When it comes to waste management, it is imperative to have a disposal plan. Hazardous waste is highly regulated and therefore cannot be disposed of with your daily trash.

To find out if potentially hazardous waste is being handled, the first step is to evaluate its characteristics.

When categorizing this type of waste, keep these four characteristics in mind:

Flammability-somewhat flammable

Corrosiveness: something that can rust or decompose

Reactivity-somewhat explosive

Toxicity-something poisonous

inflammability

There are three types of flammable forms:

Liquids with a flash point (the lowest temperature at which fumes above the waste ignite) of 60 degrees Celsius. Examples include alcohol, gasoline, and acetone.

Solids that combust spontaneously.

Oxidizers and compressed gases.

corrosiveness

Corrosive substances, such as hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, and sulfuric acid, can spill through containers and cause harmful materials to escape. To find out if a substance is corrosive you can check its pH; if it is less than or equal to 2 or greater than or equal to 12.5, or if the liquid has the ability to corrode steel, then it is corrosive. Everyday examples of corrosives include battery acid and rust removers.

Reactivity

Given its instability, reactive waste can be very dangerous. There are a variety of conditions and situations to identify all types of reactive materials, these are the most common:

– A material that is unstable and routinely undergoes violent changes without detonating

– A material that shows potential for explosive mixture or violent reaction when combined with water

– Materials that can react producing toxic gases that are released into the atmosphere when mixed with water

Toxicity

Poisonous materials pose a major threat to our environment, which can have long-term effects on human health and the environment. Acute toxicity involves harmful effects on an organism through a single or short-term exposure. Common types of toxic substances are fertilizers, raw sewage, pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, asbestos, ground-level ozone, lead (from jet fuel, mining, and industrial processes) .

What is a hazardous waste management plan?

Within an organization, a plan is needed to inform and guide its employees on best practices and the laws that regulate the disposal of hazardous waste. The plan also defines roles and responsibilities and provides the framework for acting in an emergency so that contamination risks can be contained.

The plan must provide comprehensive guidance on how to manage waste from when it is created, through transport, treatment and storage, and until it is disposed of. These are the phases that the plan must include:

1. Generation of hazardous waste

2. Accumulation of hazardous waste

3. Transportation of hazardous waste

4. Treatment of hazardous waste (recycling, treatment, disposal)

For the plan to be effective, each process or department that produces the waste must have at least one person attend appropriate training conducted by a hazardous waste coordinator. Then, the attendees will be responsible for their departments’ compliance with the Hazardous Waste Management Plan. The hazardous waste coordinator will determine when follow-up training is necessary.

Generation

The entities that generate waste are the first link in the hazardous waste management system. All generators must determine if their waste is hazardous and must supervise the final destination of the same. In addition, generators must ensure and fully document that the hazardous waste they produce is properly identified, handled, and treated before recycling or disposal.

Accumulation

Every area that produces hazardous waste must have a satellite accumulation site. A satellite accumulation area is a safe place that is posted as a hazardous waste accumulation area. The area is to be used solely as a collection location for hazardous materials until they are moved to the main hazardous waste storage area. It must be at or near the point where the hazardous waste is generated and must be easy to visually control and inspect. This area should have good ventilation and, where possible, secondary containment in case the primary container leaks.

Once a container is full, it must be moved to the main waste storage area by a trained coordinator. This main storage area should be regularly inspected and conditions reported on a form kept in the appropriate storage area.

Transport

It’s always a good idea to call a professional removal service to take care of your unwanted hazardous waste. They can provide tips and guidelines on how to handle your waste correctly and how to store it to minimize risks when waste needs to be moved and disposed of.

When a professional is involved, the first step is always to identify exactly what waste stream we are dealing with. In case of doubt, a specialist can guide you with the use of COSHH safety data sheets and verifying what the material was used for. This is important as increasingly strict legislation governing disposal means we need to ensure that waste is handled safely and correctly. Although usually not necessary, it is possible to arrange for samples to be taken and tested to help further.

Treatment

Much waste can be safely and efficiently recycled, while other waste will be treated and disposed of in landfills or incinerators. Recycling has a variety of benefits including reducing the consumption of raw materials and the volume of waste materials that must be treated and disposed of. However, improper storage of these materials can cause spills, leaks, fires, and contamination of soil and drinking water. To encourage recycling of hazardous waste and protect health and the environment, always seek professional help.

More information on hazardous waste legislation and regulation can be found here https://www.gov.uk/dispose-hazardous-waste.