Delegate Workbook
(Foundation)
FOREWORD
As a society we’ve been ‘blind’ to waste for far too long and its impact on our business profitability and
security, not to mention reputation. Inefficient use of resources and wasteful behaviours are holding
businesses and organisations back – pushing costs up, jeopardising compliance with waste regulations, and
adding to the risk of raw materials shortages in the future. And the real cost of waste is not the cost of the
skip that takes it away; it is much more expensive when you count in the time, money and environmental
impact of extracting or manufacturing the materials that end up in the skip. Resource efficiency and waste
prevention in how we live and work has to be the next (quiet) revolution.
That’s why the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management has launched the new Waste Smart training
and awards. It operates at two levels:


Foundation Level – for hands-on people who make front line, minute-by-minute decisions that affect
cost, wastage or compliance; and
Advanced Level – for those who manage or implement change by setting the direction, procedures and
culture for sustainable resource use in their organisation.
Waste Smart is designed with our customers in mind; it is quick and accessible, easy to digest and to turn
into action in the workplace. It offers you practical and cost-effective guidance on improving resource use,
cutting waste, complying with waste regulations and demonstrating your commitment to improved
environmental performance. We hope it helps you and your organisation to enjoy all the benefits of being
‘smart’ about waste.
Steve Lee
Chief Executive, Chartered Institution of Wastes Management
Brought to you by:
Supported by:
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
4
WASTE AS A RESOURCE
5
THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF WASTE
10
THE COST OF MANAGING WASTE
14
UNDERSTANDING AND APPLYING THE WASTE HIERARCHY
17
LEGISLATION AND ENSURING COMPLIANCE
22
SUMMARY
34
ACTION PLAN
35
ASSESSMENT
36
WHO CAN HELP?
37
KEYWORDS / GLOSSARY
38
Version No.: 1.1 (England & Wales)
Date:
April 2013
3
INTRODUCTION
COURSE AIMS
The aims of this booklet and the accompanying course material are to provide you with the
knowledge, understanding and skills to:


reduce costs and aid compliance by preventing wastes arising from workplace activities; and
contribute to improving the management of resources
COURSE CONTENT
The course comprises of five sessions, each contained
in one chapter of this workbook:

Waste as a resource

The environmental impact of waste

The cost of managing waste

Understanding
Hierarchy

Legislation and compliance
and
applying
the
This delegate workbook is
provided for you to work
through during the course.
There are places for you to
write your own notes, and
exercises for you to complete.
Waste
You may take this document
back to your workplace after
the course to use as a
reference material in the
future.
WHAT YOU WILL GET OUT OF THE COURSE
By the end of this course, you will have:





understanding of why improving resource and waste management is important
knowledge of key regulations and understanding of the responsibilities of those directly
involved in managing wastes
understanding of how resource management can be improved through reducing waste in
the workplace
the skills to identify improvements in your workplace
a certificate to demonstrate successful achievement of the course
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WASTE AS A RESOURCE
All businesses or services use resources to meet the needs of the market, and to fulfill customer and
client expectations.
WHAT ARE RESOURCES?

Financial – cash, loans, shareholder capital, grants, etc.

Human – people, knowledge, skills, etc.

Physical – materials, energy, buildings, IT, etc

Intangible – brand, reputation, goodwill, etc.
This course will focus on physical material resources
WHAT IS WASTE?
A ‘waste’ is any physical resource that is discarded at any stage in the business process. This can
include:

offcuts and other residues

goods/materials that do not meet quality standards

redundant stock

discarded materials that may go off site for treatment or disposal
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Organisations can also use the process analysis definition, which looks at all inputs into the
organisation, the processes that are used to convert these inputs into valuable products or services,
and the outputs.
The difference between the inputs and the valuable outputs shows the efficiency of the
organisation, and anything which is not a valuable output is considered a waste.
INPUTS
PROCESS
WASTE
NOTES:
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OUTPUTS
LEGAL DEFINITION
“Any substance or object the holder discards,
intends to discard or is required to discard"
This definition comes from the Waste Framework Directive, and it forms the basic definition of
waste in the UK. It makes it clear that it is the producer or holder of the material, substance or
object who defines whether it is a waste or not. Once defined, it remains a waste until it has been
fully recovered.
This means that both the producer and any subsequent holders of the waste have certain legal
responsibilities to ensure that any threats to the environment or human health arising from the
waste and how it is managed are minimised and controlled.
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TYPES OF WASTE
Throughout this course, we will be focussing
on what are known as ‘Controlled Wastes’
because they are principally controlled
through waste legislation. We will focus mainly
on industrial wastes and commercial wastes
that arise in premises wholly or mainly used
for the purposes of a trade, business, sport,
recreation or entertainment.
Types of Controlled Waste
Some of these wastes may be defined as
‘hazardous’ and so require special care if they
meet specified hazardous properties, such as
flammable,
irritant,
toxic,
harmful,
carcinogenic, corrosive, etc. Hazardous waste
requires special handling and management.
Wastes controlled through other legislation include radioactive waste and explosives, and is outside
the remit of this course.
NOTES:
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WASTE AS A RESOURCE
Most wastes have a potential value as a resource:


