Food and DrinkCompanies at Risk
Small and medium-sized businesses operating in the UK food and drink manufacturing sector are putting themselves at risk of prosecution by failing to keep up with changing environmental regulations says a new survey.
In the past year there have been four significant changes to UK environmental laws relevant to food and drink manufacturers – and research suggests that less than 31 per cent of SMEs in this sector are able to name one piece of environmental legislation without being prompted.
The food and drink manufacturing sector is the third highest producer of waste in the UK, generating 3.4 million tonnes of waste in 2006, and has specific responsibilities under a range of waste regulations. Several changes have been implemented over the last 12 months to tighten up waste controls in food and drink manufacturing.
Last October, the revised Landfill Directive specified that all solid waste must be pre-treated before going to landfill and liquid waste is now banned. June 2007 saw the implementation of REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals). This is new legislation aimed at protecting the environment and human health and affects all food and drink businesses that use chemical substances and preparations such as cleaning chemicals, machine lubricants, sterilisers and adhesives.
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations, introduced in January 2007 and fully enforced in July 2007, affect the treatment of almost all end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment. In most cases businesses can now return the equipment to the producer for it to be disposed of or recycled.
Despite all this activity, awareness of the legislation is low. Just 50 per cent of businesses in food and drink could recall the Packaging Waste Regulations unprompted, 46 per cent were aware of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations and just seven per cent were aware of WEEE – one of the lowest scores of the industries surveyed.
Richard Martin, NetRegs programme manager, explains: "Despite widespread publicity and the risk of prosecution, many SMEs in food and drink manufacturing are not keeping abreast of these changes - mistakenly believing that they do not affect their businesses. It is surprising that even the very relevant Packaging Waste Regulations are only remembered unprompted by half of small businesses operating in this sector. These businesses really do need to improve their knowledge of environmental legislation. Businesses can find that improving their awareness of legislation and taking practical measures to reduce harm to the environment could generate cost savings and improve their competitiveness."
To find out more about the regulations that apply to you see:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/1970146/1970198/1970215/
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The Phasing Out Of Methyl Bromide! (FUMIGATION)
As shocking it may sound, it is not secret anymore as developed countries are looking out all the possibilities of phasing out the toxic gas (Methyl Bromide). Methyl bromide gas (MB) is a broad-spectrum fumigant, which has been used in horticultural industries for the past sixty years. MB was frequently used in soil fumigation because of its ease of application and ability to control a range of soil-borne pest, insects, nematodes and weeds under a wide range of soil and climatic conditions. Prior to 1999, approximately 80% of the international use of MB was for pre-plant soil fumigation in horticultural industries. MB is also used internationally in Quarantine and Pre-Shipment (QPS) fumigation, to treat various commodities to prevent the spread of pests. MB is still being widely used today in most of Asian countries for its quarantine purpose.
To protect the ozone layer from further destruction, an international agreement was developed by the United Nations. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, was signed by over 160 countries worldwide, it listed a number of ozone-depleting substances, including MB, and in 1997 planned for its international phase-out by 2015. Alternative to Methyl Bromide Fumigation There are many alternative pest control tools that exist today which manage many of the pests controlled by methyl bromide, depending on the specific target pest. Countries are focusing efforts on non chemical tools to replace MB for QPS treatments. The reason behind this is simply because non-chemical alternatives are more protective of people and the environment, and they enable users to avoid problems resulting from replacing one dangerous chemical with others. Heat treatment has being singled out as one of the best replacement of methyl bromide despite having its limitation.
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Resource Efficiency Could Save Construction Industry Millions
Ten million tonnes of new construction products are wasted every year, at a cost of over £1.5 billion. This is the result of a study, the economic and environmental benefits of resource efficiency in construction, by the Environment Agency to evaluate the potential economic and environmental benefits of the UK construction sector improving resource efficiency. This is equivalent to about two per cent of the overall construction sector output. Reducing the amount of waste by one per cent would mean annual savings of £15 million and 104,000 tonnes of product.
