Q1: Who is responsible for disposing of my business waste?
Q2: How can I find out if any of the waste my business generates is hazardous? If it is hazardous, what do I have to do?
Q3: Some of the waste I produce contains meat, bones and other animal products. How should I handle and dispose of it?
Q4: Can my food waste be spread on land or fed to farm animals?
Q5: How should I handle waste packaging from raw meat or meat, bones and other animal by-products?
Q6: Do regulations relating to packaging waste apply to businesses of all sizes?
Q7: Does my waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) have to be taken back for free by the supplier of new equipment?
Q8: Do I need to pre-treat my waste before it is landfilled? What does this mean and what do I need to do?
Q9: How should I dispose of liquid wastes?
Q10: How can I find waste contractors willing to collect my segregated waste for recycling?
Q11: Can I pour cleaning chemicals down the drain?
Q12: Can I dispose of waste food products to sewer?
Q13: What should I be doing to prevent a pollution incident occurring if there is a spill on my site?
Q14: What do I need to do when storing oils and solvents?
Q15: What do I need to do to manage emissions from vents and stacks on my site?
Q16: What qualifications are needed to handle refrigerant gases?
Q17: What can I do to reduce the energy my business uses?
Q18: What is the Carbon Reduction Commitment? Does it affect me?
Q19: Which environmental labels should I be using on my products?
Q20: My business handles chemicals. What do I need to do to comply with the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) Regulations?
Q21: Which are the main organisations that can give me advice and help to deal with environmental issues?
Q22: What is a ‘carbon footprint’? How can I calculate the carbon footprint of my business or product?
Q1: Who is responsible for disposing of my business waste?
As a business, you have a duty to ensure that any waste you produce is handled safely and within the law. This is your ‘duty of care’.
You must check that anyone you pass your waste on to is authorised to take it. If you don’t check that they are authorised to take your waste and it is illegally disposed of, eg fly-tipped, you could be held responsible.
You can search for contractors who can take all or some of your waste using the Waste Directory.
Waste Directory: Find your nearest waste site
You must complete a waste transfer note (WTN) when you pass your waste to someone else. The WTN must contain enough information about the waste so that anyone coming into contact with it can handle it safely, and either dispose of it or allow it to be recovered without harming the environment or human health. You must keep a copy of the WTN for at least two years.
Further information
Your waste responsibilities
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Q2: How can I find out if any of the waste my business generates is hazardous? If it is hazardous, what do I have to do?
Hazardous/special waste is waste that may be harmful to human health or the environment. Examples of hazardous/special waste include:
- asbestos
- chemical wastes
- electrical equipment containing hazardous components such as cathode ray tubes
- fluorescent light tubes
- lead-acid batteries
- waste oil or oil-contaminated wastes
- pesticides
- solvents.
You can find out if your waste is hazardous using the European waste catalogue (EWC), which contains a list of all types of waste. Each waste type is given a six-digit code. Waste that is or may be hazardous (depending on concentrations of hazardous substances) is identified in the EWC with an asterisk (*).
As with other waste, you have a duty to ensure that any hazardous waste you produce is handled safely and within the law. This is your duty of care. When you pass hazardous/special waste to someone else you need to complete a consignment note that contains information about the waste, so that anyone coming into contact with it, can handle it safely, and either dispose of it or allow it to be recovered without harming the environment or human health. You must keep a copy of the consignment note for at least three years.
In England and Wales you must register with the Environment Agency if you produce hazardous waste on your premises. Further information about registering as a hazardous waste producer can be found on the Environment Agency website.
In Northern Ireland and Scotland you must pre-notify your environmental regulator at least three working days before moving hazardous/special waste.
Further information
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Q3: Some of the waste I produce contains meat, bones and other animal products. How should I handle and dispose of it?
Waste meat, bones and other animal products must be treated in a rendering, incineration, biogas or composting plant that is authorised to take animal by-products.
All movements of animal by-products, except manure, must be accompanied by a commercial document, also known as a delivery note or consignment note. This document must include details about the material and where it is being transported to.
It is important to ensure that cross contamination does not take place before disposal. Store all animal by-product waste safely and separately from other wastes. Clearly label all containers containing animal by-product waste.
Further information
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Q4: Can my food waste be spread on land or fed to farm animals?
You must not spread the following food waste on land or feed it to farm animals:
- any waste food of animal origin
- catering waste, including waste foods and cooking oils from kitchens, catering facilities and restaurants
- waste foods that may have been in contact with meat, bones or other animal by-products.
Food waste other than what is listed above may be spread on land.
