Will revolution bring chaos?

Abstract

A waste revolution, potentially greater in impact than the changes in clinical waste disposal practices in the 1990s, is just over the horizon. There are many new initiatives and regulations relating to waste, its production, recycling and disposal. This article focuses on hazardous waste, a new category of waste with a much broader scope than the current special waste category. The volume of waste to be categorised as hazardous is expected to triple. One of the major reasons for change has occurred due to a long-running battle between the UK and other EU members about whether co-disposal of inert, biodegradable and hazardous waste in landfill sites is environmentally acceptable. The UK argued that co-disposal was acceptable but lost the argument. Consequently from July 2004 the EU Landfill Directive banning co-disposal will come into effect. According to the Government, this will mean that only 14 of the 182 commercial landfills that currently accept hazardous waste will continue to do so after July 2004. The expectation is that hazardous waste, such as electronic equipment, will require pre-treatment before landfilling. Meanwhile the landfill tax is expected to rise from 13 Pounds per tonne in 2002-03 to approximately 35 Pounds per tonne by 2007. In the near future, more waste will be classified as hazardous, it will cost much more to dispose of, waste management practices will need to change and the risk of breaking the law will increase. This article explains the actions that should be considered now to avoid chaos as the revolution takes place.