Waste Stories 11/4/2016

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1. Joint Healthcare Waste and Resources Research Group and ISWA International conference (sponsored by Grundon Waste Management)

In conjunction with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), the Group will be hosting an international conference on April 14 and 15, 2016. It will be held at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

One of the speakers will be Alexandra Hammond. Alexandra has a range of public and private sector experience and, over the past six years, has led the development, implementation and continuous improvement of the award-winning sustainability programme at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

This strategic programme saves over £4m per annum through efficiencies such as combined heat and power, effective engagement of people, and strategic procurement, and Alexandra has been instrumental in the implementation of the Trust’s energy performance contract (EPC), which will save an additional £1.5m per annum.

Alexandra holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Policy from Edinburgh University, she graduated with honours from Boston College in the USA, and has previously worked for an international hotel group as their lead environmental advisor for the UK.  She is a board member of the Energy Manager’s Association, and regularly advises government and industry on sustainability in the public sector.

The full programme can be found here: Programme – April 2016

 

Sponsors include: Daniels, Econix, GV Health, Frontier Medical Group, Newster, Sharpsmart, G+N Medical, Cloud Sustainability, SRCL and ISS Ltd.

Booking details can be found at: healthcare waste 2016 conference

PLEASE NOTE THAT BOOKINGS FOR THE DINNER AND SITE TOUR HAVE NOW CLOSED.

2. Recovering value from used medical instruments

The healthcare sector has a relevant environmental footprint because of the significant materials throughput, the hazardousness of certain wastes it generates and the energy intensive treatment necessary to manage them. Using semi-structured interviews carried out with stakeholders from hospitals in England and Italy, this study sought to understand how best to recover value from used laryngoscopes.

The full article written by Costanza Viani, Mentore Vaccari and Terry Tudor is available until May 26, please click here

3. UN Green Procurement Index Health Project Report

The UN informal Interagency Task Team on Sustainable Procurement in the Health Sector (SPHS) is pleased to announce the launch of the Green Procurement Index Health (GPIH) Phase 1 – 2015 Project Report.

The document explains the challenge of measuring green health procurement and describes what the UNDP, with the generous support from the Government of Denmark and UNDP Innovation Facility has done to improve the transparency of procurement in the health sector with regard to its environmental impact, and encourage UN agencies and their suppliers/manufacturers to produce, procure and supply in a more environmentally friendly manner in 2015.

The report can be found below:

4. Grundon expands internationally
A ground-breaking new agreement to develop waste facilities across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) has been signed by Grundon Waste Management and construction industry leader MAN Enterprise.

Neil Grundon, deputy chairman, said: “We’re incredibly excited about this new partnership, which enables us to broaden our operations into the international arena at a time when opportunities are sorely lacking in the UK and European markets.

Read the story here

5. Webinar on Medical Devices: Guidelines for Performing the Bacterial Endotoxins Test (BET)

Free 60-minute webinar to help ensure you are testing medical devices for endotoxin according to compendial requirements.

Lonza’s Scientific Support Specialists will cover topics such as:
• What constitutes a device?
• Calculating Endotoxin Release Limits (ERL)
• Establishing a sampling plan
• Suitability testing (test for interfering factors)

Two dates:

Tuesday, 12 April 2016: 11 AM PDT (Los Angeles), 2 PM EDT (New York)

or

Wednesday, 13 April 2016: 9 AM BST (London), 10 AM CEST (Berlin), 5 PM JST (Tokyo).

Register for one of the two dates here

Waste Stories 7/4/2016

 

20150615_1233241. Joint Healthcare Waste and Resources Research Group and ISWA International conference (sponsored by Grundon Waste Management)

In conjunction with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), the Group will be hosting an international conference on April 14 and 15, 2016. It will be held at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

One of the speakers will be Richard Hales. Richard has spent the last 20 years studying and practising sustainability. Having successfully completed a PhD in the 1990s, in the rapidly evolving field of sustainable development and the built environment, he has worked across a broad range of public sector environmental sustainability roles – from tourism, to land-use planning, to community and now healthcare. Richard is currently employed as Energy and Sustainability Manager at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The full programme can be found here: Programme – April 2016

 

Sponsors include: Daniels, Econix, GV Health, Frontier Medical Group, Newster, Sharpsmart, G+N Medical, Cloud Sustainability, SRCL and ISS Ltd.