If you want to spread waste food on land, you must obtain an exemption from environmental permitting (England and Wales) or waste management licensing (Northern Ireland and Scotland). You must demonstrate that there is no danger to human health or the environment and that the landspreading provides agricultural or ecological benefit.
Further information
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Q5: How should I handle waste packaging from raw meat or meat, bones and other animal by-products?
Provided that the packaging is completely empty and reasonably clean, you can dispose of it in the same way as your normal packaging.
Packaging that still contains animal products, or is heavily contaminated, is not permitted in landfill and must be disposed of by a means that is appropriate for animal by-product waste, such as incineration.
Further information about disposal of animal by-products is included in Question 3.
Q3: Some of the waste I produce contains meat, bones and other animal products. How should I handle and dispose of it?
If you are in any doubt, discuss this with your waste collection contractor.
Further information
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Q6: Do regulations relating to packaging waste apply to businesses of all sizes?
Any business of any size that produces packed products, or places packaging or packaged goods on the market, must comply with the Packaging Essential Requirements Regulations. These regulations require you to:
- minimise the packaging used
- ensure packaging can be reused or recycled
- ensure packaging does not contain significant levels of certain heavy metals.
The Packaging Producer Responsibility Regulations require that businesses finance the recovery and recycling of specified amounts of packaging waste each year. You must comply with these regulations if your business, or group of businesses produces, uses or handles packaging or packaging materials and:
- handles more than 50 tonnes of packaging in a year, and
- has an annual turnover of more than £2 million.
Further information
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Q7: Does my waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) have to be taken back for free by the manufacturer or supplier of new equipment?
Your business can return waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) free of charge to the manufacturer of the equipment if it was sold to you new after 13 August 2005.
If you are replacing WEEE produced before 13 August 2005 with new equivalent EEE, you can return the WEEE free of charge to the manufacturer of your new equipment.
If you rent or lease EEE you can return WEEE free of charge to your equipment supplier.
You must arrange and pay for the transfer of WEEE to an approved authorised treatment facility if you:
- are discarding EEE which was purchased before 13 August 2005 (known as historic WEEE), and are not replacing it with equivalent EEE
- cannot trace the producer or its compliance scheme
- negotiate an alternative arrangement with your supplier.
Further information
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Q8: Do I need to pre-treat my waste before it is landfilled? What does this mean and what do I need to do?
As a business you need to ensure that all of your waste is treated before sending it to landfill.
You can either:
- Treat waste yourself.
- Ensure that a later holder of the waste will treat it before it is landfilled. You may choose to pay a waste management company for this service.
Treatment is defined as a physical, thermal, chemical or biological process, which changes the characteristics of the waste. The characteristics may be changed by:
- reducing the volume of the waste
- reducing the hazardous nature of the waste
- making handling or recovery easier.
Examples of treatment include:
- collecting waste streams separately to recycle one or more of the separated components
- biological treatment such as composting or anaerobic digestion
- thermal treatment such as incineration.
Compaction is not considered a treatment since, for example, a squashed cardboard box has the same potential for impact on health or the environment as the original box. However, sorting your waste streams to enable one or more components to be separately recycled is considered a treatment.
Further information
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Q9: How should I dispose of liquid wastes?
All liquid wastes are banned from landfill.
Liquid waste is:
- any waste that immediately flows into a space made in the surface of the waste
- any waste load containing more than 250 litres of free draining liquid substance, or 10% of the load volume, whichever is the lesser amount.
The Environment Agency has produced guidance on diverting liquid waste from landfill. This will help you to identify alternative ways of dealing with liquid waste, such as landspreading or anaerobic digestion. This guidance is also applicable to Northern Ireland.
For guidance on disposing of cooking oil, see Question 12.
Q12: Can I dispose of waste food products to sewer?
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Q10: How can I find waste contractors willing to collect my segregated waste for recycling?
You can search for contractors able to take all or some of your waste using the Waste Directory.
The following websites also provide a search facility for contractors who recycle specific materials:
Further information
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Q11: Can I pour cleaning chemicals down the drain?
You must hold a trade effluent consent or have a trade effluent agreement with your local water company or water authority in order to legally discharge any liquid produced from a trade or industrial activity to the sewer.
Your trade effluent consent or trade effluent agreement will describe the nature of the liquids that you are permitted to discharge to foul sewer. You must ensure that you comply with the conditions of this consent or agreement. Your consent or agreement will specify a pH limit which may mean that you have to pre-treat your effluent to reduce the pH before it can be discharged to the sewer. Your local water company or water authority will be able to provide further advice.
