December 31, 2003—The UK’s Environment Agency recently pledged action on the Hazardous Waste Forum’s recommendations to take urgent steps on hazardous waste, and said that it hoped that other organizations would follow suit. The UK produces over 5 million tons of hazardous waste each year, and that figure is rising. Recent estimates suggest hazardous waste will rise to 7.5 million tons when fluorescent tubes, scrap cars, and parts from television and computer monitors are classified as hazardous waste during 2004.
Moreover, there will be a shortfall in hazardous waste capacity from July 2004 because of the ban on the co-disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste at existing landfills. This is as a result of the Landfill directive—sites have to elect to be either hazardous, non-hazardous, or inert, and after July hazardous waste can only be disposed of in a landfill classified as being for that purpose. Of the approximately 240 commercial landfill sites across England and Wales, only an estimated 10-15 commercial landfills are expected to take hazardous waste after July. The Landfill Directive also requires the pretreatment of waste before it can be landfilled.
