What Are Chemical Waste Items?

There are various types of chemical waste that you may be using at your business or school. This covers substances such as acids, bases, solvents, oxidisers, and flammable or toxic chemicals, as well as industrial byproducts, laboratory reagents, and heavy metals.

Due to the nature of this hazardous waste, it is essential that you store and dispose of these waste items carefully and professionally.

If you do not have an effective waste management schedule in place, the chemicals may cause harm to human health and the environment. This could lead to pollution, harm to humans and habitats, and highly toxic emissions.

What Are Examples Of Chemical Waste?

A few examples of chemical hazardous wastes include cleaning products, oils, organic solvents, acids, paints, drugs/medicine and radioactive waste. If you are creating and storing any of these types of waste streams, you must follow the procedures and regulations which the government and environmental protection agency has shared. False handling may otherwise lead to serious safety issues along with fines. 

Benefits Of Partnering With A Chemical Waste Management Company To Remove The Waste

We produce 400 million tons of hazardous waste each year – almost 13 tons a second. Management of this waste type should be done by a specialist team with extensive knowledge and expertise. By having a team on hand to remove and dispose of this waste regularly, you can have peace of mind that the materials are safely transported to licensed treatment facilities.

If you are storing waste on site ready for collection, you should always make sure to clearly label materials, keep containers clean and have secure lids to avoid leaks and mixing of products.

You should also make sure to only use the correct container for the type of chemical waste being stored, this is as follows:

• Steel drums may be used for oils and organic solvents. These should never hold anything that is corrosive.
• Plastic bottles may be used for acids and alkalis. 
• Glass bottles may be used for most chemicals, apart from hydrofluoric acid waste.

Make sure that any container used has been designed to hold the waste you are producing. They should also be professionally cleaned if reused to ensure there is no residue of incompatible chemicals from other waste products.

Other Hazardous Waste Items

There are various other hazardous waste items that are listed besides chemicals. These include heavy metals and WEEE products, batteries, hazardous waste containers and ozone-depleting substances; all of these products should again be stored and disposed of safely.

Chemical Disposal Services

At Collect & Recycle, we specialise in hazardous and chemical waste disposal, and ensure all of the waste we collect is treated and recycled where appropriate.

If you are looking for a professional team to help you manage your waste streams, get in touch with our friendly team today by emailing recycle@collectandrecycle.com.