Waste storage, segregation and handling appropriate measures

These are the appropriate measures for waste storage, segregation and handling at regulated facilities with an environmental permit for treating or transferring healthcare waste.

1. You must not store individual bags and containers (for example, bins and boxes) of waste loose.

2. You must store and handle bagged waste on site in fully enclosed, lockable, rigid, leak-proof and weather proof bulk containers (for example, carts).

3. Rigid waste containers (bins and boxes, including pallet boxes) must be sealed and in good condition. You should store and handle them in an upright position (as far as possible) to prevent or, where that is not practicable, to minimise the risk of spillages. They must be stored either:

  • in enclosed bulk containers (for example, carts)
  • on pallets, stacked no more 2.2m high (including the height of the pallet)

4. You must make sure that containers stored or handled on pallets are stable and secured with shrink wrap. The containers must not extend beyond (overhang) the sides of the pallet. The shrink wrap must be clear or transparent so you can identify waste types, damaged containers, leaks or spillages and incorrectly stacked containers. If you know waste contains free liquid (for example, chemical wastes such as fixer and developer solutions) you must store the pallets in a dedicated area of the facility that has self-contained drainage.

5. Bulk containers must have a lid and you must securely close the lid whenever they contain any waste, except when waste is being loaded into or unloaded from them.

6. You must clearly establish the maximum storage capacity of the site and designated storage areas and you must not exceed these maximum capacities. You must define capacity in terms of numbers of carts, containers or pallets, as well as by tonnage. You must regularly monitor the quantity of stored waste on the site and designated areas to check against the allowed maximum capacity.

7. Where possible, you should locate storage areas away from watercourses and sensitive perimeters, for example, those close to public rights of way, housing or schools. You must store all waste within the security protected area of your facility to prevent unauthorised access and vandalism.

8. Where wastes are known to be sensitive to heat, light, air or water you must make sure that they are protected from these ambient conditions, for example, by storing the wastes in a building or under cover. These storage provisions apply to any container held in any storage area, or which is being emptied, sorted, repackaged or otherwise managed.

9. You must store and handle all pharmaceutical, chemical, anatomical and palletised wastes securely within designated areas of a secure building. A building is a covered structure enclosed on all vertical sides that provides sheltered cover and contains emissions of, for example, noise, particulate matter, odour and litter.

10. You must store anatomical waste and animal carcasses in designated refrigerated units (operating below 5°C) unless you are storing them on site for less than 24 hours (72 hours if over a weekend).

11. You must store and handle infectious wastes that are not pharmaceutical, chemical, anatomical or palletised wastes in a secure building. You may however store these infectious wastes outside at facilities that were operating before we published this guidance, but only if you meet all of these conditions:

  • it is not technically or economically feasible to store them in a building
  • alternative storage arrangements provide an equivalent level of environmental protection to storage in a building
  • you carry out an appropriate site-specific environmental risk assessment which includes (but is not limited to) an assessment of fugitive emissions to air, land and water (including odour), pests and flood risk
  • the waste is in bulk containers that remain closed and locked at all times, except when waste is being loaded or unloaded from them
  • you hold the bulk containers in a secure area of the site that has impermeable surfacing and sealed drainage

12. You must store and handle offensive wastes in a secure building or in secure, fully enclosed, rigid, waterproof and leak-proof bulk containers. If you store waste externally in bulk containers, the containers must remain closed at all times, except when waste is being loaded or unloaded from them.

13. You must not store or hold wastes on site in vehicles or vehicle trailers, unless they are being received or prepared for imminent transfer (that is, they will be removed from site within 24 hours, or 72 hours if over a weekend).

14. You must store floc produced by alternative treatment plant in fully enclosed, waterproof and leak-proof containers. You must store the wastes produced by incineration plant following technical guidance for the waste incineration sector.

15. You must maintain the integrity of waste packaging at all times. You should design and operate your facility in a way that minimises waste handling. You must never throw, walk on or handle healthcare wastes in a way that might damage the packaging.

16. You must store waste in a way that protects its integrity and prevents or, where that is not possible, minimises the risk of packaging failing. You must pay particular attention to items at or near the bottom of bulk containers and avoid, for example, overloading, compressing or puncturing waste.

17. You must store different healthcare wastes according to waste type and destination. You must store the following wastes types in separate storage areas or containers. This is to prevent physical contact or a leak from one contaminating another waste type or its packaging:

  • clinical waste bags for incineration
  • clinical waste bags for alternative treatment
  • offensive hygiene waste
  • cytotoxic and cytostatic medicines, including contaminated sharps
  • other waste medicines, including contaminated sharps
  • non-medicinally contaminated sharps
  • dental amalgam
  • x-ray photographic fixer
  • x-ray photographic developer
  • other photographic waste (for example, film)
  • other chemicals, which you must store in accordance with the relevant measures set out in HSG 71 Chemical warehousing: The storage of packaged dangerous substances
  • anatomical waste and animal carcases
  • non-infectious gypsum wastes (for example, plaster casts and moulds)
  • infectious gypsum wastes

18. You must store all bulk waste containers in a way that allows safe and easy access for inspection at all times and minimises the need to remove others that may be blocking access. You must maintain safe access (inspection aisles) to at least one side of palletised wastes. You must handle and store containers so that labels and markings are easy to see and continue to be legible.

