Waste is considered hazardous when it contains substances or properties that may make the waste harmful to human health or the environment.

Our Advice

Due to the nature of chemical waste it cannot be disposed of in a usual manner. The waste needs to be carefully packaged, transported and disposed of to render it safe.

Therefore, you need to be cautious when choosing your waste management partner for the safe collection and disposal of chemical Waste.
WMR Waste Solutions will ensure all chemical waste collections are made using vehicles that are ADR complaint and drivers that are ADR trained.

How would it be collected?

All chemical waste must be packaged and labelled to comply with the Carriage of Dangerous Goods Regulations 2013.

This means that prior to transportation wastes needs to be segregated, properly packaged and correctly labelled. This can be done by a member of your staff or WMR Waste Solutions can provide a qualified chemist to ensure this first step is done correctly.

The waste will then be taken to a licensed disposal site for final disposal, dependant on what the material is.

How is chemical waste recycled?

Most chemical wastes cannot be recovered or recycled and are disposed of in high temperature incinerators to render them safe.

Some containerized oil-based paints can be ‘baked’ removing the solvent through evaporation, rendering the cans non-hazardous. Oil contaminated material can be sent to a pyrolysis facility. Pyrolysis is a thermal decomposition of the material at high temperatures in an inert atmosphere. This process changes the chemical composition of the waste and is irreversible.

Chemical waste fact

Some of the most common wastes that are classified as hazardous are: household cleaners, solvents, pesticides (& herbicides), used motor oils, batteries, unused and expired medication, old electronics, fluorescent light bulbs, aerosol containers, asbestos and smoke detectors.

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Clinical waste is a term used to describe waste that is produced from a healthcare environment, or other similar activities, that may pose a risk of infection (needles or swabs) or may prove hazardous (some pharmaceuticals).

Our Advice

Clinical waste requires a specialised collection due to the potential risk of infection or hazard the waste may contain. The management of clinical waste, including its packaging, collection and disposal, is regulated by the Environment Agency and Health and Safety Executive guidance.

This means that the overall management of clinical waste is a job for professional and legal operators. WMR can provide the expertise to correctly classify the waste your site produces and put in place expert operators to ensure this waste stream is collected and disposed of in a correct and legal manner.

How should your clinical waste be collected?

Onsite segregation is of vital importance and assists with compliance and reduces costs. The Departments of Health’s Safe Management of Healthcare Waste outlines that best practice when segregating clinical waste is to use a colour coded system, with different colours representing the different waste streams and EWC codes – ie: yellow for incineration waste and purple for cytotoxic/ cytostatic waste.

When the waste is being transported to either a transfer station or final disposal facility, each waste stream is segregated on the collection vehicle, following the Carriage of Dangerous Goods regulations.

The driver of the collection vehicle must be ADR trained to carry hazardous waste (which some clinical waste may be classified as) and the company collecting the waste must have a waste carrier’s permit and permits for their disposal facilities.

How is clinical waste recycled?

Due to the nature of clinical waste, it is not always possible to recycle as the waste needs to be rendered safe. It is possible to send offensive waste and non- hazardous pharmaceuticals to some Energy from Waste facilities. These plants incinerate waste to produce electricity. This is why the first step of correct segregation is so important as non-compliant waste will all be sent for incineration, incurring additional costs to the waste producer.

Clinical waste fact

Every year an estimated 16 billion injections are administered worldwide, but not all of the needles and syringes are properly disposed of afterwards.

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All asbestos waste is defined as ‘hazardous waste’ in England and Wales and as ‘special waste’ in Scotland when it contains more than 0.1% asbestos.

Our Advice

All waste containing asbestos must be consigned under the relevant waste rules which include a “duty of care”. That duty of care means, amongst other things, that “duty holders” prevent escape of the waste whilst it is in their control. All movements must be accompanied by a hazardous/special waste consignment note.

How should asbestos be collected?

Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 all asbestos wastes must be properly packaged in UN certified packaging (usually double bagged in red inner and clear outer polythene bags that are tested and certified.

Some articles cannot be placed in normal UN packaging without further cutting and disturbance of the asbestos fibres, such as lengths of pipe or ducting that have asbestos insulation inside or outside, doors faced with AIB panels, or timber that has been used for enclosures. These should be wrapped in heavy gauge polythene and taped securely so that asbestos fibres cannot escape.

