You need a pre-acceptance waste audit and you don’t even know it

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Businesses evolve over time and so do regulations and many organisations are blissfully unaware that they could be breaking the law and putting their business, and the people within them at risk. To help businesses be fully compliant with regulations Citron Hygiene have experts ready to help you – but what if you don’t even know that you even need help in this area?

A pre-acceptance waste audit”? Let’s start with what we are actually talking about. Starting in October 2010 and then with legislation in March 2012 the Environment Agency made it a requirement that organisations with certain types of waste had to undertake a pre-acceptance waste audit before their waste could be safely taken by a licensed waste contractor, like Citron Hygiene. Hospitals, doctors & dentist surgeries and veterinary practices all had to do this, but on the periphery of the legislation there are many other types of organisations that need to do this and you might be one of them.

Strict clinical waste legislation

The legislation relates to clinical waste; but what counts as clinical waste? We have created an easy to read & understand guide on clinical waste. If you want to ensure you know your medicine disposal from your infectious waste read the – Guide to Clinical Waste. Many businesses however don’t realise that they are now producing what is classified as clinical waste or that they fall under the requirements to complete these pre-acceptance waste audits.

The following are some of the types of business / organisation that must undertake an audit:

  • Homeopaths
  • Chiropractors
  • Osteopaths
  • Foot clinics
  • Chiropodists
  • Physiologist
  • Podiatrist
  • School medical officers
  • School medical clinics
  • School health services
  • Speech Therapists
  • Opticians

This list includes what might be seen as very surprising activities but they are all included and should have already had an audit undertaken. Dentists & vets are required to have new audits every two years and the other organisations every five years.

A thorough Pre-Acceptance Waste Audit has to look in detail at the ‘waste flow’. It is not simply a matter of how many containers of a type are filled, but what is filling them. For example in the Environment Agency’s own compliance document it explains how the amount of certain materials can affect the waste disposal chain. The audit needs to observe the practices of the people involved in the creation as well as disposal of the waste within an organisation as part of the audit.  It is also important to get your classifications of waste correct for example 18 01 01 and 18 01 03 are both classification codes for sharps (needles), the latter distinguishing more infectious ones. With years of experience in clinical waste disposal we have the team on-hand to help you get this right. Identifying your need to undertake a Pre-Acceptance Waste audit is your first step to compliance, why not make your second step contacting us so we can make the rest of your journey as straightforward as possible.

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