Further information
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Q12: Can I dispose of waste food products to sewer?
As a food and drink processing business you must hold a trade effluent consent or have a trade effluent agreement with your local water company or water authority in order to legally discharge any liquid, including any food products, to the sewer. Your trade effluent consent or agreement will contain details of limits for specific substances. You must ensure that you comply with the conditions of this consent or agreement. If you pollute water you are committing an offence.
You must never dispose of oils, including animal or vegetable oils and fats and cooking oils, to a surface water drain, or to a foul sewer.
Water UK has produced a useful publication on disposal of fats and oils.
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Q13: What should I be doing to prevent a pollution incident occurring if there is a spill on my site?
Food and drink manufacturing sites have the potential to cause significant environmental harm as a result of spills.
Spills of chemicals and oils are obvious threats. However, materials that are non-hazardous to humans, such as food products, can also cause pollution and potentially harm the environment. For example, a spill of milk into a watercourse could kill fish and other aquatic life. Naturally occurring bacteria in the water use the food to multiply, which removes oxygen from the water. Without oxygen the fish and small insects in the watercourses cannot survive.
You can often prevent pollution incidents by using appropriate pollution prevention measures, such as:
- Ensure storage tanks and vessels are in good condition and are protected from accidental damage.
- Provide secondary containment systems such as bunds for storage tanks. A bund is an impermeable wall or barrier and base that surrounds the tank so as to hold the contents of the tank in the event of a leak.
- Supervise deliveries of raw materials to your site.
- Ensure that pressure relief systems are in place for delivery of materials such as powders under pressure.
You can often avoid a spill becoming a pollution incident by using effective incident response strategies, such as:
- Have a pollution incident response procedure for dealing with spills. Make sure that all staff know what to do in the event of a spill. This includes notifying relevant regulatory authorities.
- Ensure that absorbent materials are available for use in the event of a spill. Ensure these are suitable for the type and quantity of materials you use and that they are located close to your storage areas.
- Have an up-to-date drainage plan so you know where your drains connect to (sewer or surface waters).
Further information
The following pollution prevention guidelines (PPG) provide further guidance:
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Q14: What do I need to do when storing oils and solvents?
Oil
There are regulations in the UK that specify how you must store oil to prevent pollution. If you pollute water you are committing an offence. For more information see the NetRegs food and drink guidance on oil and chemical storage.
Solvents
Organic solvents can cause significant air pollution, land contamination and water pollution. You must store and handle liquid solvents safely and control vapours to protect the health and safety of your workforce, and the wider environment. See the NetRegs guidance on handling and storing solvents for more information.
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Q15: What do I need to do to manage emissions from vents and stacks on my site?
Local councils can restrict or stop activities which cause a dust or odour nuisance to neighbours.
You should take steps to minimise such emissions and keep records of any complaints and subsequent investigations and corrective actions.
If a dust or odour nuisance problem does occur, your local council may serve you with an abatement notice, which may require you to take specific measures to stop the nuisance occurring. It may also contain conditions to ensure that a nuisance does not occur in the future.
If your food and drink processing capacity exceeds a certain threshold you will also require an environmental permit (England and Wales) or a pollution prevention and control permit (PPC) (Northern Ireland and Scotland).This may include controls on emissions to air.
Emissions to air are regulated by your local council or your environmental regulator.
Further information
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Q16: What qualifications are needed to handle refrigerant gases?
You must ensure that any person working with refrigerant gases that deplete the ozone layer or refrigerant gases that have global warming potential (fluorinated gases) holds a current valid certificate of competence. This includes all employees or contractors you employ to maintain your refrigeration or air conditioning systems.
A valid certificate of competence, for handling either ozone depleting refrigerants or fluorinated refrigerants, may be obtained from either:
- City & Guilds 2078 Handling Refrigerants Assessment
- Construction Industry Training Board Safe Handling of Refrigerants - reference 206710.
Further information
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Q17: What can I do to reduce the energy my business uses?
Food and drink processing can be energy-intensive. Therefore, taking steps towards improving energy efficiency could reduce your overall running costs and increase your competitiveness, as well as reduce your global warming impact.
There are many practical measures you can take to improve your energy efficiency. For example:
- Reduce the temperature in your buildings by 1°C to cut your heating bills by as much as 10%.
- Use energy-efficient lighting and appropriate controls. For example infra-red occupancy sensors that detect people in the work area, and photo-cells that detect high ambient light levels.
- Use variable speed drives on motors that do not have a constant load, such as on air handling fans and conveyors, to reduce power use when not required.
