Hazardous Waste ....

		... never underestimate the dangers
		The items listed here include Asbestos, Batteries, CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons) and HCFCs, Computers, Cathode Ray Tubes, Fluorescent Lamps, Garden Chemicals and Medicines.
		The careful disposal of hazardous materials is a public responsibility to prevent damage to man and animals. Often, the waste can be put to beneficial use by suitably qualified organisations.
		Managers have a duty to ensure that workplace hazardous wastes are correctly identified at each stage of production and appropriate measures are taken to protect the health of employees and contractors who transport or dispose of waste. These provisions are built into the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) 1999 (SI 1999 No. 437).
		To know more about the definitions of Waste, Hazardous Waste and Difficult Waste, click here . Some items in this section are more accurately described as Difficult Waste.
		Rusty Nuts and Bolts (© Martin ) Steam Railway Dining Car in Staffs
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		Hazardous Waste Index General Hazardous Waste Services Asbestos Batteries CFCs & HCFCs Computers and CRTs Fluorescent Lamps Garden Chemicals Medicines Nappies Oil & Oil Filters Paint & Coatings Panes of Glass Photographic Chemicals Plastics Printer Cartridges Sewage Toxic Metals TVs & Radios Tyres & Rubber Vehicles WEEE and RoHS
		What is BPEO?
		BPEO stands for the Best Practicable Environmental Option and provides guidance for waste disposal policymakers to control the best balance of measures. One factor is to balance and minimise contamination of the environment as a whole ie air, water and land (eg removing pollution from the air might cause more detrimental pollution of land or water). Other factors include doing it at an acceptable cost and aiming to achieve results which are are effective in the long term as well as the short term.
		The photograph on the left shows an active residents' campaign opposing the proposed, invasive development of a McDonalds' fast food outlet in the village of Hinchley Wood, Surrey. This would have caused an influx of traffic from the nearby A3 with the usual environmental problems, such as litter, noise and other pollutions. The campaign was successful and the pub was eventually replaced by residential accommodation instead. Click the picture for more detail.

