Waste Disposal (Hazardous & Non-Hazardous)
Like any organisation, household or individual, Birkbeck always has waste to dispose of. Birkbeck complies with legislation where that dictates how waste must be managed and so far as reasonably practicable it always tries to dispose of other waste in an environmentally friendly manner. Birkbeck has a wide range of waste streams to manage from its kitchens, loos, labs, offices and classrooms. This section of College Green will try to provide staff with information on waste routes at Birkbeck in general and more especially, how to go about complying with legislation on the disposal of items and material classified as 'Hazardous Waste'. See also the information under the 'recycling' heading to the left.
General Guide to University Waste
The Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges publishes an on-line Waste Guide which is very useful as a general guide. Have a read of that then check further on here or with with Birkbeck's Estates and Facilities Department with regard to what disposal arrangements might be in place already or whether you need to make your own.
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations
See here for guidance on these regulations that may allow you to have waste electronic or electrical equipment collected for free disposal by the producer, supplier or their agent. However, it is not guarenteed that you will still be able to find or prove which company is responsible when you need to - hence the importance of keeping good records.
Hazardous Waste
Birkbeck registers with the Environment Agency on an annual basis as a producer of hazardous waste. This sounds dramatic but in fact every organisation producing more than 200kg of hazardous waste per year must register. Consider that fluorescent lights are classified as hazardous waste so if one disposes of around 400 lights a year then you must register for that alone. You can see that most medium sized companies will be registered.
Birkbeck has a special collection point box for collecting old fluorescent lighting and it has contract arrangements for the disposal of these and also for waste lab chemicals - mainly sharps, solvents and waste oil which are eventually incinerated.
Radioactive waste also has to be occasionally disposed of. However, this has become an almost negligible amount in recent years as technological developments have allowed non-radioactive methods to be introduced for many scientific purposes. Whenever there is no alternative however, any usage has to be justified and best practicable means for the minimisation of waste must be implemented.
There is also a vast range of other 'hazardous wastes' that we may wish to dispose of from time to time from old paint tins to computer monitors and we must ensure that these are all kept separate and certainly that none goes into the non-hazardous waste stream.
How do I know if my waste is 'hazardous waste' and what must I do if it is?
The answer to the first part of this question can be complicated to say the least. New regulations called the Hazardous Waste Regulations came into force in 2005 and to accompany these a list of wastes was published. The guidance below tries to make identification and disposal a little easier for the waste producer at Birkbeck.
DRAFT Guidance on the Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005
1. Hazardous waste must be recovered and disposed of
- without endangering human health
- without causing a nuisance through noise or odours
- without processes or methods that could harm the environment i.e. without risk to water, air, soil and plants and animals and without adversely affecting the countryside or places of special interest.
2. What is hazardous waste?
A non-exhaustive list of types of hazardous waste is given in the Appendix at the end of this document. It is a guide only and the official lists are must still be consulted for other possibilities and waste identification numbers/coding.
Waste is defined as hazardous if it is marked with an asterisk in the List of Wastes Regulations 2005 or in the consolidated European Waste Catalogue (EWC) or appears in the Schedule 1, 2 or 3 of the Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005.
These replace the Special Waste Regulations (as amended) and all waste previously categorised as special is now classified as hazardous since July 16th, 2005.
3. What does all this mean for you as a Birkbeck employee/School/Department?
You need to be aware of the legislation and its potential impact on you, your Department or School. Firstly, you need to audit your waste and verify whether it is defined as hazardous under the above legislation by using the guidance listed above. Often it will be best to refer directly to the supplier or manufacturer. If your waste is defined as hazardous you need to:
- check your waste is being & will be handled safely by staff;
- segregate the waste from non-hazardous waste and other types of hazardous waste - mixing is not allowed. Be aware that products/items previously categorised as general waste may now be classified as hazardous;
- label the waste with its 6 figure waste identification coding. See the 'List of Wastes' to search out that number/code or see the Appendix below for the common ones;
- keep records of what you have in store;
- arrange for an authorised disposal company to take away the waste. Estates and facilities or the College Health and Safety Officer may be able to advise on a suitable company or if the College already has a system in place for disposal of that particular type of hazardous waste. Charges are likely to be levied for the disposal in either case;
- provide the removal company with a consignment note detailing the waste type and code/number, amount, collection address etc;
- receive from the company a reciprocal consignment note and keep it securely for at least three years.
4. Is there not somewhere in Birkbeck where I can leave the waste and have someone else sort out all this for me?
Not that simple unfortunately. There are stores for sharps, solvents, fluorescent tubes and we are starting one for batteries but there is no spare space to collect up waste computing equipment, lab chemicals etc. Advice is available from Birkbeck Safety Services and the Estates and Facilites Department but the principal is that the waste producer must manage the waste and pay for the disposal. You should always ask this question when buying equipment and materials - How will I decommission and dispose of this equipment/material at the end of its life?
5. Are there any special procedures for Bio-waste?
The College has two waste streams of material of biological origin that require special disposal routes i.e. catering waste and material from biological teaching classes. See the defra leaflet about the disposal of food waste. Small amounts of teaching lab waste e.g. eggs can be disposed of to drain via sink waste disposal units. However, that route cannot be used if the material is infectious or contaminated e.g. with formalin preservative. In the former case autoclaving will be necessary and in the latter the waste will need to be frozen and stored until a pick-up from a recognised contractor is arranged.
6. What about the future?
Refer to this site for links to Birkbeck's arrangements and guidance as these are developed and other aspects of these regulations - and any new regulations - come on stream.
APPENDIX - Non-Exhaustive List of potentially hazardous wastes
Note - Some are defined as absolute entries and others as hazardous above threshold concentrations - check the official list for the codings below at : List of Waste Regulations
Wood containing dangerous substances - see codings 19 12 06
Wastes from wood preservatives - see codings 03 02 01 - 03 02 05
Degreasing wastes containing solvents - see coding 04 01 03
Waste inks - see codings 08 03 08 - 08 03 13
Waste printing toner containing dangerous substances - see codings 08 03 17 - 08 03 18
Detergents containing dangerous substances - see coding 20 01 29
Waste acids - see codings 06 01 01 - 06 01 06
Other laboratory chemicals are too numerous to mention - search the list for codings!
Waste paint and varnish containing organic solvents etc - see coding 08 01 11
Water-based developer and activator solutions see codings 09 01 01 - 09 01 03
Fixer & bleach solutions - see codings 09 01 04 - 09 01 05
Oils, Oil spills & Oil filters - see codings13 01, 13 02, 13 03, 13 04 series.
Fuel oil and diesel - see codings 13 07 01-13 07 03
Brake fluids - see coding 16 01 13
Batteries and accumulators - see coding 16 06 01 - 16 06 06
Solvents - see coding 20 01 13
Fluorescent tubes and other mercury-containing waste - see coding 20 01 21
Cytotoxic and cytostatic medicines - see coding 20.01.31
Waste electrical and electronic equipment with hazardous components - see coding 20 01 35
Click here for Birkbeck's further guide to waste electrical and electronic equipment