Complying With Hazardous Waste Guidance Regulations

Hazardous waste guidance is provided by theof such waste and it helps to ensure the safe and
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairsresponsible management of materials that may be
(DEFRA) and the Environment Agency. The Healthdangerous to life or the environment in general.
and Safety Executive also provides guidance on howRegulations demand that any waste moved or
to store substances that are hazardous in nature.transported is carried out by a registered waste
Until 2005 hazardous waste was known in Englandcarrier. The waste must also be accompanied by an
and Wales as special waste.appropriate consignment note, and the destination of
In order to fully comply with industrial wastethe waste must be to a facility that holds a suitable
regulations it is necessary to register with thepermit for receiving and dealing with hazardous
Environment Agency if you produce in excess of 500waste.
kilograms or 1,100 pounds, or 500 litres or 110 gallonsIn addition, the place where the waste is moved
of hazardous waste in a single year. Should afrom (if it produces more than 500 kilograms of
company produce less that this amount, it doesn'twaste in any year), must also be registered with the
mean that their waste is any less dangerous and allEnvironment Agency prior to the waste being moved
the other guidance rules should be strictly adhered to.if you plan on moving the waste yourself. A premises
Registering with the Environment Agency is easy. Itcode unique to your location will be issued by the
can be done over the telephone as well as by emailagency on application.
or submitting the appropriate paper form. The chargeHazardous waste is defined as being waste that
for registering depends on the type of registrationholds the possibility of being harmful or dangerous to
chosen. Electronic means works out the cheapestpeople or to the environment in some way. This type
and using a paper form is the more expensive.of waste can take many forms. It may be asbestos
The European Hazardous Waste Directive (91/689waste or spilt oil, old lead acid batteries or pesticides.
EEC) of 12th December 1991 sets out a frameworkThere is no single definition; guidance on the
of guidance that covers the managing, collecting andmanagement, recovery and disposal of such waste
proper disposal of waste that is dangerous. Thecan also differ depending on what exactly the waste
directive lists the various types of hazardous wasteconsists of.
and categorises them according to a set criteria. ThisHazardous waste management is largely common
helps to ensure that different categories of wastesense. If a material or liquid is likely to be harmful to
are not mixed together, or that non hazardousanyone who comes into contact with it, or if it is
product is not mixed with hazardous waste.likely to be harmful to the environment, then it is
If it becomes necessary to transport or move aprobably hazardous waste and it will need to be
product then a consignment note must first betreated in accordance with the regulations governing
obtained. This is a way of tracking the whereaboutssuch waste.