This article should help orient a factory for how to report on the impact data in this section. It would include info about what kinds of documentation would be expected.
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Hazardous Waste: is any waste that could cause harm to public health and/or the environment because of its chemical, physical, or biological characteristics (e.g., it is flammable, explosive, toxic, radioactive, or infectious). Hazardous wastes can be liquids, solids, or gases. Examples of hazardous waste include:
- Hazardous production waste such as used chemicals, chemical containers/drums, waste oils, contaminated materials (e.g. materials that contain other substances that are hazardous waste such as rags containing solvents), etc.
- Waste from facility operations such as wastewater treatment sludge if hazardous, fly ash, fluorescent light bulbs, electronic waste, batteries, etc.
Note: For all companies manufacturing or distributing in or to the European Union, the WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directive is an important directive to follow. The WEEE directive governs the reduction and separation of electronic waste.
Reportable Wastes
Facilities are required to track and report waste generation data for several specific waste categories listed below. Additional details on reporting waste quantities are provided in the relevant questions.
| Non-hazardous Wastes | Hazardous Wastes |
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Note: The legal classification of hazardous waste may differ from one country or jurisdiction to another. Facilities should, at minimum, follow local regulatory requirements and definitions for classifying wastes as hazardous or non-hazardous. If legal requirements do not exist, it is recommended that facilities use industry guidelines or internationally recognized definitions of hazards wastes (such as those listed in the Basel Convention http://www.basel.int/TheConvention/Overview/TextoftheConvention/tabid/1275/Default.asp). Additionally, where industry guidelines are more stringent than local requirements, it is recommended that facilities follow industry guidelines.
Waste to be Excluded
The following waste materials should not be reported, as these types of waste are not generated from a “business as usual” situation:
- Medical waste
- Major construction and demolition projects waste
- Waste from natural disasters such as flood, fire, tornado, hurricane.
Waste Disposal Methods
Facilities are required to indicate how their wastes are currently being disposed of and plans or targets for improving waste disposal methods. Several predefined waste disposal methods can be selected. The table below provides a description of the available waste disposal method options. These are categorized into Preferred, Less Preferred and Least Preferred options based on their associated environmental impacts.
| Waste Disposal Method | Description |
| Preferred Options (Material Recovery) | |
| Reuse | Pre or post-consumer wastes are reused to make new or second hand products without modification or additional manufacturing steps before using the waste. |
| Recycle (including Upcycle) | Pre or post-consumer wastes are reprocessed to produce new items of equal (or better) quality (e.g., textile to textile recycling or processing plastic bottles into fabric). |
| Downcycle | Pre or post-consumer wastes are recycled and processed to produce material or products of lesser economic value (e.g., recycled textiles used for rags, carpet padding, or sound insulation products). |
| Less Preferred Options (Energy Recovery or Non-valorized Disposal) | |
| Incineration with energy recovery for Non-Recyclables only | Energy recovery from the process of incinerating non-recyclable waste. Note: Recycling infrastructure and capabilities may differ among regions and countries. |
| Energy Recovery – Residual Management (e.g., Physical / Chemical / Biological Treatment) | Energy Recovery as a form of residual management, ie. Sludge Treatment that leads to Biogas Generation, heat generation from biological treatment (composting), energy generation from any such activity that does not include “Incineration” |
| Onsite incineration without energy recovery for Non-Recyclables | Incineration of non-recyclable wastes onsite at the facility that does not recover energy from the incineration process. |
| Offsite incineration without energy recovery for Non-Recyclables | Incineration of non-recyclable wastes offsite at a third-party facility that does not recover energy from the incineration process. |
| Non-valorized disposal – Other Treatment | Any disposal method that does not recover usable materials or attributes of the waste such as converting them into more useful by products like raw materials, fuels, or other sources of energy. |
| Non-valorized disposal – Responsibly Managed Landfills (for waste that cannot be managed in any of the options under Preferred options or Less Preferred Options) |
