Some light relief for the hazardous waste headache
October 1st 2004

by Dr Martin Gibson, programme director, Envirowise

From canteen scrap to material off-cuts, waste is one product common to all businesses. Research by Envirowise shows that waste typically costs companies around 4.5% of turnover. For many businesses in the UK this cost has been magnified significantly following recent changes to legislation governing the classification and disposal of waste. At Envirowise we are working with businesses to reduce this impact through minimising waste at source and yielding significant benefits in the process.

Legislation is now forcing industry to take responsibility for the waste it generates.

87 Million tonnes of solid waste goes to landfill each year. Quite a staggering volume. There is only limited landfill capacity in the UK, and on the implementation of the Landfill Directive on July 16th of this year, this capacity for certain types of wastes was dramatically reduced.

The implementation of the Landfill Directive banned the co-disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes.

Landfill operators were forced to opt for one type of waste or the other.The result; a considerable reduction in the capacity available to landfill hazardous waste.

All hazardous waste now has to be pre-treated to specified Waste Acceptance Criteria before it is sent to landfill. Currently almost 42% of hazardous waste is transported across regional boundaries for disposal. The reduction of sites accepting it, could mean a significant increase in haulage costs. . The new legislation will have a funnelling affect on the country’s hazardous waste and the cost of its disposal is rising accordingly.

To amplify the situation, the classification of hazardous waste is changing to include an increasing number of substances and compounds. The anticipated reclassification of items such as TV sets and batteries will have far reaching implications for the unprepared, particularly businesses that have not previously been classified as hazardous waste producers.

The aim of this legislation is to reduce the environmental risk from landfilled waste, create more consistent controls over the construction, management and content of landfills across the EU and promote waste minimisation.

Two major groups are affected: operators of landfill sites and producers of waste sent to landfill. By complying with the legislation, businesses avoid the risk of litigation and the associated costs and might just make further cost savings by improving resource efficiency on site. By minimising the volume of solid waste sent to landfill, businesses can make savings that go straight to the bottom line as well as reducing their impact on the environment.

Taking the initiative and consulting with stakeholders on proposed process changes to reduce the environmental impact of your business can also help to make a positive image of your company.

There are significant marketing benefits to be gained from engaging others and sharing your enthusiasm in improving the way your company operates.

I would urge any business that is unclear of the impact of this legislation on their operations to make it their business to find out and get help addressing it. A good starting point would be to take a look at the new guide produced by Envirowise: Hazardous Waste Management – essential information for business. The publication outlines the nature and aims of the legislation and implications for UK businesses. It also advises on the best ways to get started and take advantage of planning ahead to reduce the costs of implementing the potential process changes required.

Alternatively if you are a small or medium sized business, why not take up the offer of a free FastTrack Hazardous Waste Review from Envirowise. A specialist advisor will spend one day at your site to identify avoidable hazardous wastes and find potential cost savings for your business. To request a FastTrack visit, complete the on-line application form at www.envirowise.gov.uk or call the Energy and Environment helpline on 0800 585794.

In the meantime you may want to start thinking about some of the following measures: • Identifying sources of waste and eliminating them where possible • Re-use and recycle materials in house where possible • Substitute hazardous substances with less hazardous substances to reduce landfill pre-treatment and hazardous waste disposal costs • Explore options for sending waste to recovery (oils and solvents) or composting (for biodegradables wastes) rather than disposal.

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