Agricultural waste management

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How should I store waste to prevent pollution? If you have waste, you have a legal duty of care to make sure that it does not cause any environmental problems. You must store all waste material securely so it does not leak or blow away.

Ensure that any containers you use are in good condition and that they are clearly labelled. If you re-use containers, make sure that you remove any old labelling.

Ensure that your storage facilities are secure against vandalism or other outside interference. You are responsible for any pollution caused by materials that originate from your site.

If you store waste in skips or other similar containers, ensure that they are covered or netted to stop loose and lightweight material blowing away.

You must prevent liquid wastes from escaping into drains, watercourses or the surrounding ground. Store wastes on impermeable surfaces that are contained within a secondary containment system (SCS). Ideally this should be a bund capable of containing the contents of the storage containers, or a drain to a sealed pit that can contain them.

Provide your staff with instructions on how to store and dispose of each type of waste produced on your premises and deal with spills of wastes that you store on your premises.

Know where your surface water drains are. Label them so you know how to prevent liquids escaping to them in an emergency. You must not mix different types of hazardous waste [link to hazardous waste], hazardous waste with non-hazardous waste, hazardous waste with materials that are not waste.