Booking details can be found at: healthcare waste 2016 conference

Directions at the venue are available here Directions to Governors Hall

2. E-learning resource on sustainable dentistry

A new e-learning resource support package on sustainable dentistry has been released on the award winning e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH) platform.

It provides an introduction to climate change and explores the main principles of sustainable practice and their application in dentistry. It encourages clinicians and managers to make sustainable choices and identifies practical tools and resources to support this.

The material has been developed by dentists, Dr Devika Vadher and Dr Divya Verma, working with CSH as Sustainable Dentistry Scholars – part-time roles funded by Health Education England’s Kent, Surrey and Sussex team.

View the resource here

3. NHS forest and greenspace programme lead job

NHS FOREST and GREENSPACE: PROGRAMME LEAD. Full-time for 15 months: June 2016 – September 2017 with potential to extend.

The position will provide the opportunity to develop your existing skills in writing proposals, project development and management, and managing external partnerships, while growing your understanding of environmental sustainability as it relates to health. You will lead on our business development for greenspace and identifying opportunities in the market. You will have time to make presentations at national and international meetings, write reports and papers and expand vibrant networks with excellent collaboration. You will help to build a strong team in this area.

Salary: £30,000 – £35,000

The job advert and application details can be found here: Centre for Sustainable Healthcare job

4. Sustainable nursing practice for a changing climate conference

On Wednesday April 13 the RCN will hosting its first ever ‘Nursing and Sustainability’ conference.

This free conference will bring together members of the nursing family interested in incorporating sustainability into their practice, and will feature presentations from senior leaders and commentators on sustainability in health and care, with a view to equipping delegates with practical ideas to take back to their own workplaces.

During the day attendees will consider the UK picture of climate change and the range of opportunities there are for nursing professionals to impact on sustainability where they work. The programme will also feature case studies illustrating the scope of possible change, and provide an opportunity for attendees to discuss these, and to consider challenges and opportunities for their own practice.

 

Book here

 

Waste stories 1/4/2016

EulaliaEulàlia Martorell

1. Joint Healthcare Waste and Resources Research Group and ISWA International conference (sponsored by Grundon Waste Management)

In conjunction with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), the Group will be hosting an international conference on April 14 and 15, 2016. It will be held at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

One of the speakers will be Eulàlia Martorell.  Eulàlia is the International Coordinator in the company ANTONIO MATACHANA, S.A. based in Barcelona – Spain, where she is responsible for the supervision of projects worldwide including the healthcare waste treatment plants for sterilisation.

She studied chemistry at the University of Barcelona and obtained her degree in Organic Chemistry. Afterwards, she was granted a degree in Environmental Impact Assessment also by the University of Barcelona.

She started her career in the company POLYRECICLADOS S.A. implementing a quality system according to ISO 9001 and standardising the procedures through which plastic proceeding from agriculture was recycled into waste bags. In 1995, she joined the company MATACHANA where she has taken increasing responsibilities within the technical and commercial areas while working in projects worldwide.

The full programme can be found here: Programme – April 2016

 

Sponsors include: Daniels, Econix, GV Health, Frontier Medical Group, Newster, Sharpsmart, Cloud Sustainability, SRCL and ISS Ltd.

Booking details can be found at: healthcare waste 2016 conference

2. Questionnaire on draft training standards in HCWM

The NHS Confederation and the NHS European Office have become partners in a 3-year European-wide project to develop a new healthcare waste management qualification framework and e-learning platform.

The new qualification framework will enable the EU workforce in the waste management sector to gain a standardised set of skills, regardless of the member state in which they undertake the vocational training programme, leading to greater mobility for these workers within the EU.

Over the last year the project partners have “compared and contrasted” the existing training and curricula across a range of countries, developed a set of draft vocational training units based on common standards and aligned with the European Qualifications Framework, and are now developing training modules which will deliver the required qualification. The NHS National Performance Advisory Group (NPAG) Waste Management Group has been used as a “reference” or “benchmarking” group to quality assure the materials being developed.

