Latest news with #hazardouswaste
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- The Guardian
Safe and easy ways to recycle electricals – and even get money for your old gadgets
Batteries can start fires if they are not disposed of properly, so it is important not to throw them away in your regular bin. Instead, look for recycling bins for used or old household batteries near the entrance or customer service desk of a supermarket. Most of the big ones have them including Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, Lidl and Aldi. You will even find them in some libraries. Most standard types of batteries can be recycled. Rechargeable ones are usually accepted too, as long as they are not swollen or leaking. Disposable and rechargeable vapes can, and should, also go in these bins because of the hazardous lithium-ion batteries in them. Before dropping used batteries off at a recycling point, store them safely at home. Keep them in a lidded container, such as an empty jam jar or takeaway tub, and try to keep them away from metal objects such as keys and coins. For lithium batteries – the type often found in vapes, fitness trackers and digital thermometers – stick a small piece of masking tape over the terminals (the metal ends) to reduce the risk of fire. If you can take the batteries out of other electronics such as laptops, mobile phones, electric toys, Bluetooth devices, shavers, electric toothbrushes and power bank chargers before you dispose of them, you can usually also recycle these in store. If they are hard to remove, you may have to visit your local recycling bin or centre to dispose of the whole product. All those no-longer-usable chargers and tangled cables can go in with small electronics at Bring Bank recycling points. That includes old phone chargers, remote controls, electric razors, earphones, vapes and even broken fairy lights. If the device has a plug, uses batteries, needs charging or has a circuit board, it counts. These are known as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). These small drop-off points for electricals are popping up all over the country and are often run by local councils. They are often tucked into residential streets or near supermarkets. The slots are usually quite small, so anything bigger than a toaster will probably need to go to the tip instead. Look on your local council's website to find your closest Bring Bank, or search on Recycle Your Electricals. Your local tip – also known as a household waste recycling centre (HWRC) – will take almost anything that has a plug or uses batteries. That includes toasters, electric toothbrushes, radios, hairdryers, and vapes. Some tips have separate areas or bins for different types of waste, so you may need to separate any screens, white goods (such as fridges and microwaves), and small gadgets. If you are not sure where to put things, ask one of the staff – they are usually keen to point you in the right direction. You can typically take LED lightbulbs to the tip for recycling but you may find that there is a retailer nearby that has a collection point. Check the Recycle Now locator online – it will give you details of your nearest locations. Check your council's website for information about what will be accepted there, and whether there are any restrictions on how much you can drop off at a time. You can take large electrical appliances such as fridges for no charge, though it is worth checking with your local council or the specific HWRC to confirm their policies. In some areas, councils offer kerbside collection for small electrical appliances. For example, in parts of London, Oxfordshire and the West Midlands, you can leave items such as mobile phones, hairdryers or handheld games consoles in a standard carrier bag on top of your bin on collection day. Search for your council's recycling page online to see whether this is offered where you live. You should check whether you need to reserve a spot in advance. For instance, in Solihull you need to book a collection. It is best to look on your local council's website to see whether it runs the service, and if you need to do anything beforehand. AO, John Lewis and Currys operate collect and recycling schemes and will come and collect your items and dispose of them properly for a small fee. Typically this will be an add-on service if you are buying a new item from them and having it delivered. At John Lewis, you can add collection and recycling of an old product to your basket when buying its replacement. The fee is £25 for most appliances, including fridges, ovens, dishwashers, TVs and washing machines. There are some exclusions, such as American-style fridge-freezers, which it does not collect or recycle. With Currys, you can also add recycling to your basket when buying a new version of that product, which starts at £20, depending on what you want to recycle. At AO, you do not have to buy a new appliance to use its service, which costs £30. However, you may have to pay extra if you do not disconnect the appliance in advance of collection so be sure to check. If you have an old phone or tablet gathering dust in a drawer, you may be able to trade it in when buying a new one or you could resell it. Many households are holding on to more than £1,300 worth of