Envirowise wants rapid response to new waste regulation

London - While there are already regulations in place which compel firms to separate and treat hazardous waste1, since 30 Oct businesses must also treat their non-hazardous waste destined for landfill – which could include anything from food waste, paper and plastic, to bricks, wood and soil. The regulations represent the next step in the Europe-wide Landfill Directive2 and are likely to change the way businesses think about and handle waste on a daily basis.

According to Heather Cholerton, Envirowise programme delivery leader, the main objective is to encourage companies to consider options for elimination, minimisation, re-use, recycling and recovery of their wastes. Non hazardous wastes must now be treated in some way before being sent to landfill. Treatment can be as simple as collecting wastes in separate streams and arranging for the recycling of one or more of the separated components.

"Other treatment options include physical treatment, such as breaking down waste brick into aggregate and thermal treatments such as incineration or mechanical biological treatment (MBT) which involves processes such as composting or anaerobic digestion," said Cholerton. "It will be the responsibility of landfill operators in England and Wales to ensure that non-hazardous waste has been treated before accepting it for disposal.

“In the longer term we are hoping these new rules will encourage people not just to focus on the treatment stage, but to consider whether their waste needs to be generated at all. The more businesses can do to reduce the use of raw materials at the outset – the more resource efficient and cost-efficient their operations will be.”

Engineers could be eligible for a free FastTrack visit from an Envirowise advisor, who will work with companies on-site to help identify cost savings and put together a tailored resource efficiency action plan.