The transport of hazardous materials regulations (ADR) requires packages of asbestos to be carried in closed vehicles or containers. The preferred method is to use enclosed skips with lockable covers for larger loads, or the load compartment of vans for relatively small amounts. Overpacks such as wheelie bins or large flexible bags are sometimes used in smaller vehicles.

How is asbestos waste recycled?

Until very recently we had not found a suitable treatment for asbestos and therefore all asbestos has been landfilled.

The majority of asbestos waste is therefore still disposed of in a landfill site that has a specific permit authorizing it to accept asbestos. You may be able to dispose of asbestos waste in a non-hazardous waste landfill, provided it is landfilled within a separate, self-contained cell.

Fairy new to the UK market is a process called thermochemical conversion technology that destroys asbestos fibres and produces a non-hazardous product that can be recycled in many construction applications.
WMR Waste Solutions are in discussions with a provider of this service and are happy to discuss its benefits to our customers.

Asbestos waste fact

Asbestos is hazardous and carcinogenic (a cancer-causing material). It can be very damaging to human health and the environment. It does not break down easily and remains in the environment for a long time.

The majority of buildings built prior to 1985 and a considerable number of buildings constructed between 1985 and 2000 contain asbestos.

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These waste streams are covered by the WEEE Directive which stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment.

Our Advice

The original WEEE Directive became legislation in 2006. This regulation covered laid out the requirements for the recovery, reuse, recycling and treatment of WEEE. This was followed by an amended regulation in 2013 which became law in the UK on the 1st of January 2014. The latest Regulations transpose the main provisions of Directive 2012/19/EU to provide for a wider range of products to be covered by the Directive with effect from 1st January 2019.

Types of WEEE to be collected?

There are ten broad categories of WEEE currently outlined within the Regulations:

• Large household appliances e.g. fridges, cookers, microwaves, washing machines and dishwashers
• Small household appliances e.g. vacuum cleaners, irons, toasters and clocks
• IT and telecommunications equipment – e.g. personal computers, copying equipment, telephones and pocket calculators
• Consumer equipment e.g. radios, televisions, hi-fi equipment, camcorders ad musical instruments
• Lighting equipment e.g. straight and compact fluorescent tubes and high intensity discharge lamps
• Electrical and electronic tools – e.g. drills, saws and sewing machines, electric lawnmowers
• Toys, leisure and sports equipment e.g. electric trains, games consoles and running machines
• Medical devices e.g. (non-infected) dialysis machines, analysers, medical freezers and cardiology equipment
• Monitoring and control equipment e.g. smoke detectors, thermostats and heating regulators
• Automatic dispensers e.g. hot drinks dispensers and money dispensers

How is WEEE waste recycled?

Large household appliances (see above) IT equipment (mainly computers), TVs, small household appliances (see above) contain a wide variety of materials e.g. an average TV contains 6% metal and 50% glass, whereas a cooker is 89% metal and only 6% glass. Other materials found include plastics, ceramics and precious metals. WMR Waste Solutions can arrange for all of these waste streams to be recovered and recycled using our specialised reprocessing partners.

WEEE waste fact

Large household appliances (e.g. ovens, fridges, washing machines) currently make up over 40% of WEEE. Over two million TV’s are discarded each year

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Talk to an expert now via our live chat facility to discuss your waste management needs or alternatively call us on 0203 857 4760 or send us an email.

Our Advice

Washroom Services are the provision of services that ensure your washrooms are clean, hygienic and user friendly. Ensuring your washrooms are clean and hygienic shows your businesses’ commitment to ensuring the health and safety of your colleagues and visitors.

Your Business

• Schools and Colleges
• Food & beverage
• Hotels
• Entertainment centres
• Manufacturing
• Retail
• Office

• Nursing & Care Services
• Pharmacies & Chemists
• Dental practices
• Tattooists & beauty Clinics
• GP practices
• Funeral Directors

Products and services

The products and services supplied to your company should give you the confidence of a perfectly maintained washroom.

This includes hand and hair dryers, air fresheners, baby changing/nappy disposal, soaps/cleansing dispensers, air care and feminine waste management systems. All of these services together with expert advice are available from WMR Waste Solutions.

Additional services

We can provide a variety of additional services:

• Indoor and outdoor floor mats: entrance/industrial/message/water cooler/Christmas mats
• A comprehensive healthcare waste management service: clinical /pharmaceutical/dental/offensive/sharps disposal
• We also provide a full consultancy service including legislation and infection control

Want to know more?

Talk to an expert now via our live chat facility to discuss your waste management needs or alternatively call us on 0203 857 4760 or send us an email.