Labs and others using chemicals must now consider how they dispose of and "pre-treat" chemical packaging materials. UK-based waste management group PHS explains why
Having taken effect on 30 October 2007, the next stage of the EU Landfill Directive means that UK organisations are facing new challenges when it comes to dealing with their waste. These regulations are arguably the most significant piece of waste legislation since the Control of Pollution Act of 1974.
Rather than being an issue primarily of concern to waste operators and local authorities, the directive now firmly places the onus on waste producers to take responsibility for their waste. By banning liquids and "untreated" waste from landfill, the aim is clearly to help the UK tackle the estimated 434 million tonnes of waste currently produced each year; organisations are now obliged to consider how they dispose of their "general" waste.
The main mechanism of this regulatory shift is the directive's obligation to "treat" waste prior to landfill and ensure it meets the so-called "three-point test":
- Treatment must involve a physical, thermal, chemical or biological process (including sorting or segregating waste),
- Treatment must change the characteristics of the waste in such a way as to reduce its volume, or reduce its hazardous nature, or facilitate its handling or enhance its recovery.
This essentially means that businesses are being tasked to segregate waste and ensure that, where possible, this waste is recovered and recycled.
There are commercial organisations that can assist companies to tackle these issues. PHS Wastemanagement, for example, has a UK operating network of pollution prevention control (PPC) sites, offering the collection and disposal of clinical, pharmaceutical, dental, chemical and hazardous waste. It recently boosted this capability by acquiring Recycling and Resource Management (RRM). This acquisition, along with that of De-Pack, a dedicated aerosol recycling site, enables the business to help UK laboratories meet the challenges of the Landfill Directive.
PHS Wastemanagement Chemical Division offers services in laboratory and chemical waste recycling, particularly recycling of laboratory and pure chemicals packaging. By segregating each constituent element of waste manually, it ensures all packaging materials are recycled, including cardboard, polystyrene and bottles. It also recovers and disposes of liquid chemical waste.
John Clewes, commercial manager for RRM, says: "The directive is in place to meet some very serious concerns about the environment; it's about tackling the sheer volume of waste being sent to landfill. Our services are designed to do just that."
The company washes more than 300,000 glass bottles annually from laboratories and its commitment to recycling these and diverting chemical packaging away from landfill earned it a "Green Apple award" from the UK's Institute of Waste Management.
"It is in everyone's interest that we dramatically reduce the volume of waste we throw away and challenge our perceptions of what it means to look after our environment," says Clare Noble, managing director for PHS Wastemanagement.
"In a business environment where the onus is now clearly on the waste producer to protect human health and the environment, and where company directors can be held personally responsible for environmental damage, working with a trusted partner who understands your needs is an increasingly important requirement."