Hazardous Waste Are we nearly there yet

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Hazardous Waste-Are we nearly there yet?
CIWM 2006

• Roy Watkinson
• Environment Agency

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Contents

• is it all sorted?
• if not, why not?
• what next ?
• changing times developing regulation
• current impacts
• hazardous waste in 2010
• the response

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Changing times - Hazardous Waste, international
evolution

• 1978 - Directive 78/319/EEC on Toxic and
  Dangerous Waste
• 1983-89 OECD Decisions on hazardous waste
• 1984 - Directive 84/631/EEC on Transfrontier
  Shipment of Waste
• 1989 - Basel Convention on the Transboundary
  Movement of Hazardous and other Wastes and their
  Disposal
• 1991 - Directive 91/689/EEC on Hazardous Waste
• 1992 - OECD Decision C92 (39) Final on the
  Control of Wastes Destined for Recovery
  Operations
• 1993 - Regulation 259/93/EEC on the Transboundary
  Movements of Waste (WSR)
• 2001 - OECD Decision revised C2001(109) Final
• 2006 - WSR Revised

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Changing times- Hazardous Waste, national
evolution

• 1972 - Deposit of Poisonous Waste Act
  (1st tier Local Authority regulation)
• 1980 Control of Pollution Act 1974 S.17 Special
  Waste Regulations Waste Management Paper 23
  (2nd tier Waste Disposal Authority
  regulation)
• 1996 Special Waste Regulations (as amended)
  (national Environment Agencies regulation WM1
• 2005 Hazardous Waste Regulations WM2

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Guided by

• 1981 WMP 23 - Special Waste
• 1996 - WM1 - Special Waste
• 2003 - WM2 - Hazardous Waste
• 2005 - WM2 - Hazardous Waste (revised)

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Changing regulations - impact on complexity
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- impact on amountA Growing Challenge 2004
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Total special waste 2000 to 2005
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Landfill 2004 to 2005 by month
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HWR 2005- key issues and implications

• emphasis shifted towards inclusion of
  environmental hazards as well as human health
  hazards
• Mirror entries need to be assessed against all
  fourteen hazardous properties
• possible need for testing
• therefore more wastes will be covered by the
  ecotoxicity property (H14)

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Newly Hazardous - changed status waste

• Examples
• Agricultural
• Waste Electrical/Electronic Equipment
• End of Life Vehicles
• Batteries
• Separately collected domestic fractions

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Move From Special to Hazardous

• In 2002
• 200,000 producers of special waste
• 90,000 active producers
• 500,000 shipments per year
• 6.1 million tonnes of special waste dealt with in
  England Wales in 2000
• on implementation of new list expected
• 1.5 million shipments per year
• increase to c.600,000 producers of hazardous
  waste (plus farmers)

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Registered Producers

• original estimate c.110,000 registration in first
  year
• initial peak of 33,000 at the outset.
• estimate exceeded by August - 145,000 registered
• still registering around 3000 new sites per week.
• total to end of March 06 228,305

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Top three registering -Hazardous Waste producers
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Whats next- agenda drivers

• Who is setting it? Who is in control? Is there
  any?
• civil society- public opinion NGOs
• scientific - technical progress
• institutional -the Basel Convention, the European
  Commission
• political - developing countries
• regulatory
• All interact

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Hazardous Waste in 2010

• Reasons for change
• Rationality and rationalisation BaselHWD
• proportionality
• two-tier distinction still tenable?
• Inconsistencies of a borrowed regime
• hazardous versus polluting
• acute vs chronic
• environment vs man
• management vs intrinsic property possession

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More changeHazardous Waste in 2010

• Reasons why not
• no major drivers
• tried and tested
• stability and certainty
• cost to business and regulator
• inertia
• Cost-benefit analysis of change?

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Hazardous Waste in 2010

• what could be affected
• mixed substance /process list
• hazard characteristics
• Chapter 20 Domestic
• anything ecotoxic
• ashes

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Whats next- opportunities

• Opportunities for changing scope
• Hazardous Waste/Framework Directive review
• Household Hazardous Waste
• Waste Shipments Regulation
• Basel Convention/OECD/Transport
• review of characteristics
• H9 - infectious
• H13 - yielding after disposal
• H14 - eco-toxic
• New characteristics ?

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Whats next- opportunities

• Opportunities for changing systems
• GHS/REACH/
• restricting substance use
• specifying or restricting treatment options
• EWL - adaptation/additional codes
• refinement of testing methods
• easing burdens?

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Summary

• Keep your eye on the ball!

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Its All Over Now Thank You