The report estimates that 6.1 million tonnes of construction waste, mainly paints and finishes, floor coverings and light fittings, are sent to land fill every year, at a cost of £917 million. It also estimates that 3.9 million tonnes of construction waste such as ceramics, concrete and cement, worth £583 million are recycled.
The construction sector is hugely resource intensive, using an estimated 400 million tonnes of resources each year. This makes it the single biggest user in the UK economy, accounting for about nine per cent of gross domestic product. In addition, the sector also produces over 30 per cent of England's total waste along with 32 per cent of its hazardous waste.
As Site Waste Management Plans become mandatory for larger projects from April 2008, it is becoming increasingly important that the sector efficiently manages the resources and waste products from all processes during construction projects.
During this project we developed scorecards that can be used as a quick and easy tool for identifying opportunities and improvements for site waste management. Separate scorecards have been developed for new build, refurbishment and demolition projects. They are designed to be used by clients, contractors, waste management companies and the Environment Agency to benchmark the performance of on-site waste management.
The report recommends that the construction sector works together with a common goal of resource efficiency. For this to happen, each part of the sector needs to understand its role in terms of the resources it buys that are subsequently wasted and apply appropriate solutions. Better data is required at a product level for this to happen effectively.
We will play an important role with the sector to ensure legal compliance and promote continuous improvement in terms of site waste management and resource efficiency. And the introduction of Site Waste Management Plans will help to provide more focus for the sector.
You can download the full report at:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/1970146/1970198/1970212/
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Timber Treatment Installations 2003 - Code of Practice for Safe Design and Operation
This Code is intended to give practical guidance on the safety, health and environmental issues relevant to all companies engaged in the activity of industrial wood preservation.
It has been developed in consultation with the Environment Agency; the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA); the Environment and Heritage Service Northern Ireland; the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and the Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers Association (CACFOA).
The Code is applicable to all UK companies with plant used for the impregnation and/or immersion of timber with water-borne preservatives, organic solvent based preservatives, creosote and fire retardant chemicals. This document is not intended to cover in-situ methods of timber treatment or the use of highly flammable liquids (flash point below 32°C).
Wood preservatives may only be advertised, sold, supplied, stored and used in accordance with their approval under the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 (as amended).
This Code, first developed in 1989 and revised in 1991, 1998 and now in 2003 to keep up to date with changing legislation, has formed the basis for defining good practice in the UK wood-preservation industry.
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Your Options for Recovering Wood Wastes
What's the problem?
We are wasting our resources. Over 7.5 million tonnes of wood wastes are produced each year in England and Wales and more than six million tonnes (80%) are landfilled.
There are big environmental benefits possible from improving the recovery of these wood based materials and wastes. This includes recovering material and energy from the wastes. At the moment, as most wood based wastes are being landfilled, we're losing these opportunities. This is one reason why Defra's Waste Strategy 2007 for England identifies wood waste as a key material to focus on.
You should segregate wood waste and wood based materials into virgin wood and waste wood at the point of production. At the very least this will help to reduce the regulatory controls that apply to mixed loads. You should also identify what local recovery or recycling facilities are available in your area.
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How to Make Your Supply Chain More Environmentally Friendly
We are asking businesses to check the companies you use in your supply line to ensure that they are doing all they can to minimise their environmental impact. To do this you should: look at exactly with whom and on what you spend money and identify which suppliers and their products and services have the highest environmental impacts - for example, consuming natural resources or polluting the environment.
Review any environmental reports your suppliers might produce to see if and how they are improving their environmental performance, and see how their suppliers are rated by various organizations that produce ratings and rankings of how green companies are.
Ask your suppliers to produce the same products or services with fewer natural resources, less wastage, and less pollution which can often save both parties money and improve profitability.
If they don't supply you with what you want, switch to new suppliers who already produce products and services using fewer resources and with less pollution.
Look for suppliers who have environmental management systems or who have products and services that come from sustainable sources and those that encourage take-back, re-use and recycling of their products rather than landfilling or disposing.
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