View the questionnaire associated with the draft units: here

3. New premises registration guidance

From 1 April 2016, premises will no longer need to register as hazardous waste producers. This change will affect the entire hazardous waste control system. New guidance has been published to reflect this.

See the guidance here

4. New workers 4x more likely to have an accident

A recent Health and Safety Authority/ESRI study of workplace accidents showed that workers are four times more likely to suffer a workplace accident in the first six months of a new job.  The research was based on workplace injury and illness figures from the CSO over a 12 year period (2001 – 2012). The study found that new workers were at much higher risk due to a lack of training and supervision, a reluctance to question instructions, a lack of safety knowledge and increased workload.

The risk of injury decreases with age and experience due to lower risk-taking and a reduction in the involvement of manual tasks.

Read the story here

Waste stories 21/3/2016

 

OmarOmar Fernandez Sanfranciso

1. Joint Healthcare Waste and Resources Research Group and ISWA International conference (sponsored by Grundon Waste Management)

In conjunction with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), the Group will be hosting an international conference on April 14 and 15, 2016. It will be held at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

One of the speakers will be Omar Fernandez Sanfranciso. Omar began his career in the Research and Innovation Unit of a Regional Hospital (Hospital de Poniente, Almería), and then moved on to the Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology Department of the Medicine Faculty (University of Granada).

He began working for ATHISA Group in 2009 as member of the R&D Department, focusing development of the MIMO System Project. The project included the preparation and follow up of projects, technical design and development of essays. In 2013, The ATHISA R&D team was awarded with the Eureka Innovation Award for the MIMO System Project.

The full programme can be found here: Programme – March 2016

Sponsors include: Daniels, Econix, GV Health, Frontier Medical Group, Newster, Sharpsmart, Cloud Sustainability, SRCL and ISS Ltd.

Booking details can be found at: healthcare waste 2016 conference

2. California clarifies RCRA hazardous pharmaceutical requirements

In a response to a question the State of California has indicated the following as shared by the California Hospital Association:
” DTSC states that California’s regulations on the definition of empty containers are currently more stringent than those of the federal EPA. The letter advises California health care facilities to include the total weight (of the container and the residue) on the hazardous waste manifest and states that this weight will count toward the monthly total to determine if the health care facility meets the one kilogram per month threshold for acute hazardous waste. The letter further advises health care facilities to be aware that DTSC will use the weight of the container and residue to calculate tonnages and collect annual generator fees”.
While the extent of this is not yet determined, I’d like to point out that including the weight of the container could move some hospitals out of the small generator category. It being California, this may have broader implications in other parts of the country or internationally.

(N.B. the extract above is taken from the Lindedin page of the the group ‘Pharmaceutical Waste’ coordinated by Bob Spurgin)

3. UK signs international secondary resources trade deal

An international voluntary agreement that aims to make better use of secondary resources was signed by representatives from France, Flanders, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in early March.

Led by the Dutch Government, the North Sea Resources Roundabout (NSRR), in the first instance, will aim to stimulate trade of incinerator bottom ash (IBA), which can contain plastics and ultra-fine non-ferrous metals such as aluminium, lead, zinc, silver and gold. Other materials, including PVC and compost, will be addressed later as part of the agreement.

Read the story here

4. London urged to work towards standardised collections

The London Assembly Environment Committee has launched a new report in which recommends putting long-term sustainability at the heart of all Mayoral strategies and that London should work towards standardised domestic waste.

The report, “Growing, growing, gone: Long-term sustainable growth for London” today identifies the key challenges to accommodate London’s growth, stating that “without good planning, London could suffer unreliable energy supplies and excessive carbon emissions; a shortage of drinkable water; contaminated flooding caused by sewage overflow; and habitat destruction resulting in fewer green spaces for Londoners.”

A copy of the report can be downloaded here

5. Wales passes Tax Collection & Management (Wales) Bill

Welsh minister for Finance and Government Business, Jane Hutt AM (pictured), announced at the CIWM Resources Conference Cymru in Cardiff earlier this month, that the Tax Collection & Management (Wales) Bill has been passed by AMs.

