BFPA chief executive Chris Buxton explains that, "after many months of discussion and correspondence" materials used on call-outs will no longer be treated as hazardous waste – so operators will not require consignment notes and the associated administration system for removing wastes and transporting them back to a depot for disposal or recovery.
Buxton believes this "clarification" will save the industry approximately £18 million pounds a year, and put a stop to unauthorised disposal of waste materials through casual discard or fly-tipping.
"The significance of this result should not be underestimated," he says. "Whenever any hazardous waste is moved from the site at which it is produced, regulations demand that it be accompanied by a hazardous waste consignment note."
Completion of the consignment note currently requires the producer and/or carrier of the waste to provide full and accurate details relating to the nature of the waste, which is a labour-intensive administrative exercise involving, multiple parties in the chain of possession.
"We oversaw some considerable research into the classification and assessment of waste contaminated with hydraulic oils," says Buxton.
"This included a review of hundreds of safety data sheets, along with an analysis of associated on-site procedures and close scrutiny of the European and domestic law," he continues.
"This work concluded that these particular oils did not display any hazardous properties. It has been confirmed that, going forwards, waste hydraulic hoses and the associated PPE and oily rags generated in mobile applications ... will not be classified as hazardous waste."
As a result, they will not be subject to the tighter controls of the Hazardous Waste Regulations. The oils themselves are still legally classified as hazardous wastes, when discarded. This confirmation only applies to other wastes contaminated by or containing residues of these oils.
The BFPA is currently writing a formal FAQ document (under the auspices of the EA), which it is anticipated will answer any more detailed questions that might arise amongst industry users.