TS 11710

TS 11710 is a terminology standard that defines terms related to liquid wastes and sets out their classification. In environmental health and waste management, it helps different organisations and technical users apply the same words with the same meaning, improving communication, record keeping, and technical assessment.

The technical frame of liquid waste

Liquid waste generally refers to waste in a fluid state, where handling, storage, transport, and disposal require a different technical approach from solid waste. Such wastes may come from domestic, industrial, laboratory, or process sources, and they are commonly assessed according to composition, environmental impact, hazard potential, treatability, and disposal route. A terminology standard matters here because it keeps the underlying concepts consistent across documents and organisations.

What this standard contributes as common language

• Defines terms associated with liquid wastes.
• Provides a conceptual basis for classifying liquid wastes.
• Supports terminological consistency in environmental health and safety contexts.
• Helps align waste management, reporting, and technical documentation practices.

This standard is about organising concepts rather than prescribing a treatment process or test method. Its value comes from reducing ambiguity in regulations, specifications, laboratory work, and field reporting. When the nature, source, and class of a liquid waste are understood consistently, planning for treatment, temporary storage, and disposal becomes more coherent.

In general technical terms, liquid wastes can include solutions, suspensions, sludge-like fluids, or contaminated liquids with very different physical and chemical behaviour. For that reason, classification is not only about flow characteristics but also about content, contaminant load, and the way the waste is generated. TS 11710 serves as a reference point for this kind of terminology clarity.