Background to Waste Management

Introduction


Before beginning to tackle the issue of waste management at your institution, it is important to have a basic understanding of what waste is and to be aware of the types of waste stream that you are likely to encounter. How waste is classified is largely based on its properties, but there are a series of legal definitions which you will need to be familiar with if you are going to manage your waste effectively in line with statutory requirements.
This section also provides an introduction to waste management policy at the EU and national levels and to the roles and functions of the relevant regulatory bodies.

This section provides a brief outline of these topics. You will find links to more detailed discussion of relevant legislation throughout this site.