Impacts of Hazardous Wastes and How to Mitigate Them Successfully

Something that was assumed to be moderately harmful to our environment and ignored has now grown to become a severe environment and a health concern. Yes, we are concerned about hazardous waste mainly because its disposal is a huge challenge. Managing this garbage requires a multidimensional approach and something more urgent, as it is becoming very harmful to humans and nature.

We have written this post to understand the challenges in hazardous waste disposal and rubbish removal. We will begin by understanding the definition of hazardous waste and its primary sources in Australia.

What Is The Definition Of Hazardous Waste?

Any hazardous waste material or rubbish potentially harmful to humans or our environment can be tagged as dangerous waste. It can include a range of substances like chemicals, biological materials, radioactive elements, industrial bi-products, medical waste and even household garbage like batteries, electronic items, etc.

What Are The Sources Of Hazardous Waste In Australia?

Hazardous waste is generated from diverse sectors, and multiple resources are responsible for this. The most significant contributors are industries like manufacturing and mining, as they generate waste material that requires careful handling and rubbish removal. Healthcare facilities, research laboratories and even households are significant contributors, and the garbage generated from there requires careful waste removal to prevent the trash from mixing into the environment or getting into the human bloodstream. Pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and electronic waste are all hazardous wastes that require careful rubbish removal.

Hazardous Waste Removal – What Are The Challenges?

It is crucial for rubbish removal companies to comply with state and federal laws regarding hazardous waste management. Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conversion Act 1999 has a detailed framework to protect the environment from damages of all degrees caused by hazardous waste. Apart from this, every state or territory has its regulations and guidelines, and this makes hazardous rubbish removal a complex situation. The intricacies of the above-mentioned act, combined with the complexities of state-specific rules, ensure that hazardous rubbish removal is done perfectly and the waste management company does not face any penalty.

What Are The Complexities Of The Regulatory Framework?

There is no doubt that the coexistence of federal and state policies makes the regulatory framework very complex to understand. They are often beyond the understanding of the common man, and this becomes a challenge even for businesses that generate hazardous waste and want to recycle it before releasing it into nature.

What Are The Drawbacks Of Hazardous Garbage?

Health And Safety Concerns

There is no doubt that hazardous waste generated from different sources poses a significant risk to the Australian environment and citizens. Let us review this in detail below.

Workers Face The Risk

People working in industries that generate hazardous waste are directly exposed to toxic substances that can enter their bodies with air and through the skin. Physical injuries also become a source of poisonous substances entering their bloodstream. This risk can be eliminated by ensuring complete hazardous waste and rubbish removal and ensuring that the entire staff undergoes comprehensive training to tackle hazardous waste. They should also use high-grade personal protective equipment during their exposure to hazardous waste and work in strict compliance with safety protocols to keep them safe.

Public Health Implications

Improper handling and disposal of hazardous waste can also affect the general public directly. For example, the absence of proper rubbish removal can lead to toxic materials entering our water sources and spreading contamination and health hazards in our communities. The most active solution is effective hazardous waste disposal while ensuring that the laws mentioned in the act are followed strictly.

Safety Protocol And Training

The federal act also has some clauses related to safety protocols and training to impart to the people working in direct communication with hazardous waste. This has always remained a significant challenge for companies, industries and local government. This includes regular training for workers, periodic audits of disposal practices, mock drills, and implementing emergency response procedures. It is essential to use these best practices and stay updated with safety protocols while working with hazardous waste that has a very dynamic nature, by the way.

Environmental Impact Of Hazardous Waste

Humans can develop safety protocols and implement them in their daily lives to stay immune from the impacts of hazardous wastes. This is not the case with our environment as every negative impact of hazardous waste will influence our nature and environment directly, and this makes us, the humans, responsible for ensuring that the risk is minimised.

Long Term Environmental Risks

Not taking steps proactively and leaving the hazardous waste to gel with the environment can lead to long-lasting damage. Contaminants can continue entering the soil, water, and air for years to disrupt the ecosystem and harm wildlife. This is the same as what we witnessed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the nuclear bombs dropped. The accumulation of toxins poses a significant risk to our soil, water, air and ecosystem.

Preventing Contamination Is A Challenge

Preventing environmental contamination is the key challenge regarding hazardous waste disposal and rubbish removal. This can be done only by adopting the best practices in waste management and complying with the rules and regulations present in the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conversion Act 1999. A great example of this is creating buffer zones around hazardous waste disposal sites to minimise its impact on humans and our environment.

Sustainable Disposal Practices

Lastly, the baton is in the hands of business owners, companies, and people belonging to industries that generate hazardous waste. They must adopt sustainable hazardous waste disposal practices to reduce environmental risk completely. This includes finding recyclable options for the entire list of hazardous waste mentioned in the EPBCA 1999. But this is a fact that developing and enforcing these sustainable disposal practices is a huge challenge and often very expensive.

Public Awareness Is A Crucial Factor

The challenges of the hazardous waste generated from all the sources in Australia can be mitigated in several ways, but the most promising is public awareness and educating common people about hazardous waste. Educational institutions can play a pivotal role in spreading awareness with the help of local authorities and governments. Campaigns like academic programs, public service announcements, and online campaigns can help in making audiences aware of the drawbacks of hazardous waste. Government initiatives and the role of non-government organisations are also very crucial, as they can spread the word to different audiences and help them overcome misconceptions and myths related to hazardous waste disposal in their minds.