unused but working tech, according to Material Focus, the organisation behind the Recycle Your Electricals campaign. Apple, Samsung and Currys will usually give you money off a new device if you hand in your old one – sometimes even if it has seen better days. How much you get depends on the condition. Mobile networks such as EE and Vodafone also run trade-in schemes online or in their shops. If your tech is too old to be worth anything, these companies should still take it off your hands for recycling if you are buying a new one from them. You can also send your phone to Envirofone, where it will be recycled or refurbished and sold on depending on its condition. You'll usually get some money for it too. Scott Butler, the executive director of Material Focus, says before you part with any tech you should wipe it clean by doing a factory reset and take out your SIM and memory card, as this will remove most personal data. 'We understand that some people aren't comfortable with selling or recycling their electricals – one in five adults in the UK are still holding on to unused electricals because they're concerned about how to delete and transfer the data properly,' he says. You can find out how to delete your data online in a guide from Recycle Your Electricals. If your electrical item still works and is in decent condition, you might be able to donate it instead of chucking it out. Broken or obviously unsafe items will not be accepted, so test things before donating. Charities including the British Heart Foundation, Emmaus UK and Age UK accept working electronics, as long as they are clean and safe. They will carry out portable appliance testing (Pat) and basic safety checks to make sure the item is safe to use before reselling. If the item cannot be safely repaired, it is usually broken down and the materials recycled properly, so it is not wasted either way. Some charities can collect larger items such as microwaves, ovens or vacuum cleaners for nothing, too. If you have cables, remote controls or instruction booklets, include them as well.
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Board stops California toxic waste regulators from weakening a hazardous waste rule
California shouldn't weaken hazardous waste rules to allow local landfills to accept toxic dirt that currently goes to two specialized disposal sites in the Central Valley and hazardous facilities in other states, the state Board of Environmental Safety voted Thursday. The vote went against a proposal by the Department of Toxic Substances Control that had prompted fierce opposition from environmental groups. 'I think they have been really listening to the community," said Melissa Bumstead with the advocacy group Parents Against the Santa Susana Field Lab. California's hazardous waste laws are stricter than the federal government's, and the state has long transported much of the waste it considers hazardous to other states with more lenient rules. The Department of Toxic Substances Control said disposing more waste in state would likely reduce costs and truck emissions. But environmental advocates worried the plan could have exposed already vulnerable communities to contaminated waste and set the precedent for more rules to be weakened. 'I don't think that municipal waste landfills were ever designed to accept this kind of waste, and to deregulate it ... puts those landfill communities' at risk, said Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics. California only has two hazardous waste landfills — Buttonwillow and Kettleman Hills in the San Joaquin Valley — which are expected to reach capacity by 2039, according to a report by the department. An estimated 47% of California's hazardous waste is trucked across state borders. Contaminated soil, waste oil and mixed oil are the state's three largest annual sources of hazardous waste. On average, more than 567,000 tons (514,373 metric tons) of toxic soil are produced every year. Los Angeles wildfires raised awareness of the issue The hearing comes months after wildfires in Los Angeles incinerated cars, homes and everything in them, turning ordinary objects into hundreds of tons of hazardous waste requiring specialized cleanup. It was the largest wildfire hazardous materials cleanup in the EPA's history. The infernos have also raised concerns about toxic ash and soil. Just this week, the Pasadena Unified School District published soil testing results showing high levels of arsenic or brain-damaging lead in nearly half its schools. After the fires, hazardous waste was sent to temporary sites to be separated and packaged before most of it was trucked to Utah, Arizona, Nebraska and Arkansas. Two facilities were in California — in Wilmington, near the port of Long Beach, and Buttonwillow. The type and amount of waste deposited in them varies by site, but it includes oil, radioactive materials, paint residue, asbestos, controlled substances and fluorescent lamps. 'I think that the fires have really brought to the fore some long-standing issues,' said Angela Johnson Meszaros with the environmental law group Earthjustice. 