General Hazardous Waste Services		Able UK Ltd is a multi role and versatile organisation built on total reliability and respect for the environment. They provide a BEOP service (see above) and are major specialists in the rehabilitation and development of disused sites, facilities and structures. They specialise in decommissioning oil and gas platforms, ship recycling, urban renewal, regenerating new from old, removing the problems of contamination and dereliction.
		Cleanaway Limited provides a wide range of waste management services covering the complete spectrum from advice on best practice to the handling and disposal of hazardous wastes. Cleanaway’s EcoService business provides waste management solutions for a range of difficult wastes recognising the need to increase the recycling of waste materials. The range includes: Automotive, Electronics, Batteries (all types), Fluorescent tubes, Chemical wastes in drums .
		Envirogreen Special Waste Services specialises in environmentally friendly and cost effective disposal of pesticides, lab and industrial chemicals, spillage waste, oil, batteries, fluorescent tubes and contaminated materials. They claim to offer a professional service for large or small jobs .
		Hazardous Waste Resource Aid is a site for everything to do with hazardous waste. Full of newsletters, articles, links and other resources.
		Letsrecycle.com give useful info on recycling and waste management. Not least of all they provide ongoing news on a variety of items such as batteries, electronics, end of life vehicles, fridges and tyres .
		Organics Ltd in Coventry, UK, designs, manufactures and installs environmental protection systems. It specialises in landfill gas utilisation, collection and safe disposal, also leachate collection and treatment. It aims to build systems to control and minimise pollution, to develop and employ renewable energy technologies and to construct facilities for recycling.
		Specialist Waste Disposal provide an environmentally friendly, cost effective service to dispose of industrial chemicals, laboratory chemicals, pesticides, spillage waste, oil, batteries, fluorescent tubes and most other contaminated waste, across the UK .
		WasteCare offer a recycling and waste management service that enables waste producers from all industrial and business sectors to manage and report their waste, from collection to recovery regardless of the type, volume or location.
Asbestos		Asbestos is dangerous? That's an understatement! According to Marie-Claire Kidd (Society Guardian, 28 Sept. 2005) asbestos is the UK's biggest work-related killer. The H&SE estimate that each year in the UK, more than 3,500 people die from mesothelioma. Worse, the TUC reckon that by 2020, the number will rise to 10,000 because of the long time between exposure and development of the disease. Please click on this button for more information. A few links to firms specialising in the handling of asbestos and other hazardous materials are given below:
		Adams Environmental Ltd are independent consultants specialising in Asbestos, hazardous materials and health and safety. They are based in Sutton, Surrey. For more information click the silver ball.
		Alab Environmental Services Ltd, is a waste management organisation built on reliability and respect for the environment. They provide a BPEO service (see above) having developed the Seaton Meadows (Hartlepool) landfill site and also a hazardous waste treatment plant at the same facility.
		Aptiva provide solutions to environmental issues and compliance with legislation with accredited services for asbestos surveying, treatment and removal, thermal insulation, fire protection, ductwork installation and cleaning and water testing across the South of England.
		ARCA (Asbestos Removal Contractors Association) is an association of specialist contractors committed to safe removal of asbestos etc .
		The Environmental Services Association is a trade association for firms providing waste management and related environmental services .
		P & R Disposal Services Ltd in St Helens has expertise, equipment and personnel to handle any kind of hazardous waste throughout the UK .
		ALcontrol UK Ltd, (formerly SP Shutler Associates) one of largest asbestos consultancies in the UK, aim to give an efficient service at a realistic price .
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Batteries		There have been recent advances in battery technology, using nickel metal hydride, lithium and lithium-ion, providing consumers with many benefits and conveniences. Among the plethora of types, some contain dangerous heavy metals, namely lead, cadmium and mercury which pose serious health hazards. If you would like to know more about batteries in general, and the (sad?) state of recycling facilities, click on this button . We had expected the British Battery Manufacturers Association to provide us with information that would allow easy recycling (having been active in setting up REBAT which purports to be interested in recycling and sets targets) but sadly we were not impressed; decide for yourself, pay a visit. Also see some of the links under General Hazardous Waste Services above.
		battery.ukf.net is a site with some unusual information on batteries and they have suggestions as to how you can recycle your old ones. They also suggest how you can recycle those old radioactive smoke alarms.
		The Battery University is the best site we have found to deal with many aspects of batteries, including recycling (but not in the UK).
		The British Battery Manufacturers Association (BBMA) was formed in 1986 and represents the manufacturers of portable batteries, both primary (non-rechargeable) and secondary (rechargeable).
		REBAT identifies Bosch, ORBIK and Trend as companies who offer a service. It also provides a list of organisations to contact mainly by snail-mail.
		Re-Cell offers a welcome service rebuilding Ni-Cd and Ni-MH batteries. The old parts are recycled and the rebuild is cheaper than new. Their focus is on Power-tool and Laptop batteries but they also deal with obsolete and custom batteries. The rebuild may have a larger capacity than the original. The site is under construction (March 07).
		For our summary of battery types click on .
CFCs & HCFCs		These are chlorofluorocarbons (maybe with hydrogen), used as propellants and in the compression units of refrigerators. When released they pose a serious danger to the environment. Click here to understand why .
		Fridges and Freezers contain dangerous CFC gases that damage the ozone layer. In most areas, old fridges/freezers can be taken to Household Waste and Recycling Centres. From here they should be away for degassing, where the coolant gases (CFCs) are removed and stored by a specialist for recycling. Some fridges/freezers can be re-used or some materials recycled. Also see how you can dispose of 'white goods' on our Electricals Page.
		The Halon Users National Consortium (HUNC) and Refrigerant Users Group (RUG) provide technical information and advice on Halons and Refrigerants and operate a technical and legislative web site for the environment, aiming to ensure that movements of Halon and Refrigerants are in accordance with national and international requirements .
		The Waste Watch Wasteline can also give advice, Tel: 020 7248 0242 .
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Computers and CRTs		Computer monitors and some other components could be described as difficult or hazardous waste. Do not throw them away; recycling is probably the best option. For details of how to recycle computers and some of the peripherals, go to the Home page and select the section on Computers. Cathode ray tubes (CRTs), e.g. monitors and televisions, are difficult to recycle as they contain hazardous materials; this could potentially become a problem (similar to that with fridges and freezers), especially since the Hazardous Waste Regulations and WEEE have been implemented. There are few disposal facilities able to accept CRT waste.
		Bruce Electronics Recycling provide a fully integrated, one stop shop, for recycling CRTs, computer, electronics and telephone equipment, including metals, PCB and spare part recovery, safe disposal of hazardous waste.
		The Electrical Recycling Company Limited (ERC Ltd) has a CRT Recycling facility; they state they can recycle CRTs from TVs and monitors recycle from anywhere in the UK.
		Revision, developed by The Mann Organisation, is claimed to be the most technically advanced CRT glass recycling process available in Europe. The process removes and captures all the hazardous coatings in the process of producing valuable clean glass material, eliminating landfill disposal.
Fluorescent and Sodium Lamps		Some council waste disposal sites now offer you the facility to dispose of your discarded fluorescent tubes; our local site does, for example. Also see some of the links under General Hazardous Waste Services above.
		Mercury Recycling Ltd reveals that each year, in the UK, 80,000,000 fluorescent light are sent to landfill sites despite the fact that they contain pernicious mercury. Recycling is the only satisfactory option at the end of life. To learn more, visit their site or read our summary .
		Greener World collects fluorescent tubes and bulbs as well as waste paper, glass, drink cans, electrical equipment, from offices, hotels and restaurants in the London area, basing their service around your needs .
Garden Chemicals		Unused herbicides, pesticides and other garden chemicals must not be put into ordinary waste or into drains. Water seeps through landfills and drains flow untreated into rivers etc; toxic waste ends up in the water table. It is best to buy only what you need and to use what you buy. If you find, nevertheless, that you have unwanted garden chemicals take them to your local council site and ask to dispose of them in the toxic waste container. If you have large quantities to dispose of it may be worth contacting the Chemical & Oil Recycling Association, see below.
		The Chemical & Oil Recycling Association, Europe's recycling marketplace is a non-profit organization for recycling oil, solvents and general chemicals.
		Certified Organics (Australia) produce a range of potent organic products, designed specifically to have a beneficial effect on people and the environment. The range includes weed, mould and lichen controls, claimed to be effective and safer for your family, pets and the environment.
Medicines		Medicines are dangerous if not taken as prescribed, especially if they are accessible to youngsters. They deteriorate with age, so surplus medicines should be disposed of safely and not thrown away with the normal refuse. We suggest trying your local pharmacy who may accept medicines for safe disposal and they may also accept empty medicine containers.

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