The Frame of Industrial Waste Management
Industrial waste management is a sphere regulated by the Waste Management Code, and it is this code that gives an enterprise three principal duties: to develop a company waste-management plan when the thresholds are met, to keep records and report on waste, and to supply data for the state database. The essence of these duties is that an enterprise’s waste is no longer anonymous mass: its origin, composition and fate must be transparent and verifiable.
Who Regulates the Sphere
The ministry’s competence in waste management includes developing and implementing unified state policy; waste accounting and the operation of the database; elaborating the national strategy and action plan; conducting the registration of activities; promoting prevention, separation, pre-processing, re-use and recycling; establishing and managing landfills and transfer stations; and exercising state control. Transboundary movement is regulated by the ministry together with the Ministry of Finance; medical waste — together with the health-sphere ministry; and the vehicle admission certificate for hazardous-waste transport is issued by a body in the system of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development. Municipal waste management is the competence of the municipality, while the ministry may exercise certain powers through a private-law legal entity under its management.
The Company Waste-Management Plan — Who Owes It
A physical or legal person whose activity generates during a year more than 200 tonnes of non-hazardous waste, or any quantity of hazardous waste, must develop a company waste-management plan; likewise, in the case of inert waste — more than 1 000 tonnes for a physical person and more than 400 tonnes for a legal person. The plan mainly includes: information on the waste generated — data on origin, types, composition and quantity; measures for the prevention of waste generation, especially hazardous waste, and for recovery; a description of the separation method, especially the segregation of hazardous waste; methods and conditions of temporary storage; and the processing methods used, or information on the person to whom the waste is transferred for further processing.
The plan is submitted to the ministry; the rules for its examination and approval are determined by the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, and on request the plan must be available to the interested municipality and other persons. The plan is updated every 3 years, or upon a change in the type or quantity of waste and substantial changes in processing.
Record-Keeping, Reporting and the Database
The duty of waste record-keeping and reporting to the ministry falls on persons carrying out the activities provided for by the code and on the waste generator whose entrepreneurial activity generates during a year more than 2 tonnes of non-hazardous waste (other than municipal) or any quantity of hazardous waste. The data are kept for 3 years; for a landfill operator this requirement does not apply — it keeps the data until the expiry of the landfill’s operating term and through the after-closure care period. The population bears no such duty. The form and content of record-keeping are determined by government decree.
The ministry maintains and updates the waste database, which comprises the data contemplated by record-keeping, information on persons who received an environmental decision, and information on activities subject to registration. Such a database unites enterprises’ reports into a single system and gives the control organ the full picture.
The transport side is regulated by the code as well: a vehicle admission certificate is required for a carrier of hazardous waste, and a sub-statutory act is prepared for government approval defining requirements toward vehicle standards, containers and the experience of the driver of a hazardous-waste carrier. This means industrial waste management does not stop at the enterprise walls — its transport chain is controlled too.
Practical Recommendations for an Enterprise
First, count your annual waste masses by category — the thresholds of 200 tonnes, 400 tonnes, 1 000 tonnes and 2 tonnes determine whether the plan and record-keeping are owed. Second, for hazardous waste no threshold exists — any quantity requires a plan and records. Third, the plan is updated every 3 years — do not let it go stale. Fourth, data are kept for 3 years — ensure the continuity of records. Fifth, remember that the record-keeping form is set by government decree — use the exact form, not your own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we answer the questions most frequently asked about industrial waste management.
Who owes a waste-management plan?
According to the thresholds of annual masses — the benchmarks of 200, 400, 1 000 and 2 tonnes; for hazardous waste no threshold exists.
For how long are record-keeping data kept?
For 3 years — the continuity of records must be ensured by the enterprise itself.
When is the plan updated?
Every 3 years, and also upon substantial changes in the quantity of waste and in processing.
Who regulates the sphere?
The control organ, which also exercises its powers through a private-law legal entity.
How We Help on Legal.ge
Industrial waste management begins with the computation of thresholds and ends with documentation. The lawyers of Legal.ge assist in categorizing waste, preparing the plan and observing the record-keeping rules. Submit a request on the site and receive qualified assistance.