Clearer, smoother, and more reliable – the HAZ-IDENT project, which will be launched for this purpose, will address the long-standing problems of hazardous waste management. Experts welcome it, hoping the project will act as an icebreaker.
Approximately 184 thousand tons of hazardous waste is generated annually
Old paints, varnishes, defective or obsolete products, chemically contaminated soils, wastewater – all these are hazardous waste, the treatment of which is still a sensitive issue in Lithuania. Entrepreneurs working in this field have made no secret of the fact that so far there has been a lack of a clear procedure for identifying hazardous waste. However, the situation soon is about to change: a breakthrough was promised alongside the HAZ – IDENT project initiated by the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania.
In Lithuania, an average of about 184 thousand tonnes of hazardous waste is generated every year. All this waste needs to be managed without endangering human health and harming nature.
Improperly managed hazardous waste may contaminate soil, penetrate groundwater and harm the environment and human health.
According to the Vice Minister of Environment Raminta Radavičienė, hazardous waste management has been a sensitive topic so far. “This waste is not properly identified, therefore the efficient collection and management of the generated waste are not ensured. It is necessary to separate hazardous waste from the general waste stream, which would create conditions for ensuring its safe management,” Radavičienė said.
When talking to 15min.lt Giedrius Mikulskas, the head of the Association of Hazardous Waste Managers (Pavojingųjų atliekų tvarkytojų asociacija, PATVA), said that the problems of identification and management of hazardous waste in Lithuania are long-standing – in this respect, we lag far behind other European countries, such as Germany.
There is a reason why Mikulskis mentioned the latter: in 2018 a study was commissioned by PATVA to analyze the hazardous waste identification and control system in Germany and Lithuania. The study revealed that waste identification procedures in Lithuania are not sufficiently detailed: first of all, it is not clear how the hazardousness of waste should be determined.
Under current legislation, it is up to the economic activity operator to identify the waste and classify it as hazardous or non-hazardous. “Unfortunately, due to the lack of expertise and information, there is a risk that hazardous waste may be classified as non-hazardous. This in turn poses the danger that such waste will be improperly stored and managed and thus may contaminate water and soil, as well as affect the formation of ambient air pollutants. All this also affects people’s health, ” said the Vice Minister of Environment.
She noted that at present, environmental authorities, which carry out environmental regulation of economic activities are also facing problems in identifying waste and classifying it as hazardous or non-hazardous waste, respectively.
“One has no choice but to acknowledge that the hazardous waste management system created in Lithuania does not ensure that waste is properly identified, collected, and managed in accordance to the requirements of legal acts, therefore safe disposal without ensuring negative impact on public health and the environment is not ensured”, – Radavičienė said.
After HAZ–IDENT project a uniform system will be in place
The Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania recognizes the importance of hazardous waste identification and thus is now implementing the HAZ-IDENT project, the objective of which is to improve the ability of representatives of environmental protection institutions and economic entities to properly identify and classify hazardous waste. This will be achieved by creating a national unified methodology for the identification of hazardous waste for the state, municipal institutions, and establishments as well as economic entities.
“The developed methodology will allow the correct application of national and European Union legislation on waste classification, ensure proper and efficient identification and classification of hazardous waste so that it is collected and managed safely and efficiently. The methodology will be prepared after reviewing the current situation in the field of hazardous waste identification and analyzing the best practices of hazardous waste identification in Lithuania and abroad”, said the Vice Minister of Environment.
In the later stages of the project, an electronic tool will be developed and training will be provided to train environmental protection institutions representatives and companies engaged in waste management activities so that they become skilled in the use of the developed unified waste identification methodology. Visits to the environmental authorities of the Kingdom of Norway will also be organized to encourage the exchange of good practice between state institutions in the field of hazardous waste identification between Lithuania and Norway.
The Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania will implement the project together with partners – the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Environmental Protection under the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania. The project received funding for the period from 2014 till 2021 from the Norwegian financial mechanism program “Environment, Energy and Climate Change”.
It is planned that upon completion of the project, the developed unified hazardous waste identification methodology will be applied by experts of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Environmental Protection Department under the Ministry of Environment and waste management legal entities, as well as economic entities generating hazardous waste.
A public tender is announced for the procurement of services for the development of a uniform methodology for the identification of hazardous waste, the conditions of the procurement are available on the Central Procurement Portal HERE.
Experts believe that the HAZ-IDENT project may become an icebreaker in improving the hazardous waste identification system in Lithuania. According to them, this is a great opportunity for the Ministry of Environment to show leadership in developing a hazardous waste identification system that provides methodological assistance to operators in identifying hazardous waste and enables the authorities in charge to verify that waste is correctly identified and, most importantly, that hazardous waste is managed properly.
What is hazardous waste?
Hazardous waste can be flammable, explosive, oxidizing, irritating, toxic, corrosive, infected, and so on. Generally speaking, waste that MAY cause harm to people, nature, or property, either directly or in reaction with other substances, is considered hazardous waste.
Hazardous waste includes waste such as old paints, varnishes, solvents, medical waste, petroleum products, and contaminated waste, laboratory chemicals, defective or obsolete products, chemically contaminated soils, wastewater containing residues of hazardous substances, etc.
Improperly managed or unmanaged hazardous waste may lead to extremely grave consequences: damage to human health as well as extreme damage to nature and the ecosystem. In the past, improper management of hazardous waste has led to several fires, ecological disasters, human health problems, and deaths.