Waste management is probably not the most attractive of areas when it comes
to operating a business. However, it is one of the areas where there can be
serious repercussions if you decide to dabble in waste disposal yourself or
if you choose to use an unregistered company to help you.
Remaining compliant
Help is at hand in the form of OSS Group. A specialist in waste management procedures
and waste handling, OSS Group can help businesses remain compliant with its
newly developed environmental audits. These give customers the opportunity for
OSS to visit their sites and conduct an in-depth audit into the waste management
operation.
“The reason we launched our environmental audits,” commented Grant
Lockie from OSS Group, “is that very few companies actually understand
the legal implications of the legislation and do not realise that they could
be breaking the law with their current practices. By conducting the audit, we
provide the information that the customer requires in order to make an informed
decision on the future of the waste handling procedures.”
The audits look at the types of waste the customer produces, how the waste
is stored and disposed of, whether the right containers are on-site for waste
storage, whether waste is being disposed of in the correct manner and whether
copies of the Environment Agency paperwork is being kept.
In many cases site security and access to the site can pose problems for collection
and many industrial sites do not have designated areas for storing waste for
collection, which can present health and safety problems. OSS Group can then
take the results of the audits and use this to work out the best method of waste
management and collection for any given customer.
“No two audits are the same,” said Lockie, “but we frequently
find there are no personnel dedicated to managing the waste of an industrial
site, which means some companies are not familiar with various legislation and
regulations. It is vital that these companies are aware of Environment Agency
requirements and we can provide information about this as well as offer advice
on how they can facilitate the waste management and collection process.”
All too often customers are not aware of all the waste streams that the Special
Waste Regulations cover. It is not unusual to find that customers are concentrating
on one area of waste such as waste oil, but forgetting about related items such
as oily rags and absorbent granules. The environmental audits are designed to
pick up on these areas in order for new procedures to be put in place to meet
existing legislation.
Managing waste streams
“There are many companies currently working towards ISO14001 and, as part
of this, they have to dispose of waste that has been on site for a long period
of time. The Environmental Audit can identify problem areas and work with the
customer to provide a solution,” said Lockie, “On many of the larger
industrial sites we deal with, one of the main problems is in keeping track
of the waste streams across the company. We can help to ensure the entire site
is managing waste streams properly and set up standard procedures that can be
followed throughout the site.”
One area where new legislation is likely to have a significant impact is on
segregation of waste streams. Currently awareness amongst employees is not always
seen as a key issue. When the new legislation comes into force it will be vital
for employees to understand what waste is put where. Different types of waste
will need to be segregated to ensure waste disposal costs are kept to a minimum.
“There could be a time in the not too distant future where a premium charge
is made for removal of non-segregated waste,” commented Grant Lockie, “By
conducting an environmental audit we are giving our customers the chance to
identify the problem areas in their waste management practices and help to put
them right before the Environment Agency spots them.”
© Faversham House Ltd 2023 edie news articles may be copied or forwarded for individual use only. No other reproduction or distribution is permitted without prior written consent.
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