Fire risks get real

Written By Conor Rosling

In the waste industry it isn't unheard of for fires to unexpectedly break out. By nature, recycling and waste depots contain a high volume of mixed materials, including paper, card and wood, all of which can easily catch fire. Add to this movement by shovels, tipping pressures and the potential for rogue flammable items to find their way into general waste, and the fire risks become very real.

At Cawleys we are acutely aware of these risks and we have stringent safety measures in place to mitigate them. These include our fire detection and suppression systems. These use thermal imagining and heat detection to register any issues and automatically activate a sprinkler system. Without early detection any fire in a recycling depot could be catastrophic.

Flammable waste

Historically fires that have occurred in waste depots have often been caused by rogue items, such as batteries, mistakenly included in general waste. As mentioned previously, tipping, moving and combining general waste materials means that certain wastes can easily ignite. That is a key reason why all waste collection businesses ask for hazardous and flammable items to be stored and collected separately.  For business waste it is a legal requirement.

Hazardous and flammable waste isn’t only produced by large scale industries. Small businesses, commercial offices and in fact, any type of business may be producing this type of waste without even realising it.

Placing hazardous items in general waste can be dangerous, not only for those collecting the waste, but also for your business. Items such as batteries, aerosol cans, bleach, paint and oils are all highly flammable and pose a significant fire risk.

The sensible (and legal) solution is to segregate these items and keep them contained. Ensuring they are kept separate and are stored and collected in carefully marked storage box can drastically reduce the need for concern.

Know your obligations

All business, regardless of size or structure, have responsibility to dispose of hazardous and flammable items in line with regulations. The reasons for this are not only related to health and safety, they are also environmental. Indeed, the latest Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Guidance specifically states that all waste producers need to handle common hazardous items separately. Cawleys’ Hazbox is the perfect solution.

Introducing Hazbox

Cawleys’ branded Hazbox is a small safe container that is collected monthly on a fixed price subscription basis, providing a low-cost way for hazardous waste to be stored and collected.

Hazardous items include:

  • Non-foaming aerosols

  • Cleaners/detergents (including corrosive and irritants)

  • Insecticides and pesticides e.g.: fly spray

  • Paint tins water based and flammable

  • Adhesives/Glue

  • Light Bulbs

  • Sealants

  • Oils

  • Oil contaminated solids

  • Oil filters

  • Empty tins/containers containing hazardous residue e.g. flammable paints or corrosive cleaners

  • Toner Cartridges

  • NiCad batteries

  • Alkali batteries

  • NiMH batteries

  • Lithium ion batteries

  • Flammable liquids in containers.

  • Flammable gases in containers.

  • Waste Electrical Equipment containing batteries.

  • Oxidising agents such as hydrogen peroxide.

If you want to discover how affordable it is to ensure your hazardous waste is both safe and compliant, get in touch today.

 

Conor Rosling
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