Responsibly managed landfills aligns with the ZDHC Disposal Pathways definitions for landfills with significant control measures as defined in the ZDHC Sludge Management Document Version 1.0. available here: https://www.roadmaptozero.com/output, and as described below: Landfills with Significant Control Measures are landfills that control both leachate and gas produced from the materials placed in the landfill and are engineered to store waste in a manner that is safe to the surrounding environment. For purposes of the WW Guideline, significant control measures are defined as:
Landfills with Limited Control Measures are landfill types that do not meet the description requirements specified in the Landfill with Significant Control Measures section. The permeability, leachate and gas control, and documentation are generally less restrictive. Leachate control may be non-existent or consist of simple collection and drain to local sewer lines. Gases may be vented versus stored, treated and used. Monitoring requirements for these types of landfills are less stringent – requiring less frequent sampling, inspections, and records for a shorter time depending on the local laws and regulations. |
| Least Preferred Options | |
| Energy Recovery (e.g., Incineration with energy recovery for Recyclables) | Energy recovery from the process of incinerating of recyclable waste. Note: Material recovery is the preferred method for recyclable wastes. Note: Recycling infrastructure and capabilities may differ among regions and countries. |
| Landfill/Dumping with No Control Measures | Landfill/dumping with no controls aligns with the ZDHC Disposal Pathways definitions for landfills with limited or no control measures as defined in the ZDHC Sludge Management Document Version 1.0. available here: https://www.roadmaptozero.com/output, and as described below: Landfills with Limited Control Measures are landfill types that do not meet the description requirements specified in the Landfill with Significant Control Measures section. The permeability, leachate and gas control, and documentation are generally less restrictive. Leachate control may be non-existent or consist of simple collection and drain to local sewer lines. Gases may be vented versus stored, treated and used. Monitoring requirements for these types of landfills are less stringent – requiring less frequent sampling, inspections, and records for a shorter time depending on the local laws and regulations. Landfills with No Control Measures are landfills constructed with no control measures. Any landfill that has not been designed to contain waste, limit percolation, or control leachates from exposure or entering the environment is considered a landfill with no control measure. This includes dump piles and holes with no lining or packing to limit waste exposure to the ground and/or groundwater. There may be few or no monitoring requirements for these types of landfills. In many cases, these types of landfills are constructed by simply digging a hole and then filling the hole with waste, or it may consist of filling a naturally occurring depression with waste. |
| Onsite Incineration without energy recovery for Recyclables | Incineration of recyclable wastes onsite at the facility that does not recover energy from the incineration process. |
| Offsite incineration without energy recovery for Recyclables | Incineration of recyclable wastes offsite at a third-party facility that does not recover energy from the incineration process. |
| Other | Any other waste disposal method that does not fit the description of the above noted methods. Note: A detailed description of the other methods should be provided. |
Waste Data Quality
Accurately tracking and reporting waste data over time provides facilities and stakeholders with detailed insight into opportunities for improvement. If data is not accurate, this limits the ability to understand a facility’s wastes and identify the specific actions that will help reduce environmental impacts and drive efficiencies.
When establishing a waste tracking and reporting program, the following principles should be applied:
- Completeness – The tracking and reporting program should include all relevant sources . Sources should not be excluded from data tracking and reporting should be based on materiality (e.g., small quantity exceptions).
- Accuracy – Ensure that the data input into the waste tracking program is accurate and is derived from credible sources (e.g., calibrated scales, invoices, established scientific measurement principles or engineering estimates, etc.).
- Consistency – Use consistent methodologies to track waste data that allows for comparisons of waste quantities over time. If there are any changes in the tracking methods, waste sources, or other operations that impact waste data, this should be documented.
- Transparency – All data sources (e.g., invoices, weighing records, etc.), assumptions used (e.g., estimation techniques), and calculation methodologies should be disclosed in data inventories and be readily verifiable via documented records and supporting evidence.
- Data Quality Management – Quality assurance activities (internal or external data quality checks) should be defined and performed on waste data as well as the processes used to collect and track data to ensure reported data is accurate.