This guidance is for businesses that:
- transport, store, treat or dispose of waste from domestic, commercial or industrial premises, such as landfills, waste treatment facilities, waste transfer stations and waste incineration plant
- install and maintain sewerage systems, such as sewers, drains, cesspools and septic tanks
- remove and dispose of sewage or sewage sludge from domestic, commercial or industrial premises, such as cesspools and septic tanks.
This guidance does not cover:
- businesses that deal with their own sewage or waste, or
- sewage treatment plants operated by water or sewerage companies or authorities.
Environmental impacts of waste and sewage businesses
Waste and sewage businesses can have a number of impacts on the environment, including:
- air pollution such as acid gas, dioxins and heavy metals from incinerators, dust and aerosols from storing, treating and moving waste and methane from landfills
- land contamination from accidental spills of solvents or oils and leachate at landfills
- noise pollution from moving vehicles and crushing waste
- odour from landfills, composting sites and waste transfer stations
- pests such as insects, scavenging birds and vermin
- water pollution from foul sewer flooding, combined sewer overflows, emergency discharges, untreated or unauthorised discharges and contaminated run-off.
How can NetRegs help you?
Our guidance could help you to:
- avoid prosecution and receive fewer visits from environmental regulators
- increase efficiency and productivity
- reduce your operating costs
- be more likely to obtain business from government bodies and large businesses that require their business partners to manage their environmental impacts effectively
- improve your reputation amongst staff, customers and the public
- increase the chance of securing funding to expand your business by demonstrating that your environmental impacts are well managed.
