Waste Theory Session

Duty of care You have a duty to ensure that any waste you produce is handled safely and within the law. It applies to anyone who produces, imports, transports, stores, treats or disposes of controlled waste You must check that anyone that you pass your waste on to is authorised to take it.

People you might pass your waste on to include: – waste contractors – scrap metal merchants – recycling companies – your local council – skip hire companies. The duty of care has no time limit. It extends until the waste has either been finally disposed of or fully recovered.

Duty of Care – What Do You Have to Do? You must store and dispose of all your waste responsibly Ensure your waste is only handled or dealt with by authorised people or businesses. Ensure you keep records of all waste that you transfer or receive for at least two years.

Waste Transfer Notes (WTN) Document accompanying any transfer of waste between different holders. Purpose to allow people to know what they are dealing with, so it can be safely & properly managed. You must create a WTN for each load of waste that leaves your site. For repetitive transfers, you can use a 'season ticket’, i.e. one transfer note will cover multiple transfers over a given period of time of up to 12 months.

What information should a WTN contain? Enough information about the waste to enable anyone coming into contact with it to handle it safely, & either dispose of it or allow it to be recovered within the law. In England and Wales, you should describe the quantity & types of each different waste being transferred on the WTN, both in words and by using the appropriate codes in the List of Wastes (England) Regulations 2005.

Who needs to sign the WTN? You should NEVER rely on waste carriers or waste management contractors to describe your waste for you on WTNs. As the producer, you are to describe your waste accurately. It is not acceptable to use non-specific terms, e.g. 'general waste' or 'inert waste'. Both you and the waste carrier must sign the WTN before the waste leaves your site.

Consignment Note for Hazardous Waste The transfer documentation for hazardous or special waste is called a 'consignment note'. If your waste has hazardous properties, you may need to treat it as hazardous/special waste. Waste that is defined by the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) as hazardous can only go to a waste treatment facility that is licensed to receive hazardous waste.

Waste Carriers If you arrange for your waste to be taken away by a waste carrier, They must be: – a registered carrier of controlled waste – exempt from registration as a carrier of controlled waste – a waste collection authority in England and Wales A registered carrier should be able to produce a current certificate of registration or a certified copy. Look for expiry date! You can also check the public registers held by your environmental regulators to see if your carrier is registered. Final location

Exemptions Exempt organisations Exempt waste types

Hazardous Waste – asbestos – chemical wastes – healthcare wastes – electrical equipment containing hazardous components such as cathode ray tubes or lead solder – fluorescent light tubes – lead-acid batteries – oily sludges – pesticides – solvents. Hazardous waste is waste that may be harmful to human health or the environment. Examples include:

How to Determine if a Waste is Hazardous? The European Waste Catalogue (EWC) Hazardous waste is identified in the EWC with an asterisk (*): some wastes, called 'absolute entries', are always classed as hazardous, for example inorganic wood preservatives, waste paint or varnish remover and wastes from asbestos processing other wastes, called 'mirror entries', are classed as hazardous if they are present in amounts above certain threshold concentrations, for example some wastes containing arsenic or mercury. Your environmental regulator has produced guidance that: will help you determine if your waste is hazardous lists the waste types in the EWC provides advice on classifying and assessing hazardous waste.

What To Do If Your Waste Is Hazardous Waste producers must keep consignment notes for three years. You must ensure that all hazardous waste is stored and transported with the correct packaging and labelling.

Clinical Waste Clinical waste includes waste that, unless made safe, could be hazardous to anyone who comes into contact with it, and that consists wholly or partly of: – human or animal tissue – Blood, excretions other body fluids – drugs or other pharmaceutical products – swabs or dressings – syringes, needles or other sharp instruments. It also includes any other waste that could infect anyone who comes into contact with it, and that arises from: – medical, nursing, dental, veterinary, pharmaceutical or similar practices – investigation, treatment, care, teaching or research – collecting blood for transfusion.

What You Must Do You must ensure that anyone dealing with clinical waste complies with the duty of care for waste. You will need to deal with most clinical wastes as hazardous/special waste. Clinical waste must be transported by a registered waste carrier and transferred to a facility authorised to accept that type of waste. If clinical waste consists of animals, or parts of animals, you will need to comply with controls on animal by-products.

Hazardous Clinical Wastes The following clinical wastes are classified as hazardous/special waste: any waste that poses a risk of infection, including sharp instruments cytotoxic and cytostatic medicinal wastes. The Department of Health provides guidance on how to store and transport healthcare waste. Many items of healthcare waste are classified as ‘dangerous goods’. They must be stored and transported in specified packaging types and be suitably labelled.

