If you run an exhibition venue or participate at exhibitions, you will likely have many people askng what they should do with left over bits and bobs, and what they have to do with the waste. Well we have a very insightful post outlining what the responsibilities each party has for waste.
There are any number of people that will give advice or tell you what to do. However their advice can often at best be OK it is usually more often ill-founded at best or just wrong.
The legal bits
Firstly, there are a number of Legal bits that anyone dealing with this subject should be aware of :-
All producers of waste should receive A Duty of Care waste transfer docket for every movement of waste, IE 4 skips 4 notes or 4 bins emptied for 4 days 4 dockets (one per day) however if it is an ongoing event a season note can be issued. This note is a legal document and is issued by the waste carrier. It describes the type of waste, each stream has an identifying EWC SIC code for example WOOD 15 01 06 OR PLASTIC PACKAGING 15 01 02, it will state:- Where the waste was collected from and is going, details of the carrier and the persons collecting the waste. The note should be kept like an invoice in case it is required at a later date for inspection. There can be large fines for not being able to produce these notes if asked by the relevant authority.
Many venues that are offering to manage the waste/ recycling as part of the tenancy do not offer these notes to the client. But there are many and I am one of these who believe that the Organiser is actually the producer of the waste as the venue is acting as a contractor supplying a service to the organiser and offering an additional service on their behalf. Under CDM the organiser is often down as the principal contractor.
Waste doesn’t have to be a difficult problem to solve
Too many people can over think the problems associated with waste recycling, not to say that it is not a complex matter, but over thinking the issue can lead to difficulties and increased cost and possibly legal action. One of the easiest ways of finding a solution is to speak to your cleaning contractor or the waste carrier directly. Waste management / Recycling is reliant on what can actually be achieved literally on a post code basis. What can be achieved in one Town / City will not be achievable in another. A large city such as London can cope with just about everything and achieve high recovery rates whereas Thetford in Norfolk may not. This is due to the type and size of facility that is available.
You will read of me speaking of recovery instead of Recycling. As the cleaners (the person collecting the waste) I believe that I am recovering the waste for a person further down the line to actually recycle said items.
Get in touch with A1 Event and Exhibition Cleaners if you need assistance for your next event.
Martin Cottrell is a seasoned Managing Director with a decade of experience in the event and exhibition industry. He oversees operations, health and safety compliance, and waste management at A1 Event and Exhibition Cleaners Martin has successfully implemented custom recycling packages for clients of all sizes, from small events to large-scale festivals and conferences.