Under Landfill Regulations implemented across the United Kingdom (details and timings of Regulations differ in England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), landfill sites will no longer be able to accept non-hazardous waste unless it has been pre-treated. This takes effect in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 30 October 2007, and in Scotland from 31 March 2007.
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Landfill Waste Disposal Regulations UK
Treatment of hazardous waste has already been a requirement for some time. To date SEPA and the EHS (NI) have not issued any guidance. The objective of pre -treatment is to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and/or reduce the impact of waste when it is landfilled. This can include sorting and segregation of waste, provided that some of the sorted or segregated is disposed of by methods other than landfill.
From the point of view of waste collected by Citron, this affects: Offensive waste which we collect from your premises in ‘tiger bags’ i.e. nappy or incontinence waste, and other swabs and dressings which have been classified as non-infectious and hence offensive waste. – Other similar wastes which are germicide treated (e.g. feminine hygiene waste and offensive waste in Citron units). These are currently viewed as treated for the purposes of The Regulations.
Waste Classification Guidance
The classification of these wastes as offensive waste was introduced by The Department of Health ‘Safe Management of Healthcare Waste’ (DoH 2006) can be downloaded at the bottom of the page. This provides guidance on when wastes should be classed as offensive and when they should be classed as clinical and hence potentially hazardous waste. Further guidance is available on our Hazardous and Special Waste Regulations page. For offensive ‘tiger bag’ waste which we collect to be classified as treated, this means that some portion of your other waste which it is segregated from has to be disposed of other than by landfill. This could include:
- Clinical wastes which are segregated and collected for treatment/incineration (either by ourselves or other Companies).
- Wastes segregated for some form of recycling.
- Other wastes segregated for disposal by methods other than landfill.
In order for Citron to continue collecting the offensive ‘tiger bag’ wastes for landfill, we have to determine if they have been treated, and have devised a Treatment Declaration Form for new and existing Customers to provide us with this information, which can be downloaded at the bottom of the page. It may be that they have also been contacted by other Contractors taking away other waste for landfill, and having already addressed these issues in relation to your waste are able to provide similar information to you.
Segregating Waste
If you already have separate collection of other parts of your waste and some is already segregated for treatment or disposal by methods other than landfill then your waste satisfies the treatment requirements. This could include clinical waste for treatment/incineration, wastes for recycling, or other waste for some form of treatment. However, if you are not currently segregating any part of your waste for disposal by methods other than landfill or do not return this Form to confirm that, we may be unable to continue to offer you a service in the same way, and will have to review the service provision.
Recycling Waste
If no waste is currently being segregated for recycling or disposal by methods other than landfill then the easiest way to ensure that the waste Citron collect (and other waste you may have collected for landfill, about which you may be or have been contacted in a similar way by other Waste Contractors) is treated is by segregation of recyclables from your waste; this also has other environmental benefits. In that case you should strongly consider implementing recycling of some or all of your wastes with that potential (e.g. paper, card, plastic, metal etc).
The completed Non-Hazardous Waste Treatment Declaration Form will then constitute an amendment to the Annual Waste Transfer Note issued to you by Citron under the requirements of the Duty of Care in accordance with The Environmental Protection Act 1990/The Duty of Care Regulations. Future Annual Waste Transfer Notes will be amended to reflect that your waste is treated as required by the Landfill Regulations.