What You Need to Do Ensure that clinical waste and non-clinical waste are properly separated. Consider using greater documentary control than the duty of care for waste requires. Examples include: – a signed service delivery note between the you and the haulage business. – a waste acceptance record sheet. – a certificate of safe destruction.

Reduce clinical waste by exploring use of alternative materials & practices that avoid production of clinical waste. Consider whether any benefit can be obtained from clinical waste. For example, you may be able to recycle waste, or use it in an energy-from-waste plant. You must ensure that clinical waste is stored and transported in suitable containers. Regularly check storage containers remain intact & there is no risk of pollution. Ensure containers are adequately & securely labelled to identify producer and source of clinical waste.

Offensive Waste Offensive waste is non-infectious waste, which is unpleasant and may cause offence to those coming into contact with it. It includes: – outer dressings and protective clothing, e.g. masks, gowns and gloves that are not contaminated with body fluids – hygiene waste and sanitary protection, e.g. nappies and incontinence pads – autoclaved laboratory waste. Offensive waste does not include any of the following: – sharps – anatomical waste, e.g. body parts, organs or blood – Chemicals & medicine – dental amalgam – any waste that is infectious (i.e. a clinical waste). If ANY of the above are present in the waste, it is not classed as offensive waste.

Disposing of Offensive Waste Offensive waste is classified as non-hazardous waste. You must complete waste transfer notes for any waste that leaves your site and keep copies of all waste transfer notes for two years. You must ensure that your waste is stored, handled, recycled or disposed of safely and legally. This waste should be placed in a ‘tiger bag’. A tiger bag is a yellow bag with one or more broad black stripes. You must not place offensive waste in a clinical waste container or a black refuse sack.

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) The WEEE Regulations aim to reduce the amount of this waste going to landfill and improve recovery and recycling rates. You may be prosecuted if you fail to comply with the regulations. The WEEE Regulations apply to equipment with a voltage of up to 1000 volts for alternating current or up to 1500 volts for direct current.

What are the WEEE Regulations? You will need to comply with the WEEE Regulations if you generate, handle or dispose of waste that falls under one of ten categories of WEEE: – Large &small household appliances – IT and telecommunications equipment – Consumer equipment – Lighting equipment – Electrical and electronic tools – Toys, leisure and sports equipment – Medical devices – Monitoring and control equipment – Automatic dispensers.

Exemptions From WEEE Regulations Some types of WEEE are exempt from the Regulations. They include the following equipment: – Equipment that does not use electricity through battery or mains supply to fulfil its main function. – Filament light bulbs and household light fittings of any kind. – Large industrial tools, permanently fixed in industrial machinery or an industrial location. – Equipment that is designed for use with a voltage rating exceeding 1,000 volts AC or 1,500 volts DC. – Contaminated medical implants and medical equipment. – Spare parts that are used to repair WEEE. – Consumables for WEEE, such as printer cartridges, are also exempt.

WEEE That is Hazardous Some WEEE is classified as hazardous/special waste. This includes WEEE that contains: – polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) – ozone depleting substances (ODS) (eg fridges and freezers) – asbestos – cadmium – lead – cathode ray tubes, found in televisions and older computer monitors. If you are responsible for disposing of WEEE and it contains hazardous/special waste, you must make sure it is treated at an approved authorised treatment facility.

Disposing of WEEE A Waste Transfer Note must be completed for all items of WEEE that are disposed. If the WEEE is hazardous a consignment note must be completed for the item before disposal. Redundant items of WEEE must be stored safely.

Waste at the University Main waste contract with Premier Waste Awarded through a tender process Managed through Facilities Number of other smaller/specific contracts which include PHS, SCC, SRCL & Longhill Chosen and paid for by the faculty or service Recycling- plastic, card, cans & tins, paper, batteries, fluorescent tubes, electrical products. Recycling Stats

Looking to expand- re-use scheme & food waste Waste Segregation Sites at both campuses Waste Audit – Due to commence imminently – Aim to ensure a safe & compliant waste management system is in place. – Carry out a comprehensive review of current waste management systems.

University Waste Audit What the audit is: – a mechanism to ensure that we are not falling foul of Government legislation. – a method of identifying how waste can be disposed of my effectively. – a way of identifying more cost effective disposal. What the audit is not: – An opportunity to pick fault with current procedures. – An way of enforcing changes to current systems. – A method for preventing current service providers from being removed.