Hazardous Waste

What is Hazardous Waste?

What should I do if I think my waste is Hazardous?

  • Discuss with you local SEPA office 
  • Check your waste contractor or disposal sites can take your waste. 
  • Ensure your waste consignment has the correct documentation and includes the six digit Waste European Waste Catalogue code (EWC) 
  • Reduce the amount of hazardous waste you produce and minimise other types of waste

Hazardous Waste Minimisation

Minimising hazard waste at source will help businesses to avoid the increasing costs of hazardous waste treatment and disposal, whilst at the same time protect the environment.   A lot of waste minimisation techniques and procedures for minimising non-hazardous wastes are already covered in Envirowise sector-specific information, under guides and case study information (www.envirowise.gov.uk external link).

Generic Tips for Minimising Hazardous Waste

Improving a business’s housekeeping practices is often the easiest and least expensive way to reduce hazardous waste. Good housekeeping includes an inventory control and efficient operating procedures.  Companies should reassess their operations and waste handling practices periodically. A successful reduction programme requires diligence so as to avoid the temptation of slipping back into old more wasteful ways of doing things and to identify additional waste reduction possibilities.

As long as wastes are being produced, there is the potential for waste reduction. Less-polluting materials, equipment, and procedures are constantly being developed, so that wastes that are difficult or costly to control today may be easily eliminated tomorrow.  Stay alert for such developments. Here are some other suggestions:

Procurement

  • Estimate and use only the amount of materials necessary for a job 
  • Substitute feedstock materials with those having less-hazardous materials 
  • Purchase paints with higher solids content, or water-based paints with no solvent, whenever possible 
  • Keep good inventory records to prevent materials from spoiling or becoming outdated 
  • Keep accurate records of material usage so that you can measure reductions in use. Mark the purchase date on each container and adopt a “first in, first out” policy so that older materials are used up before new ones are opened; assign someone to distribute and keep track of the materials 
  • Always ask for the material safety data sheets when looking for or purchasing a product to look at its hazardous content 
  • Inspect materials upon delivery, and immediately return unacceptable materials to the supplier 
  • If making a special order, purchase only the amount of material needed to do a job 
  • When buying new equipment, look for equipment that will minimise both the amount of toxic materials used and the amount of waste produced.

Onsite Housekeeping

  • Avoid the use of aerosols 
  • Use refillable, smaller, labelled containers for dispensing bulk materials 
  • Keep premises clean and orderly to eliminate leaks and spills 
  • Install drip plates, pans or trays to catch drippings and return them to a tank 
  • Apply flow restriction devices like pH-controlled and pressure-controlled shutoff values 
  • Use high-volume, low-pressure spray guns for painting operations 
  • Segregate hazardous and non-hazardous wastes for recycling

Solvent Management

  • Substitute less hazardous substitutes for solvent cleaners. Consider water-based cleaners or water-soluble cutting fluids, or install a pressure wash system if feasible 
  • Where possible, try to find one multi-purpose solvent that can serve a variety of uses, rather than having a different solvent for each operation 
  • If the solvents cannot be made reusable, try to find a way to recycle them. One possibility for accomplishing this is to purchase solvents from a company that will pick up and recycle the spent solvent 
  • Extend the life of solvent baths. Some ways to do this are by pre-cleaning parts with rags before placing them in the bath (then having the rags cleaned for reuse) or by using old solvent as a pre-soak to remove most of the dirt or grease before introducing the parts into the fresh bath 
  • Minimise the amount of cleaning solvent lost during drainage of cleaned parts Remove parts from the bath slowly to prevent spillage; install drip trays or racks near the bath for draining cleaned parts; return the drainage to the bath 
  • For large volumes of solvent waste, consider leasing or purchasing on-site distillation units

Oils

  • Use drip pans to catch lube oils for reuse. Handle oils carefully to avoid spillage. 

Hazred

SEPA was involved in a European hazardous waste minimisation project designed to assist in preventing and reducing hazardous wastes produced by small and medium sized businesses, helping them to save money in the process. The project was based in the UK and led by the Environment Agency, working in partnership with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Irish Environmental Protection Agency, the Welsh Assembly Government, Envirowise, the Groundwork Foundation, Safety-Kleen and the Waste Recycling Group.

The HAZRED final report demonstrates the benefits of developing sector-based hazardous waste reduction plans in conjunction with key industry sectors:

  • general construction/building
  • treatment and/or coating of metals 
  • maintenance and repair of motor vehicles 
  • photographic processing 
  • manufacture of speciality organic chemicals 
  • manufacture of machinery and equipment

www.hazred.org.uk external link

Sources of Information

Hazardous waste management - essential information for business  - available from Envirowise: www.envirowise.gov.uk external link

www.envirowise.gov.uk/hazwaste external link - Envirowise’s website for information on hazardouswaste. Practical support is available for SMEs through FastTrack hazardous waste reviews

www.sepa.org.uk/about_us/charging_schemes/uk_schemes/special_waste/amendment_faqs.aspx - This ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ paper is provided as a quick overview of the changes that will result from ‘The Special Waste Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2004’

www.hazardouswaste.org.uk external link - Hazardous Waste Forum is a new dedicated portal for basic information on hazardous waste and signposting to all the information, guidance and support you will need regarding the regulations.