This is the time of year for shaking up your waste management practices, making New Year’s resolutions to recycle more and achieve that zero waste to landfill target. But it’s not just your general waste that needs the attention, for some businesses, hazardous waste is a central concern. So now's the time to sort out your hazardous waste recycling!

It’s up to business owners to make sure that hazardous waste produced causes no harm or damage to the environment and its also important that you properly classify your waste. Hazardous waste could include asbestos, chemicals, batteries, solvents, pesticides, oils, equipment such as fridges, electrical items, sewage or hazardous waste containers.

Hazardous waste also has to be stored safely and using an authorised waste management company, like Cawleys, which has all the necessary environmental permits and specialist equipment, ensures that waste is handled carefully. Your waste management company will also help you fill out a consignment note which documents the type of waste being moved, handled and disposed of – you have to keep these for up to three years.

As part of the New Year, why not look at what can be done to recycle your hazardous waste? For example, sewage waste, which is comprised of ‘biosolids’ can be recycled as a more cost effective agricultural fertiliser, avoiding the need to use chemical substitutes. Any sewage waste that cannot be recycled can be used to generate renewable energy to help power our towns and villages.

Old electrical equipment such as computer monitors can be stripped or refurbished. At Cawleys we have all the necessary systems to eradicate and wipe software so that computers can be fully refitted and if equipment is unusable we will dismantle component parts such as circuit boards, cabling, aluminium and copper which can be sent to raw material recycling.

Even waste materials, which seem even harder to separate, can be recycled. The specialist hazardous waste team at Cawleys uses our oil recovery machine to extract oil from waste, which can then be recycled into the component parts of fuel. So whilst your thinking about those New Year waste resolutions, why not give the Cawleys hazardous team a call on 0845 260 2000.