South West company called in after tonnes of toxic waste discovered

A South West company has been called in to prevent a serious environmental incident after more than 20 tonnes of hazardous chemicals were discovered in a warehouse near St Austell.

[UKPRwire, Tue Jan 02 2007] The waste was made up of crushed fluorescent tubes, used in many Cornish companies. They contain a potentially lethal cocktail of mercury, aluminium, sodium, lead and cadmium and could have led to a major pollution incident if they had been sent to landfill sites in the South West.

The Electronic Waste Company, based near Redruth, was called in after the discovery of a number of skips containing the material.

The toxic chemicals will now be separated and reused with the glass recycled at a specialist plant, but it is thought that many companies may be simply dispose of the tubes in their normal landfill waste, risking prosecution and environmental damage.

Damian Lambkin, The Electronic Waste Company’s Managing Director, said: “Although the discovery of waste on this scale is unusual, fortunately the company concerned has been responsible and looked to dispose of it in an environmentally friendly way. However, there are companies who will simply include these sorts of materials in their normal waste. They are breaking the law, and risking significant damage to the environment in the South West.”

The Electronic Waste Company was contacted by waste management business Viridor who had been asked to remove the skips.

Richard Semple, Viridor’s Unit Manager at St Austell said: “Very few organisations nationally have the capability to deal with waste of this nature, so we’re pleased to have found a company virtually on our doorstep which can cope with these hazardous chemicals. With the help of The Electronic Waste Company, Viridor has been able to ensure that 100% will be recycled, and absolutely none will go to landfill.”

Florescent tubes are listed in a document known as the European Waste Catalogue as hazardous waste.

Next year, new European regulations will come into effect. Companies and local authorities are obliged to show they have processes in place to deal with the hazardous chemicals in products disposed of by consumers.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment directive has already been adopted in a number of other European countries, and will become law in Britain next July.

Damian continued: “There is no doubt that if this material had ended up in a landfill site in the South West, it could have potentially leached into the soil and waterways, causing untold environmental damage. That would have been a catastrophe for wildlife and possibly humans in the vicinity. Luckily we’ve been called in at a stage where we can prevent that happening.”

As well as dealing with unusual and exceptional items of hazardous waste, The Electronic Waste Company collects, strips and recycles electronic equipment routinely disposed of by companies.

This includes PCs, photocopiers, networking equipment, mobile phones, televisions and computers screens, refrigeration units, batteries and cabling.

More information on The Electronic Waste Company can be found on the company’s website, www.electronicwastecompany.co.uk, or by calling 01209 211182.

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