'And one of them is, how are we going to deal with cleanup, right? Because fires are not the only thing that cause soil to be hazardous.' A state law passed in 2021 set out to reform the Department of Toxic Substances Control. In March, the department released a draft plan of sweeping proposals that would guide state and local hazardous management. The board is expected to make a final decision in the summer, and it's not clear if the department could go against the board's wishes not to weaken the hazardous waste disposal rule. Board member Alexis Strauss Hacker recalled how concerned people were about the proposal during their March meeting in Fresno. The fear, she said, was 'so palpable.' Although California has decreased its hazardous waste by more than 40% since 2000, lithium-ion batteries and other types of waste are expected to increase, the report says, and the state currently lacks the capacity to manage them. Lithium-ion batteries are found in common items such as electronic vehicles, cellphones and laptops. Decades of industrial environmental pollution can accumulate, too. The issue is personal for one activist Bumstead has lived near the heavily polluted Santa Susana Field Laboratory in Southern California, once a site for rocket testing and nuclear reactor development. Her 15-year-old daughter is a two-time cancer survivor, and Bumstead was born with three spleens. She believes her family's health issues are linked to pollution from the nearby site. So when she heard that California environmental regulators wanted to weaken hazardous waste disposal rules in a bid to dump toxic soil into local landfills, she was very concerned. The Los Angeles fires have made more people realize that toxic materials could end up in their backyard, Bumstead said. 'The more we see climate change, the more we see wildfires, the more this is going to become a front line issue,' she told the board. 'This is an opportunity not just for hazardous waste that is manufactured, but also hazardous waste that is created by wildfires on how to create a plan that is going to protect Californians in the future.' ———
Associated Press
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Board stops California toxic waste regulators from weakening a hazardous waste rule
CYPRESS, Calif. (AP) — California shouldn't weaken hazardous waste rules to allow local landfills to accept toxic dirt that currently goes to two specialized disposal sites in the Central Valley and hazardous facilities in other states, the state Board of Environmental Safety voted Thursday. The vote went against a proposal by the Department of Toxic Substances Control that had prompted fierce opposition from environmental groups. 'I think they have been really listening to the community,' said Melissa Bumstead with the advocacy group Parents Against the Santa Susana Field Lab. California's hazardous waste laws are stricter than the federal government's, and the state has long transported much of the waste it considers hazardous to other states with more lenient rules. The Department of Toxic Substances Control said disposing more waste in state would likely reduce costs and truck emissions. But environmental advocates worried the plan could have exposed already vulnerable communities to contaminated waste and set the precedent for more rules to be weakened. 'I don't think that municipal waste landfills were ever designed to accept this kind of waste, and to deregulate it ... puts those landfill communities' at risk, said Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics. California only has two hazardous waste landfills — Buttonwillow and Kettleman Hills in the San Joaquin Valley — which are expected to reach capacity by 2039, according to a report by the department. An estimated 47% of California's hazardous waste is trucked across state borders. Contaminated soil, waste oil and mixed oil are the state's three largest annual sources of hazardous waste. On average, more than 567,000 tons (514,373 metric tons) of toxic soil are produced every year. Los Angeles wildfires raised awareness of the issue The hearing comes months after wildfires in Los Angeles incinerated cars, homes and everything in them, turning ordinary objects into hundreds of tons of hazardous waste requiring specialized cleanup. It was the largest wildfire hazardous materials cleanup in the EPA's history. The infernos have also raised concerns about toxic ash and soil. Just this week, the Pasadena Unified School District published soil testing results showing high levels of arsenic or brain-damaging lead in nearly half its schools. After the fires, hazardous waste was sent to temporary sites to be separated and packaged before most of it was trucked to Utah, Arizona, Nebraska and Arkansas. Two facilities were in California — in Wilmington, near the port of Long Beach, and Buttonwillow. The type and amount of waste deposited in them varies by site, but it includes oil, radioactive materials, paint residue, asbestos, controlled substances and fluorescent lamps. 'I think that the fires have really brought to the fore some long-standing issues,' said Angela Johnson Meszaros with the environmental law group Earthjustice. 