Takeaways: Sustainable Waste Management with IK

Takeaways is a new IK-exclusive Blog Series that shares some key tasty "takeaways" from real training sessions that we host online or offline with industry experts. On the 5th & 6th of July 2021, IK Academy held an online training entitled, "Sustainable Approach to Scheduled Waste Management". I had the pleasure of hosting that online session on behalf of IK, and wanted to share some of what I learnt from the session with those of you who couldn't attend.

Takeaway 1: Wrongful disposal of industrial waste leads to environmental damage that can last for generations. When landfills are not managed well, or too corners are cut - toxic materials could penetrate the lower echelons of the dump and contaminate the water table - poisoning the groundwater and causing widespread destruction. The main cause of contamination are leachates, a foul-smelling and sticky substance filled with hazardous refuse chemicals.

Takeaway 2: Always keep up to date with the laws and regulations regarding Scheduled Waste, especially with how you environmentally protect waste in facilities, and also the manner in which you label them. Failing to do so will result in instant compound fines for even minor infractions by the environmental officer conducting an audit. It is the responsibility of the waste management team to ensure they are compliant. Takeaway 3: You should always only work with registered waste contractors. Unregistered contractors can be a cheaper alternative on the surface, but can cause you many problems legally and financially down the road. Many unregistered waste contractors do not dispose of scheduled waste properly, causing damage to the environment and inviting fines to the operator that has hired the contractor. Registered providers are regulated by a set of rules to ensure that they are properly handling waste.

To get the full-course knowledge meal, you should always join our training programmes, email us at info@ik.academy