Master Hazardous Waste Disposal: A Complete Guide

These are mainly toxic to the living world and cannot be discarded in regular ways. Worry not – in this blog, we will discuss all the essentials about sustainable hazardous waste removal and guide you on obtaining the same. But before that, let's briefly overview what hazardous waste comprises!

Plasterboard
A prime component for construction, plasterboard consumes around 270 million of non-biodegradable waste in the UK annually. It is made of gypsum, containing calcium sulfate dihydrate. Although active recycling is possible, these materials emit harmful hydrogen sulphide gas.

Recycling: First, the gypsum must be removed to allow reuse of the remaining component parts. Then, it can be sold to professional upcycling industries. This minimises landfill overburdening and produces useful by-products.  
Disposing: If you have a small business, try to give plasterboards away to a local waste recycling centre. You can also hire a skip service for this. Not only does this boost green management, but it also improves the local economy. And guess the best part? Such services can be obtained on the very same day of booking!   
Asbestos
It is made of naturally occurring, thin, fibrous minerals. These can be easily made into a light, fluffy ball, often resisting high temperatures, electricity and corrosion. Although there may be many industrial benefits, it is extremely toxic to human health. If someone accidentally inhales or gulps down asbestos dust, the mineral fibres can result in internal inflammation and tissue scarring. Over time, it may initiate genetic mutations in the healthy body cells, causing cancers (for example, mesothelioma.). Some common materials that contain asbestos are corrosion-resistant wall coatings, cement derivatives, roofing agents, etc.

(Note: Before you start with a building project, ensure checking if there is any risk associated with asbestos. This will help in preparing for safety measures and advanced planning.)

Disposing: If you are a commercial business holder, ensure that you have licensed asbestos removal agents on your team to prevent contamination.  They employ sophisticated techniques so that your health is preserved along with nature. You can also hire skip services that only handle asbestos and transport it to a third-party firm for further recycling.
Other hazardous waste items
WEEE

It stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. As the name suggests, these wastes contain old and defunct electronic goods composed of complex circuits (for example, fridges, televisions, etc.). When these are left out in the open or dumped into landfills, the toxic substances leach into the soil, harming the natural resources. Let's take the instance of refrigerators. These contain coolants that are nothing but CFCs responsible for ozone layer damage. Besides, the plastic coatings and paints on their external surface also lead to potential environmental harm. For such hazardous waste removal, you can contact a van service to help you with transportation to a recycling centre.

Batteries

They contain lithium, a highly toxic component for the living world. Moreover, they cannot be disposed of into skips due to the risk of fire breakouts and explosions. For safe disposal, ensure you completely discharge the batteries and cover their terminals with tape (a non-conductive one). Doing so decreases the risk of thermal explosions and short circuits. Lastly, store them in a cool place devoid of moisture and away from fire sources until you discard them. You can hire a retail take-back programme or a local upcycling centre for battery disposal.

Pops

Persistent organic pollutants, or pops, are highly dangerous chemicals that degrade environmental quality and human health. Previously, these were used to manufacture upholstered household items like sofas, padded armchairs, dining seats, etc. Recent research has shown that they can result in adverse issues like cancer, a disrupted immune system, and reproductive ailments, to name a few. However, burning these pops before disposal can help inhibit obnoxious emissions.

Liquid waste

Harmful liquid components generally comprise paints and laboratory reagents. Household wastes like dishwashers and fabric-cleansing agents are also included. Because of obvious safety purposes, these are hard to discard. Thus, there is a need for effective and responsible disposal.  

Contaminated soil

Whether hazardous or non-hazardous, contaminated soil must be appropriately treated before discarding. Nowadays, many professional companies offer all-around take-away services for customers' convenience. The best part is that you can request same-day service, too!

Offensive waste

These typically include biomedical waste, sanitary napkins, wound dressings, and syringes. If improperly managed, offensive wastes can contaminate natural resources and infect living beings. When you hire a professional garbage clearance company, you can be assured that your waste will be in the correct hands. This is because trained waste handlers employ sophisticated equipment, such as PPE, while disposing.

Disposing Hazardous Waste: Five Easy Steps to Follow! 
Below is a step-by-step guide to successfully disposing of hazardous wastes.

Evaluating The Quantity of Wastes 

Taking time to plan and prepare is the key to obtaining an efficient disposal. First, assess the size of your waste dump and determine what components are present. If you own a business, ensure that the waste is evaluated without disrupting normal operations.

Segregating Hazardous Wastes from the Non-Hazardous Ones

This is a crucial step to follow before any hazardous waste disposal. Try not to mix up hazardous and non-hazardous waste, as this may sometimes prove illegal. Instead, maintain a separate storage space to avoid potential contamination, mishaps, and weather action. If you cannot do so, hire a professional rubbish removal company to ease your process. They employ advanced techniques and tools to categorise hazardous components from non-hazardous ones.   

Arranging Waste Disposal

This involves choosing a certified garbage collector among the many available. Take time to research the local companies and get comparative insights about the quality of services each offers. For example, whether they facilitate an environmental permit for collecting your waste, how timed their services are, how well their staff behaves, and so on. Most importantly, look out for professionalism and their sense of responsibility!

Filling in the Consignment Document

Being a client, you must sign down for every transported garbage load. Also, while filling up the form, you require two codes such as:

Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities
Waste Classification Code.
These labels contain a comprehensive description of the type of hazardous waste, along with the signature of respective client. Moreover, they are maintained until final disposal, without which loads can get cancelled.  

Recording Waste Movement
After completing the disposal process, it is crucial to keep the documents and transportation records for at least three years. You will need to follow the guidelines for discarding bulky and smaller hazards, such as empty paint cans, car batteries, defunct air conditioners, etc. This process is useful for learning about waste storage tips and transportation permits.

Conclusion
Several professional garbage clearing firms in London offer cost-effective and punctual facilities for disposing of hazardous wastes. However, if you have urgency, you can request same day rubbish removal, too!