Appliance disposal glossary
Plain-English explanations of the terms you will come across.
- A site approved to treat WEEE to the required standards, removing hazardous parts and recovering materials. Often shortened to AATF.
- Bulky waste collection
- A council service that collects large household items such as furniture and appliances, usually for a fee, from outside the property on a booked date.
- Cooker outlet plate
- The wall connection, fed from a cooker switch, that a hard-wired electric cooker is wired into. The circuit must be isolated before the cooker is disconnected.
- Distributor take-back
- The obligation on retailers selling electricals to take back an old appliance when a customer buys a similar new one, either in store or through a recycling scheme they fund.
- Duty of Care
- The legal duty, under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, for anyone producing waste to make sure it is stored safely and passed only to someone authorised to take it.
- Fly-tipping
- Illegally dumping waste on land without a permit. Leaving an appliance on the street for someone to take can count, and fines and prosecution can follow.
- Hazardous waste consignment note
- The document that must accompany hazardous waste, such as business fridges, when it is moved in England or Wales. The producer keeps its copy for three years.
- Hydrocarbon refrigerant
- Refrigerants such as isobutane, used in most modern domestic fridges. They do not harm the ozone layer but are flammable, so they must be handled safely during treatment.
- Isolation valve
- A small valve on the water pipe behind a washing machine or dishwasher that shuts off the supply so the appliance can be disconnected without turning off the whole house.
- Like-for-like
- The basis of retailer take-back. The old item must do the same job as the new one, so a retailer must accept an old washing machine when you buy a new washing machine.
- Ozone-depleting substances
- Chemicals such as CFCs and HCFCs, used as refrigerants and foam blowing agents in older fridges and freezers, that damage the ozone layer and must be captured during treatment.
- Temperature exchange equipment
- The WEEE category covering fridges, freezers, air conditioning units and dehumidifiers, which contain refrigerants and need specialist degassing and treatment.
- Waste carrier registration
- The registration a business needs to transport other people's waste. It can be checked on the public register held by the Environment Agency, NRW, SEPA or NIEA.
- Waste transfer note
- A record of non-hazardous waste passing from one person to another, showing what the waste is, who took it and where it is going. Businesses keep them for at least two years.
- WEEE
- Waste electrical and electronic equipment. Any item with a plug, battery or cable that is being thrown away. It must be collected separately from general rubbish so it can be treated and recycled.
Last updated 6 November 2026