Tips for saving money on waste disposal

  

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by Brian Roff, Waste Minimization Expert, Higher Education

Here are a few simple ideas to help you save money on your next waste shipments. By themselves they may not seem like much, but over time they really do add up!

Reduce the amount of time that your vendor spends onsite.

This can be done many ways; first, get to work before your waste vendor arrives and check for any last minute waste drop offs or pickups. It is always best to have all waste ready for shipment and in one location before the crew shows up. Last minute arrivals or pickups from multiple locations tend to slow down even the most efficient workers.

Segregate your waste containers in a way that will facilitate packaging for shipment.

Segregation is a time consuming activity for lab pack crews. If done correctly, segregating your waste can save the crew that will be packaging your waste quite a bit of time. Segregating waste within the Main Accumulation Area is a regulatory requirement; taking it a step further and segregating it by hazard class and then, if possible, into quantities that will fit into drums can shorten the crews stay and get you home or back to work that much sooner.

If you ship waste more frequently than your generator status requires due to accumulation area storage limits or main accumulation area storage capacity, you can be more selective about what you ship. Waste containers that have not reached their 90 or 180 day storage limit do not have to be disposed of. Hold on to costly waste containers until they reach their storage limit; during that time you may generate additional containers of the same material or chemically compatible materials that can be shipped together. This practice can eliminate redundant shipping containers from waste manifests and reduce your disposal invoices.

Reducing the Number of Containers in Your Satellite Accumulation Area

  

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by Brian Roff, Higher Education Account Manager

According to the EPA some of the most common RCRA violations are found in satellite accumulation areas. It has become increasingly difficult for supervisors and managers to consistently monitor all satellite waste areas while juggling additional responsibilities created by the economic crunch. What can we do to minimize the risk of violations due to compliance issues within satellite accumulation areas?

One of the simplest ways to reduce this risk is by reducing the number of containers within the satellite accumulation area. Chemically compatible waste streams should be collected together in one container. Halogenated and non-halogenated solvents often times could be collected in the same container. Some inorganic acids can be collected together. Bases are typically compatible with other bases and organic acids can sometimes be stored in the same container with other organic acids. It is necessary to consult each chemicals material safety data sheet particularly section 10 stability and reactivity, consider the process generating the waste, and be sure that the container holding the waste is compatible with the waste before consolidation. Incompatibles should be kept in different containers and separated by secondary containment but if managed properly containers can be kept to a minimum.

Reducing the number of waste containers has additional benefits. This practice can minimize the footprint of your satellite accumulation area which should please laboratory staff.  Reducing the number of waste containers in your satellite accumulation area may also cut cost on disposal. If done correctly it can increase safety; fewer containers fewer opportunities for spills. Satellite accumulation areas should never look cluttered and inspections should be quick and easy. Each container presents an opportunity for a violation if we reduce the number of containers we can potentially reduce the number of violations.