What is industrial waste?
Industrial waste is all solid or liquid waste from the production facilities of companies. They are generated as a consequence of an industrial process, according to the D.S. 594/99 of the Ministry of Health. According to their composition, they are basically divided into hazardous and non-hazardous waste.
According to the State of the Environment Report of the National Environmental Information System (Sinia), in 2018 the total non-hazardous industrial waste in Chile amounted to 10.5 million tons. This represents 50% of the waste generated in the entire country.
Hazardous and non-hazardous waste
.
A waste is considered hazardous when it represents a substantial threat, present or potential, to human health and living organisms. This is determined according to the level of toxicity, flammability, reactivity and corrosivity.
On the other hand, non-hazardous industrial wastes are not considered directly harmful to human health. However, when disposed of in illegal landfills and without environmental protection, they are harmful to ecosystems. This means that they also need to be subject to a waste management system regulated by current legislation.
Industrial solid waste (non-hazardous)
.
A large amount of non-hazardous solid waste (solid, semi-solid or liquid packaged waste or residues) is produced in industries. These can be destined to treatment plants according to the classification of the waste. However, there are also solid wastes that can be assimilated to domestic waste. For example, animal fat, plastic waste, paper fiber or fungal cultures, which are destined for household sanitary landfills.
Both types of waste can be destined for a composting plant, recycling and recovery or regeneration. The objective is to recover waste, one or more of its constituent materials or their calorific value.
According to studies by the Ministry of the Environment, manufacturing industries are the sector that generates the largest amount of non-hazardous industrial waste. This is followed by electricity, gas and water supply and construction.
Industrial waste management (non-hazardous)
The management of non-hazardous industrial solid waste that is not disposed of or valorized in the same industrial establishment requires its declaration to the health authorities, with the proper description of the waste in terms of composition and quantity, as well as its physical and chemical characteristics.
As indicated by Supreme Decree 1/2013 of the Ministry of the Environment, industrial establishments that generate or receive more than 12 tons of non-hazardous waste per year must declare them annually in the National Waste Declaration System SINADER.
In this sense, the REP law was created to increase the responsibility of the producing or importing companies on their products, so many of the non-hazardous waste integrated in the legislation have certain collection and recovery goals, due to their high recyclable potential and mass consumption.
Classification of industrial waste in Chile
The main industrial wastes are as follows:
Hazardous waste
- Liquids
- Solids
- Chemicals
- Toxic
Non-hazardous waste
- Assimilable to domestic: metal, paper and cardboard, plastic, glass, organic.
- Electrical and electronic: temperature exchange devices, monitors and screens, lamps (LED, fluorescent tubes, household bulbs or photovoltaic panels), as well as large and small electrical and electronic devices.
(LED, fluorescent tubes, household light bulbs or photovoltaic panels), as well as large and small electrical and electronic devices. - Dusts, ashes, sands and muds.
Our services
The advice we offer at ProCycla in the management of this waste allows us to establish a business management system that is in line with the circular economy approach. For this reason, we not only focus on treating waste, but also on achieving greater productivity of materials and establishing a long-term mechanism for the client to obtain economic and social benefits, such as environmental certifications and the application to competitions with an environmental seal.
Our main objective is to offer alternatives based on innovation and development for the final treatment of waste.
- Design, implementation and monitoring of recyclable waste management systems:
Based on integrated and environmental management systems (especially ISO 14.001), our experts advise you so that your production process generates more and better business opportunities, reduces costs in its management and operations, complies with environmental legislation, increases its performance and efficiency, and where your customers recognize in you a distinctive seal with environmental commitment.
- Creation and implementation of industrial waste management plans:
We advise you on the design and implementation of the most appropriate management plans for your waste, which will allow you to identify the points of generation, evaluate different minimization alternatives and therefore reduce storage, transportation and final disposal risks.
