APPENDIX 11
Memorandum submitted by Prospect Environment
Agency Branch
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The disposal of clinical waste is currently
facilitated by three distinct waste management routes, namely
(1) incineration, (2) landfill, and (3) alternative technology
(eg microwave, autoclave, etc). These routes are currently regulated
under Part I of EPA90 in the case of incineration processes and
Part II of EPA90 in the cases of landfill and alternative technology.
1.2 All of these waste management activities
may be considered to be prescribed activities under the PPC Regulations.
Disposal by incineration and disposal by landfill are specifically
defined activities in sections 5.1 and 5.2 of the regulations
respectively. The determination of the whether the disposal of
clinical waste by alternative technology is a prescribed activity
is not straightforward: it depends on whether clinical waste is
considered hazardous waste in terms of the PPC regulations
2. DISPOSAL OF
WASTE OTHER
THAN BY
INCINERATION OR
LANDFILL
2.1 Schedule 1 of the PPC Regulations lists
"The disposal of hazardous waste (other than by incineration
or landfill) in a facility with a capacity of more than 10 tonnes
per day" as a prescribed activity [Section 5.3 Part A(1)
(a)].
2.2 Disposal in this section of the regulations
means disposal operations listed in Annex IIA of Directive 75/442/EEC.
The use of alternative technologies to disinfect or sterilise
the waste that is subsequently sent for incineration or landfill
fits within the description D9 of the directive. Disposal operation
D9 is defined as "physico-chemical treatment not specified
elsewhere in this Annex that results in final compounds or mixtures
that are disposed of by means of any of the operations in this
Annex".
2.3 Hazardous waste in this section of the
regulations means "waste as defined in Article 1(4) of Directive
91/689/EEC". This article establishes the hazardous waste
list. European Commission decisions 2000/53/EC of 3 May 2000,
2001/118/EC of 16 January 2001, and 2001/119/EC of 22 January
2001 updated the European Waste Catalogue and the hazardous waste
list. These revisions came into effect on 1 January 2002.
2.4 Human and animal healthcare wastes are
considered in Chapter 18 of the European Waste Catalogue. The
waste types listed in Chapter 18 include "wastes whose collection
and disposal is subject to special requirements in order to prevent
infection" (EWC 180103). Such wastes are considered to be
hazardous wastes.
2.5 For the purposes of this Directive,
a waste is classified as hazardous if it is considered to display
one or more of the properties listed in Annex III of Directive
91/689/EEC. The property of most relevance to the discussion of
healthcare waste is the property "H9 "infectious":
substances containing viable micro-organisms or their toxins which
are known or reliably believed to cause disease in man or other
living organisms." The Directive does not place a lower limit
on the amount of micro-organism that must be present for the waste
to be considered infectious and hence the presence of any micro-organism
reliably believed to cause disease is sufficient to render the
waste hazardous.
2.6 Within the UK hazardous or pathogenic
micro-organisms have been subdivided into four groups—Hazard
Groups 1 to 4. Micro-organisms designated Hazard Group 1 have
been assessed to be unlikely to cause human disease and therefore
clinical waste containing Hazard Group 1 micro-organisms should
not be considered hazardous waste. Micro-organisms designated
Hazard Groups 2, 3 and 4 are all acknowledged as having the potential
to cause human disease and as such could be considered to be infectious
by the above definition. The degree of the severity of the disease
and the availability of treatments influence the designation.
Clinical waste containing micro-organisms in Hazard Groups 2,
3, and 4 should therefore be considered to be hazardous waste.
2.7 It should be noted that the designation
of "hazardous" is wider than the designation of "special"
arising out of the Special Waste Regulation 1996. Under the SW
regulations only clinical waste containing micro-organisms in
Hazard Group 4 have been designated as special waste. However
the Special Waste Regulations are not relevant to the determination
of whether an activity fits the definitions in Schedule 1 of the
PPC Regulations.
2.8 In addition to being infectious, for
a waste to be hazardous it must also be subject to special requirements
in order to prevent infection. There are many examples of the
implementation of special requirements in UK law the most recent
being the requirement under The Carriage of Dangerous Goods (Classification,
Packaging and Labelling) and Use of Transportable Pressure Receptacles
Regulations 1996. Under the regulations clinical waste is considered
to be dangerous goods for transport by road because of its infectious
nature being known or reasonably expected to contain pathogens.
From 1 January 2002 all such clinical waste must be transported
in rigid UN approved containers.
3. RECOMMENDATIONS
3.1 Clinical waste designated as UK Hazards
Groups 2, 3 or 4 should be hazardous waste as defined by European
Directive 91/689/EC because of its infectious nature and its special
handling requirements.
3.2 Such a designation would mean that the
disposal of clinical waste in alternative technology processes-microwave
devices, autoclaves and hot-oil or steam injection augers-with
a capacity of more than ten tonnes per day would be regulated
under Part A(1) of the Pollution Prevention and Control (England
and Wales) Regulations 2000 SI 1973.
— The permitting and enforcement of
such activities should be carried out by well-qualified and experienced
staff. The regulatory regime should be built on the success of
the current IPC model where the onus is on the operator to demonstrate
compliance rather than one of frequent inspection and grudging
improvement.
Prospect
17 May 2002
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