Hazardous Waste

Waste can be classified as general, special or clinical. Special waste contains properties that may be hazardous to human health and to the environment, therefore require careful disposal. Clinical waste also contains properties that may be harmful and requires similar disposal to special wastes.

Some waste items will be clearly labelled, but others won’t. If you are unsure if a waste is general, special, or clinical, please ask. It is important that wastes are identified correctly so that they can be treated safely once collected for onward processing or disposal.

Further information in identification processes can be found in the European Waste Catalogue.

This section has been prepared to help staff from the University assess whether or not the waste that they are / will be producing should be disposed of as Special Waste.

The information provided below is guidance summarised from the regulator's publication on special waste. If you do not understand or can't find the information you require, please contact the Waste Manager.

You should follow these steps when trying to clarify whether your waste is special or not.

• Identify the composition of the waste (using Appendices A and B below if necessary)
• Identify the risk phrases that apply to each component in the waste. The HSE Approved Supplier List, or alternative sources such as Safety Data Sheets should be used to give all the risk phrases for the waste.
• Use this table showing substance risk phrases with the associated hazardous property, to identify the relevant hazards and threshold concentrations that apply to each component.
• Record the hazards and threshold concentrations for each component on a risk assessment form.
• Determine whether the threshold concentrations recorded are exceeded. If so, the whole consignment will be hazardous and will need consigning as special waste.

Please be reminded it is illegal to dispose of special waste other tha via an authorised contractor. It should also not be co-mingled with general refuse. It should never be disposed of down drains or sewer.

Technical Guidance from the Regulator

The Environment Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Northern Ireland Environment and Heritage Service, provides technical guidance for classifying hazardous waste. The documents detailed below intend to be a reference for all legislation where reference is made to hazardous waste and its management, and provides guidance in the assessment of waste to all involved in the production, management, and control of hazardous waste.

The second edition of this guidance document was updated in October 2006 to accommodate changes.

• Technical Guidance - Introduction
• Appendix A - Contains the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) and codes
• Appendix B - Contains information on potential hazards for absolute and mirror entries in the EWC
• Appendix C
• Appendix D
• Glossary of terms

Waste items should be stored appropriately and clearly labelled to ensure staff are not at risk, and understand what they are dealing with.

The which bin guide can assist you in deciding where waste should go.

All waste contractors collecting waste from the University have to be authorised waste carriers and transport the material to a licensed treatment facility. It is the responsibility of the Waste and Environmental Manager to ensure that this happens. Waste can be provided to charities as long as an exemption certificate is supplied or they can offer a waste transfer note.