- Ensure that non-essential heating, lighting and equipment is turned off when not required, eg outside working hours. This can be done by using timers and ‘interlocks’ that only allow equipment to work when necessary.
- Minimise your use of air-conditioning by using mechanical ventilation such as fans or natural ventilation. Air-conditioned buildings use about twice as much energy as naturally ventilated buildings.
- Improve insulation in the building and in particular on heated vessels and pipework.
- Carry out an energy use survey.
The Carbon Trust offers free energy efficiency guidance and produces free publications, including:
- guidance on getting started with energy management
- self-assessment guides to examine your progress in energy efficiency
- energy consumption guides providing benchmarks and comparisons with other businesses
- fact sheets, good practice guides and case studies
- videos, posters and leaflets to help you spread the word and train your staff.
More information is available from the Carbon Trust website.
If your business spends more than £50,000 each year on energy, you can apply for a free site energy survey to identify potential energy saving measures. Call the free helpline on 0800 085 2005.
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Q18: What is the Carbon Reduction Commitment? Does it affect me?
The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) is a new scheme that will affect primarily large non-energy intensive businesses and the public sector.
You will be covered by the scheme if your annual electricity consumption, through half hourly meters, is greater than 6,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2008.
If you qualify for the scheme you will need to register with your environmental regulator. You will need to comply with the mandatory emissions trading scheme, which will cover all your organisation’s energy use emissions from all sources except transport. You will have to report annually.
The scheme will begin on 1 January 2010.
Further information
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Q19: Which environmental labels should I be using on my products?
There are currently no legally required environmental labels for food products. However, there are several voluntary certification schemes relevant to the food sector, including organic certification, Marine Stewardship Council and Linking Environment and Farming (Leaf) Marque. These schemes allow products to be labelled once specific standards have been achieved.
Additionally, the Mobius loop recycling logo can be used free of charge on goods, for example packaging, which is recyclable or contains recycled material. The specific requirements regarding the use of the Mobius loop are outlined in more detail in ISO standard ISO7000, symbol number 1135.
Highlighting your green credentials using environmental labels can be an effective marketing tool.
Further information
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Q20: My business handles chemicals. What do I need to do to comply with the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) Regulations?
If you manufacture, import, sell or use chemical substances you must comply with the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) Regulations. All chemical substances produced or imported into the EU in quantities above one tonne per year are covered by these regulations, unless an exemption applies to them.
It is important to make sure that you identify your obligations under REACH (if any), and take the steps necessary to comply. You need to speak to your chemical suppliers to ensure they are aware of their obligations and are carrying out the necessary tasks for chemicals used by your business.
Further information
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Q21: Which are the main organisations that can give me advice and help to deal with environmental issues?
There are many organisations across the UK that can provide you with information, help and support on environmental issues.
- The Environment Agency is the leading public body for protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales.
- The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) is the leading public body for protecting and improving the environment in Scotland.
- The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is the leading public body for protecting and improving the environment in Northern Ireland.
- Your local council is able to assist with a number of local environmental issues including planning, permits for some installations and dealing with nuisance issues.
- The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in England.
- The Scottish Government provides information on environment issues in Scotland.
- The Welsh Assembly Government provides information on creating a sustainable environment in Wales.
- Envirowise provides free, confidential advice to UK businesses on waste minimisation and reducing environmental impacts, including a free helpline and various self-help events, publications and tools.
- The Carbon Trust helps business and the public sector cut carbon emissions, and supports the development of low carbon technologies. Various guidance is available and in some cases site visits.
- The Energy Saving Trust promotes the use of cleaner fuels, better insulation and heating efficiency for buildings and small-scale renewable energy, such as solar and wind power. It also offers advice on improving the efficiency of van and car fleets.
- The National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) brings together businesses from different industries to improve resource efficiency by exchanging materials, energy and water and sharing assets, logistics and expertise.
Further information
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Q22: What is a ‘carbon footprint’? How can I calculate the carbon footprint of my business or product?
A carbon footprint is a measurement of the total greenhouse gas emissions directly or indirectly caused by an organisation, an individual, an event or a product.
Your basic carbon footprint covers direct emissions of greenhouse gases, such as on-site use of electricity and fuel, and travel and transport.
A full carbon footprint covers the same direct measurements as the basic footprint, but also includes the indirect emissions from factors such as the manufacture and transport of your raw materials. This allows a more detailed approach, which includes defining the methodology, specifying and reporting the ‘boundary’ of the measurement, and collecting the necessary data.
You can calculate your carbon footprint and obtain further information by visiting the Carbon Trust website.
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