Covering Bristol, Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Most of Wiltshire
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Covering Bristol, Somerset, South Gloucestershire and most of Wiltshire En v ir o n m e n t 'W aW Ag en cy Waste Minimisation Contents W hat is waste minimisation? Page Waste minimisation is the 2 Waste Minimisation reduction of waste at source. It is 5 Environmental Auditing better to prevent waste being 6 The Environment Agency produced in the first place than to and Waste Minimisation treat it afterwards and prevention 8 Local Waste Minimisation is usually cheaper than cure! Initiatives 10 Local Waste Minimisation Waste minimisation can be Groups achieved by a variety of means, 11 What Next ? from redesign of products and 12 Practical Tips To Minimise processes to changes in working Waste practices. It can involve 14 Recycling Operators techniques such as: 22 Request For More Information 23 Useful Contacts • use of alternative raw materials; 23 Available Grants And Awards • solvent recovery; • recycling of by products; • modification to plant; • alternative use of waste products. Why minimise waste? The Government has set out a waste management hierarchy which puts the following in the preferred order for dealing with waste: • waste minimisation, • reuse, • recovery - recycling - composting - energy • disposal The waste strategy builds on the ideas for sustainable development. This means that the full environmental costs, should, as far as possible, be taken into account in any new development. The Government introduced a landfill tax on 1 October 1996 with the aim of putting pressure on waste 2 producers to minimise waste What are the benefits? arisings and divert waste for recycling and reuse. Waste minimisation can give your company a competitive edge and Businesses are also expected to many companies of all sizes are have higher environmental becoming increasingly aware of a standards and tighter restrictions sustained waste minimisation on traditional waste disposal programme because it does not routes have inevitably resulted in take long for evidence of financial higher waste disposal costs to 'payback'. It also reduces: companies. • production costs; Reasons why your company • on-site waste monitoring and should aim to minimise wastes: treatment costs; • raw materials costs; • it makes good economic sense • energy and water costs; by reduction in production • long term environmental costs and opening up new liability and insurance costs; markets; • the risk of spills and accidents. • The new landfill tax will inevitably lead to higher disposal costs and increase your overall production costs; • increasing stringent leglisation, eg, Integrated Pollution Control (IRC); • rising disposal costs; • possible fines and clean-up costs; • environmental performance, your record will be of increasing importance to investors, bankers and insurers and environmental issues are likely to be of growing interest to your workforce; • consumer demand for 'greener' products and a more responsible attitude towards .........and improves the environment from industry; • public access to environmental • overall operating efficiency; information is increasingly in • income through the sale of demand (IPC already facilitates recyclable wastes; public registers). • the safety of employees; • Producer Responsibility • the company's image in the Obligations (Packaging Waste) eyes of the shareholders, Regulations (due to be employees and the community. introduced in 1997) place an obligation on all companies UK Companies have already that handle 50 tonnes or more shown that waste minimisation of packaging materials per year does work and there are to recover and recycle set substantial benefits. percentages. ENVIRONMENT AGENCY 0 7 4 7 1 4 How to minimise waste! systematic, documented evaluation of how well There is no standard formula for organisations, management and reducing waste - each process is equipment are performing. The different. You can improve your aim of the audit is to safeguard overall efficiency just by avoiding the environment by: leaks and spills, by better materials handling, by closing ' • facilitating management internal material loops (recycling control of environmental acid streams, cleaning baths, practices; catalysts etc) as well as by • assessing compliance with redesigning processes and company policies, which would products. include meeting regulatory requirements and standards A key tool in the development of application. a waste minimisation strategy will be through a systematic audit of There are a number of different your waste generating and types of Environmental Audit handling activities. You should which include: aim to: Liabilities - Compliance, • identify the waste generated Health and examine where, how and and Safety and why it is being created; operational risk. • identify costs and allocate them Management - Corporate, Policy to those departments which and Issue generate them; Activities - Site, waste and • set waste reduction targets products. which are realistic and are compatible with the company's other targets; • identify opportunities for waste prevention, for materials reuse or recycling and seek markets for the waste produced; • make the workforce more aware of the need to reduce the waste generated by the company; • develop more monitoring systems. A waste minimisation audit will help you to identify the various options for minimising waste; options which can then be evaluated to assess the technical and economic impact on your company. The environmental audit can be a powerful management tool. Carried out periodically and objectively it provides a Environmental Auditing The benefits of environmental auditing. Environmental auditing will highlight any inadequacies in the use of raw materials and energy leading to major cost saving opportunities. It will also: • reduce financial liabilities; • increase employee awareness of environmental policies and responsibilities; • provide a benchmark for measuring environmental performance and documentary evidence of the success of minimisation initiatives; • improve familiarisation of relevant future legislations; 'Audit activities' should identify • improve neighbourhood and understand the management relation; control system, assess the control • improve customer relations. systems, verify them and evaluate the findings. Conducting an Post audit reports provide environmental audit. opportunities for improvement, a corrective action programme and The essential requirement for a follow-up activities which should successful audit is commitment include monitoring the action from the top and by effective plan, review environmental policy communication, and allocations of and develop a Corporate Strategy. appropriate resources and manpower. When carrying out the audit it may make sense to seek expert Whichever type of audit is help. The DTI/DOE may be able required it is usually conducted in to help with 2 hours free advice on: three phases: The Environmental Helpline 0800 • pre-audit activities; 585794, • activities at site; • post audit activities. or alternatively ring: 'Pre-audit activities' set out the The Somerset Waste Minimisation planning phase of conducting the Croup who may be able to help audit and at this stage sets out the or advise on professional objectives, schedules and selects 'Environmental Consultants' the site activities, selects the team working in Somerset. Contact and prepares the audit plan. North Wessex Area Waste: 01278 457333. The Environment Agency The Environment Agency allow for more accurate and waste minimisation assessments of the cost to industry of waste. The Environment Agency South West Region covers Cornwall, This will enable the Agency to be Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, better placed to encourage the South Gloucestershire and most of minimisation of industrial waste at Wiltshire. It is responsible for a source. wide range of activities to secure the environmental protection and The North Wessex Area improvement of water, land and and waste minimisation air. The North Wessex Area is The South West is one of the committed to waste minimisation. eight Environment Agency It aims to develop and promote regions in England and Wales and the use of best practical is subdivided into Areas (the technology for the economic North Wessex Area consisting of minimisation of all waste arisings Somerset, Bristol, South from businesses to secure Gloucestershire and most of environmental and financial Wiltshire). benefits. South West Region We will be seeking to: • develop techniques to accurately quantify the volume and cost of wastes generated. • use the above techniques to quantify the volume and costs of wastes generated by member companies. • discover and share information on the best practical techniques to minimise waste. • reduce the volumes of wastes through the use of waste minimisation techniques, thus The Agency is committed to producing environmental and playing a key role in achieving financial benefits. more sustainable waste management. Industry will be • disseminate information on encouraged, through surveys successful waste minimisation undertaken by the Environment techniques and the scale of the Agency, to establish systems for benefits produced. determining the amount of waste in each waste stream which will 6 The role of government all businesses that handle 50 tonnes or more of packaging The Government has set out a materials per year to recover and waste management hierarchy recycle a set percentage of which puts the following options packaging. Again, the aim is to into a preferred order for put pressure