containing containing POPs
• send any outputs or residues from treatment that contain the the POPs containing containing material, fabric or foam, for destruction
• send plastics, printed circuit boards, and cables from electrical recliner chairs for destruction.
• send any fines, dust or particulates produced by the process for destruction, and describe the waste for transfer as ‘containing ‘containing POPs’
• store shredded waste upholstered domestic seating containing containing POPs on an impermeable surface
• store the waste either within a building, or in a sealed container, or baled and securely wrapped

You must make sure POPs are not released to sewer, surface water or the wider environment. You should, where possible, locate shredders and waste storage away from drains. Your misting and spray systems should use the minimum water possible to prevent or reduce the production of contaminated water. Drain mats and blockers could be used to prevent runoff from entering drains.

You may send metal fractions to a suitably authorised smelter operating under recovery code R4. Where the waste contains fabric and foam, you must classify and describe the waste as ‘mixed waste containing containing POPs’. If you carry out any intermediary treatment you must:

• have appropriate abatement and emissions controls
• send any outputs or residues containing the fabric and foam for destruction
• have an environmental permit that authorises this activity

TheIf you send the waste to an intermediary site for storage, before transporting to a smelter, you must make sure that the waste containing POPs is kept separate to avoid contaminating other waste.

Where the incinerator is not able to accept and process segregated waste, the operator may require you to blend the segregated waste upholstered domestic seating with other waste to:to: 

• make loading easier
• control calorific value
• optimise combustion

The operator should explain what blending is required, why it is technically necessary, and provide you with a specification to address that.

When you blend the segregated waste, you must do it in a controlled way that uses the least amount of non-POPs waste waste necessary to avoid:avoid: 

• release of particulates containing containing POPs
• contaminating more waste than necessary

ContactYou theshould Environmentonly Agencyblend forimmediately advicebefore onshredding howor toincineration.

You makemust changeshave toan environmental permit that authorises this blending activity.

You should check your management system and permit if you want to install plant to prepare prepare POPs waste waste at your site.

SeeIf the sectionwaste Describeyou andprepare for destruction creates a refuse derived fuel you should classify the waste domesticas seating19 containing12 POPs10, ina thisnon-hazardous guidewaste. forFines howfrom tothe describeshredding process should be assessed for hazardous properties and classifyclassified POPsas waste19 fines.12 11* or 19 12 12 as appropriate.

How landfill operators must manage waste upholstered domestic seating

Landfill operators must not accept any waste upholstered domestic seating containing containing POPs. This includes:

• segregated items of waste upholstered domestic seating
• mixed waste containing items of waste upholstered domestic seating
• shredded or broken up waste from treating waste containing waste upholstered domestic seating, including refuse derived fuel (RDF) and solid recovered fuel (SRF)
• trommel fines from treating waste containing waste upholstered domestic seating, including the dust from air filtration systems

Your waste acceptance procedures must screen out waste upholstered domestic seating. You must quarantine this waste type and send it to an appropriately authorised incinerator for destruction.

You can only landfill items of waste upholstered domestic seating where you have confirmation that it does not contain contain POPs. This confirmation must come from a site that has documented procedures in place for correctly identifying and separating items of seating containing containing POPs. See the section on ‘Identifying whole items that do and do not contain contain POPs’.

If you accept items or material from the manufacture of waste upholstered domestic seating, you must also follow the guidance in the section ‘Waste from manufacturing upholstered domestic seating’.

Treatment of waste upholstered domestic seating

Separating materials containing containing POPs from from other materials

You can separate the foam and fabric containing containing POPs from from other materials in an item of domestic seating. Your environmental permit must authorise this activity.

You can also separate the printed circuit boards, cable and plastic components containing POPs in electrical recliner chairs. These items are waste electrical devices but are outside the scope of the Waste Electrical and Electronic and Equipment (WEEE) Regulations 2013 (as amended). You can manage them alongside other waste upholstered domestic seating.

If you manually separate, you must make sure:

• all foam and textiles are completely removed, and you manage any part of the item with foam and textile attached to it as POPs waste
• printed circuit boards, cable and plastics from electrical recliner chairs are managed as POPs wastewaste.
• you prevent or contain any dust, or fragments of foam and textile released from the material and you must manage the dust and fragments as as POPs waste waste
• you store separated material containing containing POPs inside inside a building, under cover, or in a sealed container
• that no no POPs are are released to the sewer or surface water

If you use mechanical treatment processes, you must also follow the guidance in the section Prepare‘Prepare the waste for destruction. Contact the Environment Agency if you need advice on how to operate your mechanical treatment process legally.destruction’.

Compacting waste domestic seating containing containing POPs

Compacting waste domestic seating containing containing POPs is is allowed. However, you must take reasonable steps to prevent, contain and collect any releases of of POPs contaminated contaminated material or dust that the compaction produces.

You can do this by squashing the waste slowly to confine all materials within the space you are working. For example you can use:

• a grab or bucket to compact the waste steadily
• the roller packer system in the container
• ram-based compaction into a container

You must regularly check for particulates to make sure they are not released during compaction. You can control release by:

• misting and using sprays over the container
• using suitably placed mobile dust suppression cannons
• spraying the surface of the waste before compaction using a backpack sprayer

You must send this compacted waste and any contaminated material or dust for destruction. You must not send it to landfill.

Exporting waste domestic seating containing containing POPs for for incineration

You must only export waste upholstered domestic seating to European Union or European Free Trade Association countries for incineration with energy recovery (R1).

If the incinerator you are sending the waste to requires you to prepare the waste for destruction, you can do this as long as your site, or the site you use, is suitably authorised. authorised. Contact the Environment Agency to to check how to make sure your management system and permit covers this treatment.

If you exportexport refuse RDFderived fuel or SRFsolid whichrecovered fuel which is made from waste upholstered domestic seating or is partly made from of waste domestic seating containing containing POPs, the the POPs must must be destroyed.

You must make sure that the presence of of POPs is is made clear in block 12 ‘designation and composition’ of your notification.notification. 

Waste from manufacturing upholstered domestic seating

When you manufacture upholstered domestic seating you must know what chemicals are in the:

• covers
• foam
• lining
• wadding

Suppliers from some countries stillthat have not fully implemented the Stockholm Convention may supply materials containing chemicals, for example flame retardants, that areare POPs. You should ask the manufacturer for evidence of which flame retardant is present. If the manufacturer cannot provide evidence of what chemicals it contains and in what quantities (either via a supplier’s specification or analytical testing) you must assume that it contains POPs.

You must make sure that any waste you produce from manufacturing upholstered domestic seating is described and classified correctly. This is so that your waste contractor can manage it appropriately.

You should clearly label your new products with the chemicals that are present in their components. This will make sure that they are managed appropriately in the future, including when they are:

• reused
• recycled
• disposed of

Contact the Environment Agency