Hazardous Waste Management

Great White North Environmental Services Limited has considerable experience in the field of Hazardous Waste Management that has provided the company with knowledge of all components in this field.  This knowledge ranges from reclamation of waste sites to the specifics of leachate monitoring, the operational costs of modern landfill sites, and the effectiveness of various styles of compaction equipment.  Additionally, we have produced Hazardous Waste Management Disposal Matrices for a major international waste management client.

Waste Auditing

The in-plant survey or waste audit is the first step in reducing waste and overcoming pollution problems.  It is a detailed analysis of the company’s processes and wastes aimed at minimizing, or even eliminating, discharges from unit processes.

Conducting a waste audit involves observing, measuring, and recording process-related data, collecting and analyzing waste samples and conducting interviews of key plant personnel.  To be effective it must be done methodically and thoroughly under the direction of a waste reduction specialist.  The audit should also involve all personnel from top management to shop floor workers.

A proficient waste audit should include the following:

• a definition of sources, quantities, and types of waste being generated;

• a compilation of information on unit processes, products, raw materials, water usage, and waste generation;

• highlighted process efficiencies and inefficiencies;

• identified areas of wastage, loss, and waste problems;

• the identification of set targets for waste reduction;

• the development of cost-effective waste management strategies; and

• information to increase employee knowledge of production processes and concern for waste reduction.

Waste Reduction

The days of inexpensive resources, low energy costs and little environmental regulation are gone.  Companies today are taking a closer look at how they can reduce their wastes (and subsequent liabilities) and thereby cut their costs and comply with increasingly more stringent regulations.  Tighter regulations governing waste disposal, coupled with escalating costs are two of the greatest incentives for industry to reduce their waste generation.

Provincial and federal environmental regulatory bodies are severely restricting the discharge of contaminants by municipal treatment facilities and industrial generators into sewers, rivers, and lakes.  Municipalities, not in compliance, may decide to upgrade their treatment facilities or require generators to reduce the amount of wastes discharged into the sewer system.

The treatment of total plant effluent (“end of pipe”) can be very costly compared to reducing wastes at the source.  This “end of pipe” treatment handles large volumes of complex mixtures of process wastes and often does not remove all contaminants necessary for environmental compliance.  An efficient solution to this problem is to move back up the pipe to identify and segregate waste streams at their source for treatment or reuse.

Benefits

Despite the cost and manpower requirements needed to conduct a waste reduction audit, many cost saving benefits may be realized following the conclusion of the process.  These benefits include:

• reduced waste generation;

• reduced raw material consumption;

• reduced waste treatment costs;

• reduced potential liability;

• improved public relations; and

• enhanced process efficiency resulting in improved company profits.

The Waste Audit Process

The waste audit process, described herein, is designed to be generic in nature.  There are eighteen (18) steps categorized into six (6) phases, which comprise the audit.  These steps are listed as follows:

Phase One:       Understanding the Processes in the Plant;

                        Step 1:             Listing of all unit process; and

                        Step 2:             Constructing a process flow diagram.

Phase Two:      Defining Process Inputs;

                        Step 3:             Determining resource usage;

                        Step 4:             Investigating raw material storage and handling losses;

                        Step 5:             Recording water usage; and

                        Step 6:             Determining current levels of waste reuse.

Phase Three:     Defining Process Outputs;

                        Step 7:             Quantifying process outputs;

                        Step 8:             Accounting for wastewater flows; and

                        Step 9:             Documenting waste stored and transported off-site for disposal.

Phase Four:      The Material Balance Study;

                        Step 10:           Assembling unit process input and output information;

                        Step 11:           Deriving a preliminary material balance for unit processes;

                        Step 12:           Evaluating the material balance; and

                        Step 13:           Refining the material balance.

Phase Five:       Identifying Waste Reduction Alternatives; and

                        Step 14:           Examining obvious waste reduction alternatives;

                        Step 15:           Targeting problem waste streams; and

                        Step 16:           Developing long-term waste reduction alternatives.

Phase Six:         Cost/Benefit Analysis and Implementing an Action Plan.

                        Step 17:           Conducting a cost/benefit analysis for waste treatment/reduction; and

                        Step 18:           Implementing the Action Plan:  reducing wastes and increasing production efficiency.

Waste Audit and Reduction Computer Modeling

Great White North Environmental Services Limited utilizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency waste audit and reduction computer modeling program called the Strategic Waste Minimization Initiative (SWAMI).  SWAMI is a tool for using process analysis for identifying waste minimization opportunities within an industrial setting.  The information obtained from the waste audit such as process definition, material inputs, products for each unit operation, and outputs associated with waste streams are input into the modeling program.  SWAMI provides a scheme for identifying and prioritizing (on a cost or volume basis) waste reduction opportunities in process flow diagrams, and directs the selection of candidate waste minimization strategies.  This program helps to simplify and manage all information collected during the waste audit process.

Corporate Project Experience, contains a description of completed projects.