Landfill Tax and Stamp Duty Land Tax will be devolved to Wales from April 2018 and will be replaced with Landfill Disposals Tax and Land Transactions Tax.

Being the first Welsh taxes in 800 years, Hutt told delegates they presents an opportunity for Wales to develop them in a way that reflects the needs of the communities and businesses. To govern these Wales will establish its own tax authority, the Welsh Revenue Authority.

It was also announced that a portion of the Landfill Diversion Tax would go towards community initiatives with an environmental focus. Hutt said these initiatives would help move the country forward towards a circular economy and towards zero waste.

Waste Stories 14/3/2016

 

20150615_1233241. Joint Healthcare Waste and Resources Research Group and ISWA International conference (sponsored by Grundon Waste Management)

In conjunction with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), the Group will be hosting an international conference on April 14 and 15, 2016. It will be held at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

One of the speakers will be Lutz Kempe. Lutz graduated from Technical University in Giessen / Germany as a Biomedical Engineer. After gaining experience in medical research he became head of an international development project in Kenya, focused on establishing a three year Diploma course at the Mombasa Polytechnic.

From 1995 to 1999 he was in charge of the Infrastructure Department of EPOS Health Management in Germany. EPOS Health Management provides project management and consulting services in the health sector.

Since 1999 he has been the Director of TTM in Marburg/Germany, a company operating in the field of international development cooperation and providing medical technology and general equipment to support health care projects worldwide.

The full programme can be found here: Programme – March 2016

 

Sponsors include: Daniels, Econix, GV Health, Frontier Medical Group, Newster, Sharpsmart, Cloud Sustainability, SRCL and ISS Ltd.

Booking details can be found at: healthcare waste 2016 conference

2.Government publishes cutting red tape review

The Government’s Cutting Red Tape review of the waste and resources sector has been published on 3 March, setting out Government’s response to stakeholder input.

The Government has made a commitment to save £10bn from the cost of regulation to business. To do this it announced a programme of Cutting Red Tape reviews into six business sectors in its Productivity Plan.

Read the report here

3.GIB funding for energy saving project at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust

UK Green Investment Bank plc and DLL have committed £6.9m to a programme of energy saving measures at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust. GIB has committed £3.4m to the scheme as part of the £50m NHS energy efficiency funding alliance that it established with DLL in 2014.

Read the story here

4.International Circular Economy, Resource Efficiency & Eco-innovation brokerage event

Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) is working with the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) and Innovate UK to organise a brokerage, matchmaking and information event.  The event is focusing on opportunities within Horizon 2020 for businesses making the transition to a circular economy and becoming more resource efficient.

The event is taking place during the International Festival for Business 2016 (IFB2016).  IFB2016 is a global marketplace for creating connections and doing deals. It brings together thousands of businesses from around the world for three weeks of events, networking and deal-making.

The European Commission has committed over €725 million of Horizon 2020 funding for circular economy related calls in 2016-17. The aim of the event is to support organisations to access this funding by developing innovative R&D projects. There will be opportunities for companies to meet new partners and consortium members for Horizon 2020 projects plus the opportunity to discuss new routes to market for existing solutions.

Read more here

5. Duty of care code published

A code of practice has been published by the Environment Agency (EA), which sets out practical guidance on how waste duty of care (DoC) requirements can be met. The code of practice applies to anyone that produces, carries, keeps, disposes of, treats, imports or has control of waste in England or Wales.

The law requires anyone dealing with waste to keep it safe, to make sure it’s dealt with responsibly and only given to businesses authorised to take it. Failure to comply with the duty of care is an offence subject to an unlimited fine on conviction. The Code is admissible as evidence in legal proceedings and its rules must be taken into account where relevant to questions raised in the case.

The Code looks at what it applies to and provides definitions of “Recovery”, “Preparing for re-use”, “Recycling” and “Disposal”. It also sets out what DoC does not apply to and exactly who needs to takes note of it, including householders, as well as those working within the waste and resources industry.

