As reported by letsrecycle.com in March, the guidance, which is updated from an initial version published in October 2014, includes revised advice on waste stack sizes and separation distances for materials including, wood, plastic, paper, rubber and waste derived fuels (see letsrecycle.com story).
According to WISH, an industry body comprising health and safety experts from a number of UK waste businesses, the new guidance takes into account the findings of ‘waste burn trials’ carried out in 2015 and 2016 to test the properties of waste materials.
The revised guidance was produced by the WISH waste fires working group, with organisations including the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), the Environmental Services Association (ESA), the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM), the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) having also contributed to the work.
Tests
Commenting on the latest version of the guidance, Geoff Smallwood, chair of the WISH waste fires working group, said: “When we released our first waste guidance back in 2014 we acknowledged it would need revising as understanding and knowledge about waste fires developed. Key in this development of understanding has been the waste burn tests conducted through 2015 and 2016. To our knowledge these are the most extensive series of waste burn tests ever conducted.
“The results have led to many of the revisions in our new guidance. Our thanks go to those who took part in the tests, and to NFCC, the Wood Recyclers Association and those ESA members who contributed to funding the tests, which to date have cost more than £170,000.”
Mr Smallwood added: “The aim of the original WISH waste fires guidance was to provide waste operators with the information and guidance they need to reduce the risk of fires on their sites, and where fires do occur to reduce their impacts. This has not changed. What has changed is that the revised WISH guidance is now based on the latest information available.
“Our industry is still recording too many fires each year. This has to change, and we believe the new, revised WISH fires guidance is a key step to reducing fire risk at waste management sites.”
A non-technical summary of the results of the waste burn tests is also available on the WISH web site as a support document to the revised guidance, WISH has said. Both documents are free to download.
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