HSE People - Health and Safety Community

Folks,

Does anyone know if containers that once held a hazardous substance (a corrosive for example) can, at any point be disposed of as per general waste rather that hazardous waste. Does it involve rinsing? Or is a low percentage of residual substance still allowed to be in the container? Right now, we're disposing of a s***tload of 25ltr containers as hazardous waste as they did contain a corrosive. I have looked on the SEPA website but cannot see any guidance on this at all! Am I just looking in the wrong place?

Thanks in advance,


Chris

Chris

Depends - doesn't it always. If for example your corrosive substance is Sodium Hydroxide the corrosive property is directly related to its pH and this can be readilty diluted away to non-corrosive levels.

So in this case if you rinsed and tested (pH paper) and got a pH of less than 9 you would probably be OK

But it very much depends on the substance and of course you then have contaminated washings to deal with.

Regards

Richard

A quick google found this site - http://www.chemicaldrums.com/ - a company in Manchester that cleans and recycles used chemcial containers above 25 litres in size. Maybe a more economic service.

Richard,

Thanks for your speedy response. Yeah, I did think it would depend on the substance and its classification. Speaking with SEPA they said that this issue should be brough up with our Licenced waste contractor as they may have guidance of perameters for residual waste. Should I find anything else, I will keep you updated. Good find on the www.chemicaldrums.com. Hopefully others will find this useful while surfing through the topic.


Cheers,

Chris.

Chris (or should it be Your Stigness?) SEPA's response is bizarre. They are the Licencing Authority & enforcement agency for the implementation of the EPA in Scotland they must issue guidance on what constitutes special waste and asking your waste contractor is asking a poacher to turn gamekeeper. Regards Richard

Chris

SEPA publsih a document - Hazardous Waste - Technical Guidance WM2 - that appears to provide the information that you need to undertake a hazard assessment of your waste. I have skim read it and there is a very pertinent section in Appendix C4 (p83). As alluded to in my earlier posting, pH is the most significant property in assessing corrosiveness, and this may provide you with a simple method of making your containers non-hazardous.

regards

Richard