See the Code here

Waste Stories 7/2/2016

 

Laura MM photo 2016Laura Mayhew-Manchón

1. Joint Healthcare Waste and Resources Research Group and ISWA International conference (sponsored by Grundon Waste Management)

In conjunction with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), the Group will be hosting an international conference on April 14 and 15, 2016. It will be held at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

One of the speakers will be Laura Mayhew-Manchón. Laura has worked as an Environmental Advisor for Skanska UK’s Facilities Services operating unit since 2015. In her current role, she is responsible for supporting hospitals, local government and schools on environmental management and compliance. Her healthcare experience dates back to 2009, when she first worked to develop and deliver carbon management projects with Midlands NHS trusts, the findings of which were recently published in The International Journal of Healthcare.

She has also provided expertise in different areas of sustainability to businesses and local government, whilst working in academic, private, and non-profit organisations.

Laura is a Chartered Environmentalist and Member of the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (MIEMA), holding degrees in both Environmental Sciences and Environmental Law. Her interests primarily relate to environmental regulation, operational resource efficiency, and corporate social responsibility.

The full programme can be found here: Programme – March 2016

 

Sponsors include: Daniels, Econix, GV Health, Frontier Medical Group, Newster, Sharpsmart, Cloud Sustainability and ISS Ltd.

Booking details can be found at: healthcare waste 2016 conference

2. CIWM Resourcing the Future Awards now open

Winners of the awards receive bursaries to further their studies in the UK and overseas, and for an international member to visit the UK, the results of which will be further reported across CIWM media.

See the awards here

3. Doctor on Skype

What if you could see your physician for a minor issue without having to drive there, find parking, or spend time in a waiting room? What if you could do it without leaving your desk?

Telemedicine—the practice of allowing people to speak with their medical practitioners via two-way video, text or email—makes this possible. In the U.S., more than half of hospitals now use some form of telemedicine, according to the American Telemedicine Association. And of patients who have not used a telemedicine service, 75% are interested in using one in lieu of an in-person medical visit.

Read the story here

4. Growing issues of homeless people sleeping in bins

The number of homeless people found sleeping rough in recycling bins is growing, according to one of the biggest waste management firms in the UK. Why is this happening?

Read the story here

Waste stories 29/2/2016

 

IgnacioIgnacio Sanchez Diaz

1. Joint Healthcare Waste and Resources Research Group and ISWA International conference (sponsored by Grundon Waste Management)

In conjunction with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), the Group will be hosting an international conference on April 14 and 15, 2016. It will be held at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

One of the speakers will be Ignacio  Sanchez Diaz from the UNDP. Ignacio works as Greening Health Systems Specialist at UNDP HHD Team at the Istanbul Regional Hub. He provides technical support to secretariat of the Sustainable Procurement in the Health Sector (SPHS) task team and SPHS members in environmental and sustainability aspects. He supports UNDP Procurement Service Unit in the environmental assessment of healthcare suppliers and the development of environmental requirements. In addition, he supports regional HHD team on mainstream work related to the environmental safeguarding of programmes and project implemented in the region and globally, especially on healthcare waste management and carbon footprint assessment.

His presentation will introduce some of the current activities and projects being develop by UNDP on healthcare waste management  and the lesson learnt from previous experience such as waste management during the Ebola respond or the Countries assessments on healthcare waste management.

 

The full programme can be found here: Programme – Feb 2016

Sponsors include: Daniels, Econix, GV Health, Frontier Medical Group, Newster, Sharpsmart, Cloud Sustainability and ISS Ltd. (Please contact Terry Tudor: terry.tudor@northampton.ac.uk, if you wish to sponsor)

Booking details can be found at: healthcare waste 2016 conference

2. Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey discharged from London hospital

Read the story here

3. Defra to publish 25-year environment plan

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will publish a 25-year environment plan by the end of the year. It will work with the Natural Capital Committee to develop a comprehensive 25-year plan for the environment.

Read the story here

4. Healthcare sector hits carbon reduction targets

According to NHS England, the NHS and wider health and care sector is over the first hurdle in the race to reach carbon reduction targets and help limit the effects of climate change.