'And one of them is, how are we going to deal with cleanup, right? Because fires are not the only thing that cause soil to be hazardous.' A state law passed in 2021 set out to reform the Department of Toxic Substances Control. In March, the department released a draft plan of sweeping proposals that would guide state and local hazardous management. The board is expected to make a final decision in the summer, and it's not clear if the department could go against the board's wishes not to weaken the hazardous waste disposal rule. Board member Alexis Strauss Hacker recalled how concerned people were about the proposal during their March meeting in Fresno. The fear, she said, was 'so palpable.' Although California has decreased its hazardous waste by more than 40% since 2000, lithium-ion batteries and other types of waste are expected to increase, the report says, and the state currently lacks the capacity to manage them. Lithium-ion batteries are found in common items such as electronic vehicles, cellphones and laptops. Decades of industrial environmental pollution can accumulate, too. The issue is personal for one activist Bumstead has lived near the heavily polluted Santa Susana Field Laboratory in Southern California, once a site for rocket testing and nuclear reactor development. Her 15-year-old daughter is a two-time cancer survivor, and Bumstead was born with three spleens. She believes her family's health issues are linked to pollution from the nearby site. So when she heard that California environmental regulators wanted to weaken hazardous waste disposal rules in a bid to dump toxic soil into local landfills, she was very concerned. The Los Angeles fires have made more people realize that toxic materials could end up in their backyard, Bumstead said. 'The more we see climate change, the more we see wildfires, the more this is going to become a front line issue,' she told the board. 'This is an opportunity not just for hazardous waste that is manufactured, but also hazardous waste that is created by wildfires on how to create a plan that is going to protect Californians in the future.' ——— The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP's environmental coverage, visit
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Investigators uncover hidden source of long-term community health crisis: 'There have been so many violations over the years'
Normally, the average landfill is not supposed to accept hazardous waste and radioactive material. But exceptions are made for waste from oil and gas fracking. One facility in Pennsylvania has been polluting local waterways and damaging the surrounding community since it opened in 1964 due to heavy metals and radioactive material from fracking and other industrial waste, Inside Climate News reported. As recently as 2024, signage was added to the bank of Sewickley Creek near Yukon, Pennsylvania. It stands across the water from a slowly seeping pipe and reads, "Warning! Hazardous Waste Discharge Point. Arsenic, lead, cyanide, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and more are permitted substances for discharge at this site." The pipe leads from the Max Environmental Technologies landfill, a waste disposal site that accepts wastewater and other materials from fracking operations, as well as a range of industrial waste. The water being discharged into the creek has, in theory, been treated, but Max Environmental's Yukon landfill is known to be out of compliance with regulations regarding hazardous waste disposal. Testing reveals that the radioactive content of the water downstream from it is 1.4 times higher than the content upstream. Stacey Magda, managing community organizer at the Mountain Watershed Association, told Inside Climate News, "It's not maintained properly. It's in really bad shape, and that's really the norm for the whole facility." The people of Yukon have been exposed to this toxic pollution for decades without warning or precaution. There used to be no signs at the Sewickley Creek site, and the drain pipe is normally submerged underwater, invisible to visitors. The spot has been popular for kayaking and fishing, meaning people have been exposed to the contaminated water. Beyond this one creek, the contamination from Max Environmental affects the surrounding area, including the Youghiogheny River and the Monongahela River, which Sewickley Creek flows into. The result has been a heightened rate of cancers, miscarriages, respiratory distress, and neurological diseases throughout the community compared to state and national averages. More broadly, the lack of regulation on this type of waste and the lax enforcement of what regulation does exist means that any community could be exposed to improperly treated water or other contamination from a dumping site. Do you worry about having toxic forever chemicals in your home? Majorly Sometimes Not really I don't know enough about them Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Regulators from the EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection have taken some steps against the facility, issuing citations and temporarily stopping waste disposal there. However, it hasn't been enough. "There have been so many violations over the years," said longtime Yukon resident Debbie Franzetta, according to Inside Climate News. "And what they do is they pay the fines, and they continue to operate." More decisive legal action will be needed to protect Pennsylvania residents from this ongoing pollution. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