19. You must not stack bulk containers, carts and pallets that contain waste whilst they are being stored on site, unless they are held in purpose-built racking systems.

20. You must clearly establish the maximum storage times of wastes held on site. Wastes should be treated on, or removed from, the site as soon as possible. You must not store relevant wastes on site for longer than these maximum storage times.

Maximum storage times for different types of healthcare waste

You can store the following waste types for up to 7 days if outside, or for up to 14 days if stored in a building:

  • infectious clinical waste
  • offensive waste
  • treated waste from alternative treatment plant (for example, autoclave floc)

You can store refrigerated anatomical waste for up to 14 days.

You can store unrefrigerated anatomical waste for up to 24 hours, or up to 72 hours if over a weekend.

You can store the following waste types for up to 6 months:

  • cytotoxic and cytostatic drugs
  • other medicines or drugs
  • dental amalgam
  • other chemicals or other wastes

21. You must prioritise the treatment or off-site transfer of waste based on:

  • its type
  • age on arrival (if known)
  • date of arrival
  • duration of storage on site

You should follow the first-in, first-out principle and also identify and prioritise wastes with a higher risk of causing odour, litter or pest problems.

22. You must not open and repackage (bulk) individual waste packages and containers (for example bags, bins, boxes and blister packs), unless the packaging is designed to be reused. If you receive waste in damaged packaging you must record this as a non-conformance. You must transfer the contents to a new, clearly labelled container or package of the appropriate type and condition.

23. If you repackage waste received in containers designed for reuse, the repackaging must be specifically authorised by the environmental permit (for example, as a D14 or R12 waste operation). You must repackage waste inside a building and make sure you protect the safety of staff and prevent potential emissions. For example, you could use an automated process in a contained environment with air extraction and abatement. You must carefully record the transfer of waste from individual packages or containers to bulk containers and must update the waste inventory accordingly.

24. Unless specifically authorised by your environmental permit, you must not mix hazardous waste with other categories of hazardous waste, or with other wastes or materials.

25. The type and quality of storage area surfaces must be suitable for effective disinfection with a broad spectrum agent. Your procedures must make sure that surfaces are regularly cleaned and disinfected.

26. Once emptied, you must check all bulk containers to make sure you have removed all of the waste and then clean them inside and out. You must disinfect containers that have held infectious waste.

27. You must inspect bulk containers (for example, carts) used to transport waste before each reuse to make sure that:

28. The methods you use for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and containers must:

  • physically remove contamination
  • be capable of achieving disinfection across the broad spectrum of micro-organisms with the parameters used (time, concentration, temperature, quantity)
  • not produce emissions of pathogenic bioaerosols or chemical agents, or must make sure these emissions are contained and managed appropriately

29. You must:

  • contain wash-waters within an impermeable area and either discharge them to foul sewer or dispose of them appropriately off site
  • prevent run-off into external areas or to surface water drains
  • prevent healthcare waste items from being discharged to water (including to sewer)

30. The way you store and handle waste must prevent pests and vermin. You must have specific measures and procedures in place to identify and manage any wastes that are causing pests or vermin at your site.

31. You must inspect storage areas, containers and infrastructure daily. You must deal with any issues immediately. You must keep written records of the inspections. You must rectify and log any spillages of waste.

32. Your site must have suitable procedures, equipment and broad spectrum disinfectants to deal with the chemical and biological spillages that may arise from waste types accepted at your facility. All staff must be aware of their location and trained in their use.

33. You must only move wastes between different locations (or load for removal off site) following written procedures. You must then amend your waste tracking system to record these changes.

34. When you load vehicles you must prevent leakage or contamination of one waste type (or its packaging) by another waste type. You must have written procedures to check outgoing vehicles and loads to confirm you have met these requirements.

35. Your site inventory must be able to track and link all incoming consignments of waste to specific outgoing waste loads and their documentation.

36. If you transfer waste, you must be able to demonstrate that the description and classification for the outgoing waste is the same as that for the incoming waste – unless the incoming waste description and classification was incorrect or incomplete.

Compaction of healthcare waste

1. You must not compact or compress infectious clinical waste by mechanical or manual means.

2. You can compact offensive waste if you are specifically authorised to do this under an environmental permit. You must have appropriate measures in place to prevent pollution from, for example, odorous emissions to air, or releasing liquids to surface water.

3. You should limit the compaction of offensive waste to ‘light compaction’ to minimise the risk of pollution, where:

  • the design and operation of the compaction process is unlikely to result in any bags splitting
  • it is only carried out to move bags along a bulk container – for example, by operating at low hydraulic pressure

4. If you compact or compress any offensive wastes you must use detailed procedures to contain and minimise the release of body fluids, micro-organisms and liquid discharges. You must carry out monitoring to demonstrate that your procedures and associated measures are effective. You must have a permit for a D14 or R12 repackaging operation to carry out light compaction.

5. Heavier compaction is likely to result in bags splitting and lead to the release of emissions to air, or liquids to surface or groundwater. If you subject offensive waste to heavier compaction, you must have appropriate measures in place to make sure that you fully capture, contain and abate (if required) all such emissions. You must have a permit for a D9 or R12 treatment operation to carry out heavier compaction.