A report from the Sustainable Development Unit for NHS England and Public Health England showed the NHS has reduced its carbon emissions by 11% between 2007 and 2015 – exceeding the 10% target set in 2009.  The wider sector, which also includes public health and social care, has seen a 13% reduction over the same period.

Read the story here

5. Environment Agency starts trials of new RDF definition

In February, the Environment Agency (EA) commenced a six-month trial using a new definition for refuse-derived fuel (RDF).

Defra worked closely with a range of operators with an interest in the RDF sector to develop the new definition that was published in November 2015.

Read the story here

Waste stories 22/2/2016

????????????????????????????????????Beatrice Giordani (Newster Group)

1. Joint Healthcare Waste and Resources Research Group and ISWA International conference (sponsored by Grundon Waste Management)

In conjunction with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), the Group will be hosting an international conference on April 14 and 15, 2016. It will be held at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

One of the speakers will be Beatrice Giordani from the Newster Group. Beatrice is International Relations Manager at Newster Group – Italy. She has been an ISWA member since 2010 and is Vice Chair of the Working Group on Healthcare Waste since 2014.

Newster manufactures technology solutions for the sustainable management of healthcare waste, including “frictional heat treatment” technology for healthcare waste processing.

She will be presenting an evaluation of frictional heat treatment technology (FHT) , with an example of the technology by application of UNEP-IETC SAT criteria – A case study in the Republic of Sprksa.

The full programme can be found here: Programme – Feb 2016

 

Sponsors include: Daniels, Econix, GV Health, Frontier Medical Group, Newster, Sharpsmart, Cloud Sustainability and ISS Ltd. (Please contact Terry Tudor: terry.tudor@northampton.ac.uk, if you wish to sponsor)

Booking details can be found at: healthcare waste 2016 conference

2. Environmental Permitting Operators’ certificate

This CIWM course demonstrates operator competence to operate a permitted waste and resources facility for low risk tier sites, for example inert waste transfer or treatment, in-house storage, WEEE storage or MRS (dry scrap –no free flowing liquid).

Read more about the course here

3. Facilities’ manager’s job at Charlton Lane Hospital

Read details of the job here

4. Almost all English hospitals in deficit

Nearly every hospital in England is now in deficit as financial problems in the NHS threaten to spiral out of control. Of the 138 hospital trusts, just seven are still in surplus according to the 2015-16 third quarter accounts, which cover April to December.

Read the story here

Waste Stories 16/2/2016

DSCF11631. Joint Healthcare Waste and Resources Research Group and ISWA International conference (sponsored by Grundon Waste Management)

In conjunction with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), the Group will be hosting an international conference on April 14 and 15, 2016. It will be held at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

One of the speakers will be Olmo Forni, who spent two years between Kenya and Senegal, working in rural development, and Ivory Coast as an electoral advisor for UNOCI, the UN peacekeeping mission. In between his African endeavours, he investigated international hazardous waste trafficking and waste crimes at UNICRI, the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute.

In 2015, Olmo was part of REDR facilitators team for the training delivered to volunteers leaving for Sierra Leone, conducted a Waste Value Chain study in Northern Jordan, and two Emergency Waste Assessment in Yemen and Nigeria. He was also part of DWR initial response team to the Nepal earthquake.

 

His talk will focus on his DWR experience in Nepal, Jordan and Yemen to illustrate the role of waste management in emergencies, for the humanitarian sector and by donors, and the adequacy of existing minimal standards to respond today’s complex crisis and protracted displacement scenarios.

