As a permitted site for healthcare waste, the Environment Agency require us to ensure that the producers of the waste we collect from carry out an audit of the waste before we can accept it. This is known as ‘pre-acceptance audits’. This applies to producers of healthcare and related waste. More detail is provided in the Environment Agency briefing note ‘Clinical waste pre-acceptance producer update – October 2010’.
This is a legal requirement and failure to carry out audits is a breach of Duty of Care under Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and may result in disposal sites being unable to accept your waste and the Environment Agency could take enforcement action against you.
Which waste producers need to carry out a waste pre-acceptance audit?
• Hospitals
• Veterinary practices
• Dental practices
• Research laboratories that produce clinical waste
• General practices and health centres
• Community pharmacies
• Care Homes that provide medical or nursing care
• Any other healthcare premises not listed above e.g. ambulance stations, physiotherapy, optometry, hydrotherapy, medical massage, occupational therapy, speech therapy, chiropody, homeopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture etc.
What is a waste pre-acceptance audit?
A pre-acceptance audit details the process producing the waste; individual constituents of the waste stream; and hazards associated with the waste. The minimum information your audit must include is provide in Environment Agency guidance note EPR 5.07 pages 25 – 29, which can be downloaded below.
Providing this information enables us to decide whether your waste can be safely disposed of and will help you to meet your duty of care obligations.
How can I carry out a waste pre-acceptance audit?
Further details and instructions on how to access the Citron Hygiene online waste pre-acceptance audit survey or submit your own audit are included in the Citron Waste Pre-Acceptance Audit Information Sheet which can be downloaded below.