landfill waste can create an energy resource from
landfill gas
waste used as a fuel in an Energy from Waste
(EfW) plant can create both heat and electricity
Just because something is
legally defined as waste, it
doesn’t mean it is worthless
or doesn’t have a use
If waste is appropriately managed and segregated for recovery and/or recycling, waste can be a
commodity with a value. Disposal costs can be reduced by segregating wastes that can be
reprocessed e.g. catering food waste for composting.
The table below shows examples of the values of different waste streams. These may not be
representative of the prices that producers receive from contractors or reprocessors. Those prices
will depend on factors such as the contract with contractors, and the type and amount of treatment
the waste materials require before being passed on to a reprocessor.
*values correct at mid 2012, and are subject to change
To find the latest examples of prices, you can visit http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/materialspricing-report. or http://www.letsrecycle.com/prices
Please note prices are an indication of the market prices prevailing in the relevant month, and may not
necessarily be the prices you receive from your waste contractor(s).
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KEYWORDS / GLOSSARY
ADEQUATE DESCRIPTION
Information which must accompany waste in
transit describing its nature and composition
adequately enough to ensure anyone handling the
waste can do so appropriately
COMMERCIAL WASTE
Waste from premises used wholly or mainly for
retail, offices, sport, recreation or entertainment
CONSIGNMENT NOTE
Legal document to record the details of
transporting hazardous waste
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION (AD)
A biological process whereby biodegradable
wastes are decomposed in an enclosed process, in
the absence of oxygen by micro-organisms for 2-3
weeks at up to 60°C
CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION (C&D) WASTE
Any waste produced as a result of construction or
demolition works, typically building infrastructure;
includes improvement, repair and alteration
BROKER
Makes arrangements on behalf of others to
recover or dispose of waste, regardless of whether
they handle the waste themselves
CONTAMINATION
Pollution of air, water or land or the presence of
an incompatible item or material in a specific
waste stream (e.g. glass in a paper recycling bin)
CIVIL SANCTIONS
Civil action from the Regulator as an alternative to
enforcement action through the criminal courts
ENERGY FROM WASTE (EFW)
The process of thermally treating waste in order
to recover energy as electricity or heat
CLINICAL WASTE
Medical waste such as used dressings, prescription
only medicines, used syringes, etc.; waste which is
infectious and therefore needing special handling
FERROUS METAL
Metal containing iron, such as steel or iron itself
GASIFICATION
The process that heats waste to a temperature in
excess of 850% in an atmosphere which does not
contain enough oxygen to allow full combustion of
the waste
COMPOST
The product of the natural decomposition of
organic matter in the presence of air
GROUNDWATER
Water beneath the ground, often used for water
supplies
HAZARDOUS WASTE
Waste which due to its chemical or physical
composition has specified hazardous properties
which according to legislation renders it
‘hazardous’
HOUSEHOLD WASTE
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Waste from domestic premises, caravans,
houseboats, residential homes, campsites,
prisons, schools, colleges and universities
LEACHATE
Liquid produced within landfill sites due to the
decomposition of waste and containing
chemicals/ contaminants from the waste. Can be
highly polluting if it seeps into a river or
groundwater
INDUSTRIAL WASTE
Waste from a factory or industrial process
LANDFILL GAS
A mixture of gases generated by the
decomposition of waste in a landfill, parts of
which are flammable, potentially explosive and
also a powerful greenhouse gas
LIFE CYCLE IMPACT
Comprehensive ecological assessment that
identifies the energy, material and waste flows of
a product, and their impact on the environment
MATERIAL RECOVERY FACILITY (MRF)
Waste management facility designed to segregate
waste into different waste types for recycling
LANDFILL TAX
A tax on the disposal of waste, to encourage
waste producers to produce less waste, recover
more value from waste, and to use more
environmentally friendly methods of waste
disposal
METHANE
A flammable gas and a component of landfill gas
MUNICIPAL WASTE
Waste collected by or on behalf of the waste
collection authority (local council). Includes
household waste, market waste, street sweepings
and some commercial wastes
NON-FERROUS METAL
Metal that does not contain any iron, such as
aluminium, copper and gold
ORGANIC
Material, which is of animal or vegetable origin,
containing carbon
PROCESSES
Methods of operation or manufacture
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PRODUCER
Creates waste, or carries out an activity resulting
in a change in the nature or composition of the
waste
SEGREGATION
The separation of waste materials to allow for
better recycling or disposal
PYROLYSIS
Thermal treatment where waste is heated to a
temperature of up to 850°C in the absence of
oxygen
THERMAL TREATMENT
Waste treatment technologies which involve
processes using high temperatures, including
incineration, gasification, pyrolysis and
autoclaving
PHYSICAL TREATMENT
A process using physical means i.e. sorting, baling
and shredding
TRANSFER STATION
A facility for bulking up waste to make transport
to another facility more efficient
REFUSE DERIVED FUELS (RDF)
A fuel made from municipal solid waste used to
generate electricity. Usually recyclables and inert
materials are removed before the residual waste
is pelletised into a fuel source
WASTE
Any physical resource that is discarded at any
stage in the business process, and is defined
through legislation
WASTE AUDIT
The systematic data collection to identify all
wastes produced by a company, department or
process
REGISTERED WASTE CARRIER
Transports controlled waste in the course of a
business or otherwise with a view to profit
REGULATOR
The organisation which is legally required to
monitor and control activities which keep, treat,
deposit or dispose of controlled waste
WASTE HIERARCHY
The priority for dealing with waste for the benefit
of sustainability and environment protection,
starting with waste prevention and ending with
disposal
REPROCESSOR
Treats material reclaimed from a waste stream to
make new material / products
WASTE MINIMISATION
Reducing or preventing the production of waste
materials
RESIDUAL WASTE
The waste which is left over after recycling or
recovery
WASTE TRANSFER NOTE
Legal document to cover the transporting of nonhazardous waste between two parti
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