Hazardous Waste ....

		... never underestimate the dangers
		The items listed here include Plastics, Sewage, Toxic Metals, TVs and Radios, Tyres and Rubber, Vehicles and WEEE and RoHS.
		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.
		Waterfall on Ottawa River (© Wendy ) Polluted Indian Sunset
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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.

Plastics		Most plastics are not biodegradable, contain harmful chemicals and can damage the environment when discarded (PVC can be particularly dangerous when incinerated [see our synopsis of WEEE in the Electrical/Electronic section]). There are a few recycling schemes in the UK, unfortunately not all councils are effective. Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) can also be recycled; we've found one company who collects and recycles EPS, see SPI Ltd below. Where does the recycled plastic and EPS go? To learn more about the many examples and the recycling possibilities in the UK click here .
		Envocare is affiliated with Spirit of Nature because they sell a wide variety of high quality, organically and ecologically produced gifts and essential items. If you would prefer your kids to play with toys made from best quality wood with non-toxic finishes, rather than plastic, try their selection.
		The Applegate Directory is for the plastics, rubber, electronics and engineering industry sectors in the UK and Ireland. You can advertise in the Directories to promote your business .
		The British Plastics Federation (BPF), trade association of the UK plastics industry, states waste plastics can be incinerated in purpose-built, clean-burning power stations to generate electricity. The Plastics and Rubber Advisory Service (PRAS) provides expert advice on plastics use .
		CK Polymers plastics division buy and sell plastic waste, reground, recycled compound polymers. They provide a range of plastic recycling and waste management services and products throughout the full product lifecycle .
		RECOUP (Recycling of Used Plastic Containers Ltd), the UK's national plastic container recycling organisation, click here for more info .
		The Save-A-Cup Recycling Company runs a national recycling scheme to collect millions of hard-wall polystyrene vending cups used in the UK .
		Styrene Packaging and Insulation (SPI) Ltd are a fully accredited Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) recycler and provide a collection service for any waste EPS products. They give details of uses for recycled EPS .
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Printer Cartridges		Handling toner cartridges can pose a minor hazard; click here for suggestions . Empty cartridges are classified as hazardous waste since July 2005, but recycling has grown into a significant industry. For extensive information on recycling or buying recycled printer cartridges go to the navigation menu at the top of the page and select our section on Printer Cartridges.
Sewage		Sewage can present hazards, particularly in locations where it is not possible to connect into main drainage and treatment systems. Septic tanks are commonly installed in such areas but they are not always satisfactory ,producing local contamination and offensive outflows. We intend to provide links to companies which address this problem.
		Biotank Ltd offer a range of sewage treatment systems (better than septic tanks), in the UK, that can discharge directly to a ditch or soak away.
Toxic metals		Lead, Mercury and Cadmium (and their compounds) are perhaps the most common toxic metals found in the community but others such as Hexavalent Chromium are potentially dangerous. Even Nickel can cause skin irritation as many bare-bellied, wearers of Jeans with press studs can testify. Lead is common in the home because of its historical use in paints and children and DIY enthusiasts are particularly at risk. Because metals are so widely used, we cannot identify all the potential sources, however, there are several items of information on this site. See for example Batteries and Fluorescent Lamps on this page, WEEE and RoHS below and Mobile Phones on the Electronics & Phones page. You may also find useful links where the organisations are concerned with general waste disposal.
Televisions and Radios		Many small companies specialise in repairing and reselling broken TVs or radios and some will pay you for them. Unwanted, working equipment could be given to schools or charities (though not all will accept electrical goods). Also see CRTs above for recycling of TVs and monitors.
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Tyres and Rubber		Millions of tyres are landfilled, illegally dumped or stockpiled each year in the UK, threatening fires and pollution. In 1995, industry with the government established The Scrap Tyre Working Group and things are improving with increases in retreading and waste-to-energy plants. Some contacts are:
		Charles Lawrence International Ltd pioneered the recycling of vehicle tyres in 1991. The special, innovative process avoids landfill or incineration and creates a base material that is incorporated into many useful products .
		The Tyre Industry Council is a non-profit making concern, responsible for raising and promoting greater awareness of tyre safety, funded and supported by tyre manufacturers and retreaders .
		The Retread Manufacturers Association (RMA) is nationally recognised for makers of commercial and passenger vehicle retreaded/remoulded tyres .
		Environmental Tyre Disposal Ltd (ETD) is fully licensed by the Environment Agency and offers professional waste tyre management, catering for all types of tyre .
		Inner Tube Ltd recycle rubber by fashioning it into handbags, rucksacks briefcases and other items. We like their fetish styles (but you may not) and their ecological bag wear are now official millennium products. Their web site is under reconstruction at July 2002, but the address is IT Store, 27a Albert Road, Southsea, Hants PO5 2SE; Tel/Fax 02392 779933, E-mail: info@innertube.co.uk.
		Retreader Requirements. Tel: 020 8640 1319
		Do you ever feed the swans? Click on the image to see this notice from Bushey Park (Click Back to return).
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Vehicles		The EU introduced a new End of Life Vehicles (ELV) directive in 2003 (2000/53/EC) which aims to reduce the amount of waste from ELVs. All ELVs must be disposed of properly at an ATF (authorised treatment facility), which must meet tightened environmental standards. According to the Sunday Times (The Knowledge, 7 May 2006) the ELV must be delivered to the ATF by the last registered keeper although local councils may offer to do this at their discretion. Firstly the vehicle is depolluted (harmful chemicals removed and recycled where possible, airbags neutralised etc) then the vehicle is stored in preparation for recycling. The directive requires 85% of the weight of the vehicle to be recycled with a further target of 95% by 2015. From 1 January 2007 the cost of these processes will pass to the manufacturer.
		The DEFRA site gives more information on the directive. This includes distinction between vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes and those above 3.5 tonnes.
		If you fancy some not-light reading the Guidance notes for ATFs on de-polluting vehicles can be found by clicking the silver ball (it is a pdf).
WEEE and RoHS		Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) is perceived as a serious source of toxic materials and in order to reduce the amount entering the environment the European Union introduced two directives which, in the UK, are due to come into force in Q3 2006. One of the directives, namely the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) is aimed at minimising the particular substances at source, that is at the manufacturing stage. The other directive is concerned with Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) which is at the opposite end of the product life-cycle. The main responsibilities for compliance lie with the manufacturers of EEE components and systems and with certain entrepreneurs (importers and exporters) within the Single Market. The likely impact will be to create quite a heavy organisational burden, especially for small businesses, and over several years it will be very costly to implement, however, it is expected to provide very large environmental benefits. To read our reference page on WEEE click this button and to read our reference page on RoHS click this button .

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