Responsibilities

Who’s doing what and why?

Responsibilities for the management of waste are not always clearly delineated in institutions. It is therefore important to establish who is responsible for doing what, and that the law is not being broken when handling or disposing of waste. Click here for detailed advice on Legal Compliance and Roles and Responsibilities

An example of a questionnaire to help identify responsibilities, storage methods, segregation and handling of waste is shown below. You can download this as Template 1

Note: it may not be possible to complete all sections of Template 1 until after the waste review has been undertaken. However, it is useful to read it prior to the review, so that all those involved can be aware of the important questions that need to be answered.

(This template is modified from an example from the University of Sheffield.)

Example of Template 1: Identification of responsibilities for managing waste and appropriateness of methods

Responsibility	Yes / No	Comments
Does your institution have a waste policy?
Does your institution have a nominated waste manager/officer?
Is anyone responsible at department/section level? (contact details should also be included in Template 2)
Containers and storage for general waste	Yes/No	Comments
Are appropriate containers used for the storage of waste?
Who decides what storage containers are appropriate?
Are containers properly labelled?
Is waste stored in a specially designated area?
Are the storage areas secure with restricted access?
Are all employees aware of relevant waste management procedures?
Is a licence required for any storage areas?
If YES, is the licence displayed?
Are there appropriate procedures in the event of an incident?
Segregation and handling of Special/Hazardous waste	Yes/No	Comments
Are wastes properly segregated? (special/non-special)(hazardous/non-hazardous)
Are wastes properly labelled?
Are waste handled in a safe manner (any hazards taken into account)?
Are all appropriate employees made aware of procedures?
Documentation	Yes/No	Comments
Are adequate records kept of all wastes?
Are adequate records kept of the licensed storage area?
Are adequate records kept of the correct and safe disposal of wastes?
Do you require documentation stating that the waste has been destroyed?
If special/hazardous waste is produced is the site registered?
Has the waste carriers registration documentation been checked? Who by?

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Responsibilities

Who’s doing what and why?

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