The waste hierarchy is a priority order for managing waste, ranked by what is best for the environment. It runs from prevention at the top, through preparing for re-use, recycling and other recovery, to disposal at the bottom. The waste hierarchy applies to hazardous waste as well as everyday waste, and Defra has published specific guidance on how it works for hazardous materials. This article explains the five steps, the legal duty behind them and how the hierarchy applies to hazardous waste. It is written for businesses that produce or handle hazardous waste.
What is the waste hierarchy?
Defra's guidance on applying the waste hierarchy to hazardous waste describes the hierarchy as a ranking of waste management options according to what is best for the environment. Top priority goes to preventing waste in the first place. When waste is created, priority goes to preparing it for re-use, then recycling, then recovery, and last of all disposal.
The duty comes from the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011, which implement the revised Waste Framework Directive. Regulation 12 sets out the waste hierarchy duty.
The five steps
The steps, in order, are:
- prevention
- preparing for re-use
- recycling
- other recovery, for example energy recovery
- disposal
The definitions of each step come from the Waste Framework Directive.
Prevention
Prevention covers measures taken before something becomes waste. It includes reducing the quantity of waste, reducing its impact on the environment and human health, and reducing the content of harmful substances in materials and products.
For hazardous waste, this last point is especially relevant. The guidance asks whether a process or raw material can be changed to produce no waste, no hazardous waste or a waste with a lower hazard. One example it gives is using an aqueous degreaser instead of a solvent-based one.
Preparing for re-use and recycling
Preparing for re-use means checking, cleaning or repairing products or components that have become waste, so they can be used again without other processing. Recycling means reprocessing waste into products, materials or substances, whether for their original purpose or another one.
Recycling does not include energy recovery, or reprocessing into materials that will be used as fuels or for backfilling.
Other recovery and disposal
Other recovery covers operations where waste serves a useful purpose by replacing other materials. Energy recovery is the main example, and processing waste into fuels can also fall here.
Disposal is any operation that is not recovery. Landfill is considered the least desirable option, and most hazardous waste sent to landfill requires treatment first.
Who the duty applies to
The duty applies to anyone in England and Wales who produces hazardous waste, or who holds, carries, keeps, treats or imports it, as well as dealers and brokers who control it.
These businesses must take all reasonable measures to prevent waste, and apply the hierarchy as a priority order when waste is transferred to another person. The same principle runs through the waste Duty of Care. The government's guidance on managing your waste says businesses must do everything they reasonably can to prevent, reuse, recycle or recover waste, in that order.
The declaration on consignment notes
The waste hierarchy appears on the paperwork itself. Hazardous waste consignment notes include a declaration confirming that the duty has been met: "I confirm that I have fulfilled my duty to apply the waste hierarchy as required by regulation 12 of the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011."
The duties are set out in the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 and Schedule 4 of the amended Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005. Keeping a record of decisions based on the hierarchy is described as best practice, as the regulator may ask for a justification.
When a lower option can be chosen
The hierarchy is a priority order, not a rigid rule. The highest option must be chosen wherever possible, but certain impact considerations must also be taken into account:
- the general environmental protection principles of precaution and sustainability
- technical feasibility and economic viability
- protection of resources
- the overall environmental, human health, economic and social impacts
Under regulation 12(2), a business may depart from the priority order to achieve the best overall environmental outcome, where this is justified by life-cycle thinking. Any departure must be based on the impact considerations and must be justifiable. A lack of available infrastructure is one example of an option not being technically feasible.
Worked examples for common waste streams
Defra's hazardous waste guidance includes decision trees and worked examples for several common hazardous waste streams, including:
- oily sludges
- organic solvents
- mineral oils, fuels and recoverable lubricating oils
- metal finishing acids
- hazardous electrical and electronic equipment
- asbestos
Each example looks at which options in the hierarchy are typically available for that type of waste. Hazardous healthcare waste is not covered, as the Department of Health publishes separate guidance.
How the hierarchy fits with classification
The hierarchy works alongside the other hazardous waste duties rather than replacing them. A waste still needs to be classified before it is collected, and the classification affects which options are available.
Many of the waste streams we collect are among these examples, including those handled through our oil disposal, solvent disposal and ibc recycling services. Where it is unclear how the hierarchy applies to a particular waste stream, speak to our team.
Speak to our team
To discuss your waste, contact our team on 0845 366 9306 or email enquire@hazardousdisposal.co.uk.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute professional, legal or chemical advice. Waste producers are legally responsible for correctly classifying their waste. For guidance on your specific waste, please contact our team.