Waste Management
1. Waste Management
Waste Classification Waste is any substance or object that the holder discards or intends to discard. Waste can be hazardous or non-hazardous in nature. Generally waste from SMEs arises under some of the following categories: office (e.g. office paper), retail (e.g. packaging waste), hospitality (food waste) and manufacturing or process waste. Non-hazardous commercial waste includes packaging waste, canteen waste and office paper waste. Hazardous waste is generally waste that has certain constituents (e.g. asbestos) and/or properties that render it hazardous (e.g. explosive, flammable, toxic, corrosive, infectious). Hazardous commercial waste includes waste chemicals and waste fluorescent tubes. Hazardous waste management is subject to more stringent controls than non-hazardous waste. Mixing hazardous waste with non-hazardous waste can render it hazardous. It is illegal to deliberately contaminate recyclable packaging waste. Mixing hazardous waste chemicals or waste paints with nonhazardous waste packaging in a skip means that all the waste is contaminated and must be treated as hazardous waste. This situation can be avoided by correctly segregating and storing waste streams at source. To correctly classify waste streams as either non-hazardous or hazardous, companies should consult the Waste Management
Act, 1996 as amended (available at www.irishstatutebook.ie) and the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) (available at www.epa.ie). If companies have any doubt as to the classification of a waste stream, they should contact their local authority or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Do I Require a Licence to Manage Waste On-site? Generally licenses and permits apply to public and private bodies involved in the collection and treatment of waste. A business that is not regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) but that stores hazardous waste on-site in quantities that exceed 25,000 litres (liquid waste) or 40 m3 (solid waste)
Waste Classification Waste is any substance or object that the holder discards or intends to discard. Waste can be hazardous or non-hazardous in nature. Generally waste from SMEs arises under some of the following categories: office (e.g. office paper), retail (e.g. packaging waste), hospitality (food waste) and manufacturing or process waste. Non-hazardous commercial waste includes packaging waste, canteen waste and office paper waste. Hazardous waste is generally waste that has certain constituents (e.g. asbestos) and/or properties that render it hazardous (e.g. explosive, flammable, toxic, corrosive, infectious). Hazardous commercial waste includes waste chemicals and waste fluorescent tubes. Hazardous waste management is subject to more stringent controls than non-hazardous waste. Mixing hazardous waste with non-hazardous waste can render it hazardous. It is illegal to deliberately contaminate recyclable packaging waste. Mixing hazardous waste chemicals or waste paints with nonhazardous waste packaging in a skip means that all the waste is contaminated and must be treated as hazardous waste. This situation can be avoided by correctly segregating and storing waste streams at source. To correctly classify waste streams as either non-hazardous or hazardous, companies should consult the Waste Management
Act, 1996 as amended (available at www.irishstatutebook.ie) and the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) (available at www.epa.ie). If companies have any doubt as to the classification of a waste stream, they should contact their local authority or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Do I Require a Licence to Manage Waste On-site? Generally licenses and permits apply to public and private bodies involved in the collection and treatment of waste. A business that is not regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) but that stores hazardous waste on-site in quantities that exceed 25,000 litres (liquid waste) or 40 m3 (solid waste)