Recycling – hazardous and non-hazardous waste
The term “recycling” refers to the extraction of materials from waste and their reuse. It involves collecting, separating, processing, and creating new products from used materials or items.
Recycling plays a crucial role in reducing waste and forms the third component of the “reduce, reuse, recycle” waste management hierarchy. Its primary goal is environmental sustainability by replacing raw materials and diverting waste output from the economic system. Several ISO standards address recycling, such as ISO 15270:2008 for plastic waste and ISO 14001:2015 for environmental management, along with the new OK RECYCLE standard, which specifies the percentage of recycled content in products.
The outcome of recycling is a fresh supply of the same material, as seen in the case of metal cans that can be recycled indefinitely without loss of purity. Another type of recycling involves recovering valuable materials from complex products, such as lead from car batteries, either for their intrinsic value or due to their hazardous nature.
Depending on the health and environmental risks, waste is classified as:
- Inert Waste: Stable, non-reactive, and not biodegradable, posing minimal environmental risk.
- Non-Hazardous Waste: Lacks dangerous characteristics and poses no significant health risk.
- Hazardous Waste: Contains materials harmful to human health and the environment, requiring special handling to minimize risks.
Managing hazardous waste involves measures to reduce water, air, and soil pollution, protect flora and fauna, prevent accidents, explosions, or fires, and mitigate noise and unpleasant odors.
Waste movement is documented through a special Waste Transfer Document. The type of document depends on whether the waste is hazardous or non-hazardous. Waste is handed over to licensed operators authorized by governmental bodies (municipal offices, provincial secretariats, or ministries). These operators issue the official Waste Transfer Document upon receipt, confirming proper waste disposal.
Each party involved retains a copy of the transfer document to prevent misuse and protect the environment. The waste producer is responsible for all management costs until the next party takes ownership and receives the transfer document.