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Best Practices And Tips For Managing Chemical Waste In Your Business

7 December 2020

Tracy Graham

Does your business deal with chemical waste? Perhaps waste oil, flammable liquids, oil-based paints, stains, solvents, and other chemicals? Any chemical waste that is corrosive, explosive, toxic, or flammable requires proper handling and disposal. Failure to manage waste correctly can lead to severe health and environmental concerns. Thus, to protect workers, the public, and the environment, it's crucial to develop procedures for ensuring proper management of this waste. Below are some best practices you can follow.

Invest in Proper Disposal Solutions

Chemicals cannot be disposed of together with non-toxic waste. You cannot dump used paint containers and expired acid bottles into your regular dumpster or skip bin. In the US, businesses and households should dispose of harmful waste through local hazardous waste programs. Thus, you need to separate chemical waste from the rest of the garbage.

Invest in proper containers that can handle and hold chemical waste before disposal. The chosen container material should be compatible with the chemical. For example, when disposing of acids, don't use corrosive materials. Also, invest in multiple labeled containers for different chemicals as mixing some substances can lead to explosive reactions.

Designate a Waste Storage Area

Most local hazardous waste programs have set collection days. Therefore, you may have to store the waste within your facility as you wait for the collection day. If you don't have a designated storage area, you may expose your workers to harmful chemicals. Fatal accidents can occur due to improper handling. Therefore, create a designated, access-controlled area for chemical waste.

The storage area should be within your premises to prevent exposure of the public to the waste. Also, limit access to authorized personnel. All authorized persons should receive proper training on how to handle and dispose of chemical waste. They should also have personal protective equipment such as safety goggles, nose masks, splash guards, coveralls, and chemical-resistant boots. These prevent bodily injury during an accidental spill or splash.

Consider Waste Recycling

When you dispose of chemical waste, some of it ends up in landfills and pollutes the environment. As part of your sustainability efforts, you can incorporate waste recycling into your management plan. Recycling chemical waste reduces the amounts of chemicals that end up in the landfills and pollutes the soil and air. For example, you can refine and reuse waste oils and lubricants for your equipment and machinery. If you don't have a recycling program in your facility, partner with a hazardous waste recycling firm to manage the chemical waste properly.

Chemical waste poses a danger to both humans and the environment. Thus, there's a need to employ the above handling and disposal measures. Talk to an expert if you need help creating a hazardous waste management plan for your business.

For more information, contact a hazardous waste management service today.

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About Me

The electricity you use to turn on your lights, power your air conditioner, and charge your smartphone is generated by a power plant. But where does the power plant get the energy? That depends on the plant, but in most cases, the energy is derived from some component of the planet earth. Biomass power plants burn physical energy sources like wood or coal to generate heat, which can then be converted to electricity. Hydroelectric power plants rely on waterfalls or rushing streams to convert kinetic energy into electricity. But really, both forms of energy come from the same place: the earth. We are thankful for the earth's production of energy, and we have dedicated this website to readers who share our passion for energy and the environment.