The Environment Agency has celebrated a 60% fall in the amount of hazardous waste going to landfill, with further new enforcement policies on the horizon. Recent waste provisions, relating to landfill and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), are having a positive impact according to new figures released in December 2007.
The data has shown that 60% less hazardous waste was sent to landfill in 2006 than in 2004. The levels of recycling also increased over the same period, with 50% more potentially dangerous waste being recycled or reused. Martin Brocklehurst, head of external programmes at the Agency, said, "As new legislation like the Landfill and WEEE Regulations kick in, we're starting to see a shift in how we deal with hazardous waste. Business and industry are adapting to the change."
The research was however less clear as to whether or not manufacturers were successfully removing hazardous waste from their products, noting that while the amount of waste classified as hazardous rose by 12% between 2004 and 2006, this was partly because of changes in the rules on such waste. It also found that the key business sector such as the oil and solvents industry produced less hazardous waste over the period.
The findings came as the Agency hinted they would be stepping up their policing of producers and handlers of hazardous waste. They are currently revising their guidance and enforcement priorities to put the onus on producers to make sure their outputs are properly classified and treated. They are also focussing their efforts on those firms guilty of mis-describing hazardous waste as well as ceasing all mixing of hazardous waste during treatment by June of this year.
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