Industrial waste from your business can harm the environment if you don't manage it the right way.

EPA sets out laws about managing industrial waste in the Environment Protection (Industrial Waste Resource) Regulations 2009. These Regulations say you should prevent, reuse and recycle industrial waste when possible. You must dispose of industrial waste safely.

The industrial waste guidelines are referred to in the Regulations.

The wastes hierarchy is one of eleven principles of environment protection contained in the Environment Protection Act 1970. EPA’s program to control wastes is based on the hierarchy in order of preference:

• avoidance
• reuse and recycling
• recovery of energy
• treatment and disposal.

The best way to manage wastes is to stop them being generated. Treatment and disposal is the least preferred approach. This order applies to all types of waste.

General industrial waste 

We give businesses guidance on wastes including:

• waste tyres
• fires at recycling and waste facilities
• bushfire waste
• glass processing 
• operating composting facilities
• how to recover energy from waste
• plastic resin pellets (nurdles)
• combustible recyclable and waste materials (CRWM). 

Prescribed industrial waste

We call hazardous waste 'prescribed industrial waste' (PIW) in Victoria's environment protection laws. This is waste that could be dangerous to people and the environment.

Examples of PIW include:

• asbestos
• drilling mud
• clinical and medical waste
• unprocessed used cooking fats and oils.

Use our PIW classifications to find out how to manage your business's hazardous waste.

Transporting prescribed industrial waste

PIW has special requirements for how it is transported and disposed of. Our PIW transport guidance includes information on:

• waste transportation
• waste transport certificates  
• waste codes.