The Haz Guide

The Hazardous Waste Regulations (and business waste)

Household and garden chemicals

This category includes household products such as bleaches, disinfectants and some cleaning products, as well as garden chemicals including pesticides, weedkillers, fertilisers and lawn treatments. For further details of the components of concern in these products, and the hazards that they present, see the NHHWF products list.

There are a number of potential good practice options for storage of household and garden chemicals. The option chosen will depend on the quantities of chemicals being accepted at an HWRC, and whether the storage area for chemicals being delivered by the public is also used for chemicals from other sources, e.g. fly-tipping arisings, chemicals collected through “toxic taxi” systems, chemicals collected from small SMEs.

Details of options for good practice storage arrangements are provided below.
Regardless of the storage system, a number of common guidelines should apply.
All communications materials or procedures should emphasise safe handling of household and garden chemicals. For example:

members of the public should be directed to hand items to members of site staff if they have household or garden chemicals that they wish to deposit at a HWRC
the public should be asked to leave household and garden chemicals in their original container.

When items have been handed to members of staff at a HWRC (or when they have been found on site), staff should be trained to follow the procedure below for household or garden chemicals. This procedure also relates to motoring products such as antifreeze, brake fluid, diesel, petrol, rust remover and transmission fluid.

HWRC staff should check to see if containers of household or garden chemicals, or motoring products, carry a CHIP symbol on the label.
As a minimum requirement in terms of segregation of different materials, explosive items, flammable items and other hazardous materials should be stored in separate locked containers.
If a product container carries a CHIP symbol it should either be placed in the chemicals safe, the flammables safe or in the explosives box:
- materials carrying the Explosive symbol should be placed for temporary storage in the explosives box
- materials carrying the symbols for Highly Flammable or Extremely Flammable should be placed in the flammables safe.

Materials carrying any other symbol should be placed in the chemicals safe, see the CHIP section for details:

Chemicals should be left in their original container and all containers should be placed upright in the appropriate safe.
If containers are fragile or leaking they should be placed in a suitable sealed screw-top plastic container. (Suitable containers should be available from collection contractors.) Only one HHW item should be placed in each of these containers to avoid mixing of chemicals.
If chemicals are brought to a HWRC in unmarked containers – i.e. any container other than that provided by the manufacturers – site supervisors should ask members of the public what the substance in the container is, and anything they know about its origin. These details should be recorded to assist the collection contractors with the identification of chemicals. Site supervisors should then place the material in a sealed screw-top plastic container (see above) or other UN approved container and put this in the chemicals or flammable safe.
Details of all substances stored in the chemicals or flammables safes, should be recorded in a log book to assist collection contractors with identification of chemicals. Details recorded should include the name of chemical (if known), date deposited, and name and contact details of the member of the public who deposited the waste.
Unless staff have a good reason to believe that unidentified substances are not hazardous they should not be placed in the general waste. Collection contractors’ chemists will be able to identify any materials that are non-hazardous and suitable for disposal with general waste.
Arrangements should be made with relevant contractors to ensure that there is always adequate storage space for chemicals kept on a HWRC. These arrangements may take the form of on-demand collections made by the contractor when space in a chemicals safe or flammables safe is running out. Alternatively, collections should be made at regular intervals. It is recommended that collections are made on a monthly basis as a minimum.

HWRC operators may wish to consider further segregation in larger stores containing greater quantities of waste chemicals. Relevant guidance is available in Health and Safety Executive 2003, Chemical Warehousing: The storage of packaged dangerous substances HSG71 HSE Books. However, the guidance provided in HSG71 may not always be reasonably practicable in the case of HWRCs, given the small inventories of waste chemicals stored at most sites; the guidance is intended for sites housing large quantities of hazardous substances. The key issue is that each site should conduct its own risk assessment based upon prevailing and foreseeable circumstances and risks, and to ensure that the quantity of waste chemicals stored is kept to a minimum.

HSE has published guidelines on the storage and use of pesticides which may be of use when these appear in the waste stream.

Hazardous waste category
Asbestos	Gas bottles
Automotive batteries	Household and garden chemicals
Clinical waste	Household batteries
Explosives	Motoring products
Fire extinguishers	Oils and oil filters
Fluorescent tubes	Paints and related DIY products
Fridges/freezers	WEEE
Other problematic wastes
Aerosols	Radioactive Waste
Tyres	Vegetable oil

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Storage and segregation options

Household batteries

Motoring products

Oil and oil filters

Paints and related products

Waste Electrical Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

Fluorescent lighting tubes (gas discharge lamps)

Cooling appliances containing refrigerants (fridges and freezers)

Display equipment containing cathode ray tubes (TVs and monitors)

Appendix 1 - Products list

HSE -

Pesticides Safety Directorate