Hazardous waste challenge

At the beginning of June, almost a hundred interested people visited the 18th Swiss Hazardous Waste Day in Olten. Fifty more people joined via the virtual route, who were able to gain information and ask their questions. The hybrid event was also simultaneously translated for the second time for the French-speaking colleagues.

Practice and enforcement

The complex interrelationships between waste and hazardous goods law are a challenge for many companies in everyday life. Martin Häfliger from the company Encoma-OSH GmbH clearly showed the obligations of the parties involved. Contrary to the opinion of many sender companies, responsibility and liability cannot be delegated by obtaining external support. These include: identifying the waste, labeling it, preparing the consignment bill, and, if necessary, the classification of hazardous materials and the associated obligations. In addition, there are often deficiencies in the measures related to occupational safety. Acquiring the necessary expertise and investing in competent support is worthwhile.

For the implementation of the regulations in the medical field, a revised guideline will be published soon. Rita Barros from the Federal Office for the Environment (Bafu) presented the updated document. The new structure of the guide, the summary of all decrees from occupational safety, biosafety, hazardous goods and waste law should serve as a practical aid for those responsible in hospitals and institutions. Often, waste with a risk of contamination is classified as infectious, or hazardous waste is mixed or diluted, which is not permitted. The publication at the end of 2021 is intended to prevent such errors in the future.

 State of the art and development

The amendment of the Water Protection Act and Ordinance puts the issue of micropollutants in the spotlight more than ever. Luca Rossi from the VSA (Association of Swiss Wastewater and Water Pollution Control Professionals) showed which wastewater treatment plants should be upgraded with additional installations to efficiently remove pharmaceutical residues from wastewater. The technical possibilities pose different financial and spatial requirements. In principle, according to the speaker, it is advantageous to tackle the problem at the source.

Ralf Kägi of Eawag and his team are investigating the persistence and hazard of nanoparticles in residues from wastewater treatment and incineration plants. The results of their investigations over several years show that the nanoparticles were transformed into harmless forms during the relevant treatment and combustion processes.

The situation was different 30 years ago with asbestos, when it was recognized that these fibers posed a strong health risk. Walter Hiltpold of Carbotech AG is an expert in this field. Because of the latency period between exposure and disease, he said, three decades after the ban on asbestos, we are in the ascending peak of asbestos deaths. Today, the fibers are entering the environment due to the renovations of old buildings that are taking place. According to the speaker, the legal requirements make the building owner and the construction workers responsible and thus ensure that the hazards are identified and remediation measures are initiated.

Topics of the patron partners SVUT and SENS

Interesting contributions on electromobility and the recovery of refrigerants and propellants were presented by the patron partners SVUT and SENS.

All presentations and impressions of the event are available on the website www.ecoserve.ch to find.

The next hazardous waste day is scheduled for Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Proposals or input on papers may be sent to info@ecoserve.ch.