Will new legislation increase costs to labs

The Hazardous Waste Regulations (England & Wales) 2005, which replaced the Special Waste Regulations 1996 created turmoil for the industry at the time of introduction, and the full impact is still being felt amongst waste producers. Laboratory waste producers in particular are continuing to be amongst the hardest hit

NEW rules on waste acceptance, the Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC), and Best Available Technique (BAT) have prompted a complete re-think of procedures and handling, treatment and disposal methods at all levels. Combined with the removal of the requirement for pre-notification of a waste movement, and its replacement with alternate documentation and a “return” made to the Environment Agency by the receiving transfer or treatment station, confusion was rife. It was not helpful that guidance notes on some areas of the new regulations were not available until after the implementation date – the industry had to interpret and make an educated guess at what might have been required. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has yet to adopt the Hazardous Waste Regulations, and still operates under the old system. A consignment of Hazardous or Special Waste originating in Scotland, but transported for treatment in England or Wales is now dealt with under both systems!

Throughout this period the waste industry has busily tried to minimise the impact on its customers, the producer, however, all will have noticed some change. The documentation is an obvious change. Another is the requirement to register with the Environment Agency a Premises Code prior to a disposal of waste. This can now be done on-line for £18 at https://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/apps/hazwaste/registrationwelcome.jsp.

Also very prevalent is a new charge, commonly known as a “consignment fee” which is set individually by each receiving transfer or treatment station. This charge is made to help recover the costs of making the statutory return to the Environment Agency, and there is huge variation from consignee to consignee. Whilst this charge broadly replaces the old documentation fee of £15.60 set by the Environment Agency for the purchase of “Section 62” documentation, many small lab-scale waste producers used to benefit from Carrier’s Rounds. Under the old Special Waste Regulations a number of collections could be made on the same Section 62, thereby dividing the cost. Efficient carriers were able to absorb the cost of the old Section 62 because of their ability to arrange numerous small collections from the same area, on the same day, with each sharing the one statutory document and its cost.

Whilst Carrier’s Rounds are still permissible, the new costs to the industry mean that the Consignment Fee is charged to every producer at every collection. With charges ranging from £20 to £145, it is the producer of small quantities that bears the greatest burden in relation to volume of waste. The impact is most felt where wastes have a recovery value, for example oils and fats, mineral oils, and high calorific value liquids. These waste types might previously have been used for bio-fuels, recycled, or as an alternate fuel, and their value largely offset disposal costs. Due to the removal of the old style carrier’s round, and the introduction of the consignment fee, whole rafts of producers of this type of waste have started feeling the cost.

The challenge for the modern laboratory manager must be to find a waste disposal partner, like LEL Waste, which is capable of collecting on a frequent basis small quantities of a wide range of wastes on a single consignment fee. Ivan Taylor, Waste Manger at LEL says “The challenge for our industry is to give the high level of service waste producers require whilst providing a guarantee of legislative compliance. Savings must be found from efficiencies, and recycling revenue, and not the environmental shortcuts of the past.”

Further new rules have radically changed landfill disposal. It is no longer permissible to have mixed landfill sites. Each must choose between hazardous or non-hazardous. There are many types of waste that can no longer be sent to landfill, including all liquids, heavy metals and their salts, oily materials, and untreated waste. Those disposing of comparatively innocuous liquids, weak metal solutions, oily wipers and spill granules, and aqueous corrosive liquids have therefore felt a huge leap in cost. The up-side is that new treatment and recovery processes have been developed that are environmentally much more satisfactory. The downside is that some wastes have to travel much greater distances to treatment, and for particularly difficult recoveries, the recovery process is of greater environmental impact than the unadulterated waste.

It is now illegal to mix wastes in a way that prevents their recycling, and this permeates down to what many would have formerly put in the skip or bin for standard refuse collection. Further changes come into force in October 2007 emanating from the Landfill Regulations introduced in 2002, whereby no landfill site will be able to accept waste unless it has been pre-treated. Pre-treatment means;
1. it has undergone a physical, thermal or biological process including sorting that
2. also changes the characteristics of the waste, and
3. must do so in order to reduce its mass, or reduce its hazardous nature, or facilitate its handling, or enhance its recovery.
In practice for most people this will mean that they will be required to sort for separate collection those items easily recyclable. Glass, metal, wood, cardboard, paper and plastic are just such waste streams that originate in the lab or production facility, but frequently not in viable quantity.

Refrigeration and computer equipment have been classified as special waste for some time, and have required special disposal, however, now the WEEE Directive, implemented on the 1 July, requires manufacturers and importers of electrical equipment to collect for recycling waste electrical and electronic equipment at the time of supply of new or replacement equipment. This adds further burden to the laboratory that will ultimately pay the cost. The responsible laboratory will also now need to find its own recycler for redundant equipment that is not to be replaced. From the most basic equipment like stirrers and hotplates, to computers, and large instruments, all should now be recycled.

Problems for the lab are further compounded with the changes to the Fire Safety Regulations on 1 October 2006. Fire Certificates are no longer issued by the fire services, and businesses are now required to carry out their own fire safety risk assessments. As a result many insurers, on renewal, are placing strict limits upon the volumes of flammable, and highly flammable liquids permitted in laboratories under the terms of their policies. For chromatographers requiring a wide range of solvents these limits can be extremely restrictive, particularly when their mixed waste stream is included in the total.

The burden of legislation has seen massive consolidation within the industry with many independent transfer and treatment companies being swallowed up by larger organisations. The largest in the industry have themselves been merging and acquiring thereby reducing choice, and subsequently competition. For the average laboratory, both direct, and indirect costs, if they have not already, are likely to rise by £hundreds.

On a positive note, recently we have seen the emergence of a number of specialist companies performing difficult recoveries and treatments. This can only be good for chemistry in Britain. The underlying thinking of the new legislation makes environmental sense, albeit with the initial difficulties and teething troubles one would expect from such complex legislation. Under the new regulations, the waste legacy we leave to our descendants will be significantly curtailed.

Useful links:

The Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si2005/20050894.htm

The Environment Agency: https://www.environment-agency.gov.uk.

Waste Premises Registration:  https://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/apps/hazwaste/registrationwelcome.jsp.  

The Landfill Directive: http://europa.eu.int/

DEFRA: http://www.defra.gov.uk

WEEEDirective: http://www.dti.gov.uk/innovation/sustainability/weee/page30269.html.
London Fire Brigade:   
http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/fire_safety/at_work/at_work.asp.

By Bob Hilliard. Bob studied Forestry and Arboriculture prior to entering the laboratory industry by chance when offered a Glassblowing Craft Apprenticeship. He is a Director of a number of laboratory industry companies, and an advocate of “cradle-to-grave” laboratory supply to disposal. In his current position at Laboratory Equipment Ltd he feeds his passion for environmental issues seeking novel and creative, but cost effective, re-use and recycle routes for difficult laboratory waste.