Hazardous waste.

Over the last 18 months hazardous waste controls have been brought in throughout Europe in line with the Hazardous Waste Directive (HWD). These add to changes in landfill regulation introduced in line with the Landfill Directive.

The impact of this has been different in different Member

States. Some countries nag existing controls similar to those in the Directives, and others have made substantial changes. In the UK. reclassification of landfill sites in line with the Landfill Directive has, amongst other things, stopped co-disposal of specified hazardous wastes with municipal solid waste. And overall, controls on hazardous waste disposal have tightened substantially. In particular:

There are now far fewer sites licensed to accept a range of hazardous wastes (in the UK, 31 had permits on 23 September 2005 and 20 were for asbestos).

L Liquid wastes are not accepted for direct landfill Some other wastes are prohibited, eg tyres.

L Most hazardous wastes now need some form of pre-treatment before landfill to reduce the hazard posed.

L It is necessary to establish clearly whether or not wastes are hazardous using the European Waste Catalogue 2002 (or EWC, usually embodied in national law, eg the UK's list of Waste Regulations 2005) and the general principles of the HWD.

Average distances for haulage to the disposal site have also increased. And of course, prices for hazardous waste disposal have rocketed.

What can operators do?

There is always a do-nothing option. But this means accepting much higher charges for hazardous waste disposal. It makes better sense to get a better grip on operations and try to reduce the amount of hazardous (and other) wastes disposed. So think about the following:

Be well informed. Understand the way in which wastes are defined as hazardous or not, and make sure that wastes that you are disposing are correctly classified. Use the EWC for this, allied to procedures given in national guidance.

Make sure that you segregate hazardous waste streams from non-hazardous and from each other, to reduce quantities for disposal, or increase options for recycle or recovery.

Most importantly, take a fresh look at the wastes you produce, and try to understand how and why you produce them in the process. Thousands of companies have found they can make slight changes in working methods or processing conditions, often at low or no cost, and reduce the quantities of waste generated. The benefits from this are not only in cutting disposal costs, but also in better resource use (the waste you discard has probably cost you something to buy in the first place) and operating costs overall It may also be possible to recycle some wastes back into the glassmaking process.

Several EU states operate free advice centres on reducing waste. In the UK, Envirowise operates a national helpline, free to any UK-based company, accessed through 0800 585497 or www.envirowise.gov.uk. Non-UK organisations aren't excluded.

Dr Steve Waring is an advisor to the Envirowise Helpline. He is a chemical engineer who specialises in waste minimisation/resource use and pollution prevention, and related legislation.