Storing, transferring and disposing hazardous haste
The Environmental Agency (EA) and waste legislation state that all operational waste sites must maintain a good standard of housekeeping which includes the proper management, storage and disposal of waste and the required qualified personnel onsite.
There are many things you must decide at an early stage on any waste site with 2 key factors being highlighted by the HSE which include:
- How are waste streams produced managed from storing to disposing?
- Who is responsible for collecting and disposing of the waste onsite?
A lot of waste onsite can be seen as highly hazardous or ‘special’ and here we will discuss how to store, transfer and dispose this kind of waste correctly.
Working with our waste and recycling assessors who deliver waste and recycling qualifications throughout the UK, we understand the importance of ensuring hazardous waste is dealt with correctly in order to maintain safety within your waste environment. Any materials or chemicals on site must be accompanied by a safety data sheet or a suitable analysis of your waste product. The information on the safety data sheet/analysis can help you decide if your waste is hazardous/special. Your waste must also be managed and controlled by a suitably trained person on site who has the required knowledge and experience to get the waste safely removed to an authorised facility.
If you are unsure whether your waste is hazardous/special, you should contact the EA, or a specialist waste management contractor.
Storing of Waste
All hazardous waste can be stored on site for up to 12 months with no waste management license needed. If you intend on storing waste on your site for a longer time period, you must hold a waste management license and control permit to legally obtain this waste. When storing waste on your site you must ensure that all staff are correctly trained on wearing the appropriate PPE, how to deal with hazardous spillages and how to dispose of any contaminated materials. All information on storing hazardous waste must be outlined in an in-depth Risk Assessment and Safe System of Work (SSoW) but you must also be asking yourself the following questions:
- Is my waste packaged and labelled correctly?
- Is my hazardous and non-hazardous waste stored separately?
- Who is checking the storage area for any leaks or damages?
Transferring of Waste
Under the HSE guidelines, if you are carrying or transferring waste, all businesses must register as a waste carrier and fill out the required consignment notes. It is crucial that you keep copies of the consignment notes and any related documents or records of rejected loads for a minimum of 3 years. Each consignment note must include a unique EWC code that is applicable to your particular waste; more specific information on this can found directly through the gov website.
Your waste must be sent to a facility that holds suitable prevention measures and a required permit or waste management license.
Disposing of Waste
Disposing of hazardous/special waste on your site is the most crucial step to maintaining a safe working environment for your employees but do you understand the appropriate measures to carry this out correctly?
Unless you are authorised to do so, you must not treat your waste ready for disposal; only a registered facility or required personnel are allowed to legally carry this out. For each load of hazardous waste that you move off your premises, you must have a hazardous waste consignment note – you can fill in your waste transfer note, again, through the gov website.
One thing you must always remember and try to do is to reduce and recycle as much of your waste as possible before you choose to remove it from your site; this can be done with minimum cost and time implications and may even save some of your waste management costs.
Many businesses moving forward are now generating a more in-depth and efficient SSoW when it comes to waste disposal within an operational site, this includes reducing the number of defective products being thrown away and recovering materials that have been potentially discarded as and only where applicable.
Maintaining a Safe Site
Complying with your legal responsibilities is key to maintaining a safe site that hold hazardous waste, however, in a fast-paced environment that is constantly producing new materials, it is always important to try and reduce the amount of waste you produce and the impact you are having on the environment.
Working with our waste and recycling qualifications team, we are currently delivering a number of waste-specific qualifications in order to qualify more people for the industry. If you would like to find out more out managing your waste site or begin your qualification, then please get in touch with our training team today – 01246 386900.
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