The full programme can be found here: Programme – Feb 2016

Sponsors include: Daniels, Econix, GV Health, Frontier Medical Group, Newster, Sharpsmart, Cloud Sustainability and ISS Ltd. (Please contact Terry Tudor: terry.tudor@northampton.ac.uk, if you wish to sponsor)

Booking details can be found at: healthcare waste 2016 conference

2. New Econix waste bin

Click for the bin  Econix bin – Hygiene+ Web

3. Welsh Environment Bill paves way for Energy from Waste limits

On 2nd February the National Assembly for Wales passed the Environment (Wales) Bill, a piece of legislation aiming to bring into law several measures to tackle climate change, including a target to reduce carbon emissions by at least 80% by 2050. The Bill also includes several waste and resources requirements. For example, legislation that could pave the way for some materials to be banned from treatment via Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities in Wales is suggested. Requirements for businesses to present recyclable waste separately for collection or face prosecution have also been included. The Bill also brings into effect a ban on the disposal of food waste to sewers, in line with similar laws that are already in place in Scotland.
On incineration of waste, the regulations state: “The Welsh Ministers may by regulations make provision for and in connection with prohibiting or otherwise regulating the incineration in Wales of specified kinds of waste”. This would be brought about by amending a specific section of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999, which relates to the operation of waste incineration or co-incineration plants. The Bill is expected to become law in Wales in 2017.

Read the Bill here

4. New Waste Industry Health and Safety (WISH) forum website

View the new website here

5. Environment Agency revises environmental permitting suite

The Environment Agency (EA) has published a suite of revised and updated guidance on the environmental permitting regime.The reformatted guidance, launched on 1 February, is part of an ongoing cross-DEFRA project to improve the quality of guidance, an outcome of the Red Tape Challenge. The intention is to make it more “focused on the users’ needs” said an EA press officer. A total of 25 new pages have been added to the agency’s website, explaining in simple terms topics such as which activities require a permit, how to apply for an exemption, and the meaning of ‘best available techniques’.The generic ‘How to comply with your environmental permit’ document has been withdrawn and replaced with two new guides on developing an environmental management system and controlling and monitoring emissions.

View the amendments here

Waste Stories 8/2/2016

 

Ray Wright LCC ID Badge Image

Ray Wright

1. Joint Healthcare Waste and Resources Research Group and ISWA International conference (sponsored by Grundon Waste Management)

In conjunction with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), the Group will be hosting an international conference on April 14 and 15, 2016. It will be held at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

One of the speakers will be Ray Wright, who is the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Waste Manager, one of the UK’s largest.  The Trust’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital was one of three UK centres providing surge capacity to the Royal Free Hospital during the 2014/15 Ebola virus disease epidemic.  Ray developed the organisation’s Ebola waste stream handling infrastructure and created waste protocols for its surge capacity responsibilities.

He has been a Waste Manager for NHS Trusts in Sheffield and Lincolnshire for over 7 years, and prior to this worked as an Environment Agency regional hazardous waste coordinator.

His presentation will outline a waste manager’s personal experience of providing a waste handling infrastructure and protocols for a potential Ebola virus disease patient at a surge capacity hospital.  It will demonstrate the logistical challenges of managing large quantities of Category A waste for the duration of a patient’s treatment.

The full programme can be found here: Programme – Jan 2016

Sponsors include: Daniels, Econix, GV Health, Frontier Medical Group, Newster, Sharpsmart and ISS Ltd. (Please contact Terry Tudor: terry.tudor@northampton.ac.uk, if you wish to sponsor)

Booking details can be found at: healthcare waste 2016 conference

2. Amendments to scope of the RoHS Directive

Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, 2011/65/EU.

Read the amendments here

3. EU Sustainable Energy Awards 2016

The SEE Awards recognise the best sustainable energy projects taking place across Europe. A wide range of organisations are eligible to apply including businesses, non-profit organisations and public sector organisations.
There are three categories for the 2016 awards:
  • Consumers – rewarding actions leading to the behavioural change of individual energy users.
  • Public Sector – rewarding public and non-profit organisations taking exemplary initiatives in energy efficiency or use of renewables.
  • Businesses – rewarding forward-thinking businesses which are exemplary in their production or use of energy.
There will also be a Citizens’ Award to reward the nominee which best captures the public imagination.
Entries will be assessed on the following three criteria:
  • Excellence and innovation
  • Impact and contribution to the 2030 objectives
  • Replication potential and social acceptance
For 2016, the project must be ongoing or concluded after 30 June 2015.
The deadline for entries is 22 February 2016.
View details of the Awards and 2016 EU Energy Week here

 

4. New drive for paper-less NHS

Read the story here