Safety Induction to the Lift & Escalator Industry Part 8 - Environmental Protection Part 8 - Environmental Protection

Contents Part 1 – Working in the Industry Part 2 – Personal Safety & Health Part 3 – Tools & Equipment Part 4a – Manual Handling Part 4b – Mechanical Handling Part 5 – Working Places and Safe Access Part 6a – Working Safely - General Part 6b – Working Safely - Specific Areas Part 6c – Working Safely - Other Situations Part 7 – First Aid Part 8 – Environmental Protection Part 9 – Legal Obligations Part 10 – Accident Reporting and Recording

The environment includes the surroundings in which an organisation operates, including air, water, land, natural resources, flora, fauna and their inter-relations. Damage to the environment may be short term or long lasting, possibly permanently destructive leading to the permanent elimination of valuable resources including food and natural materials as well as causing contamination of the atmosphere and change in climate. Part 8 - Environmental Protection What is the ‘Environment’?

Apart from issues such as the safe disposal of waste and scrap materials, the industry’s activities could affect the environment by for example: releasing contaminants into the atmosphere during manufacturing processes or during ‘hot work’ using petrol or diesel-engine vehicles to transport personnel, materials and equipment between work locations permitting leaks, seepages or spillages of liquids into the ground, polluting water sources. Part 8 - Environmental Protection The Impact of the Lift Industry on the Environment

Pollution is the presence of matter or energy which directly or indirectly alters the characteristics of any part of the environment and causes damage to the condition, health, safety or welfare of animals, humans, plants or property. Environmental pollution is pollution of the air both indoors and outdoors caused by noise, heat or vibrations, light or any other kind of release of energy or of water, which may give rise to any harm. Harm can mean effects to the health of humans or any other living organisms, harm to the quality of the environment, offence to human senses, damage to property or impairment of amenities or other legitimate uses of the environment. Part 8 - Environmental Protection Pollution

All people on site need to understand the relevant environmental risks and their responsibility with respect to sustainability and waste control. Sustainability is concerned with the consideration for the environment, the way materials are used; not just within the site boundaries but throughout the whole supply chain: o Extraction of material o Manufacture o Delivery o Unloading and storage o Incorporation in the works o Demolition and disposal Part 8 - Environmental Protection Sustainability

For example: o Storing liquid containers on bunded trays so that should the container be breached, the liquid cannot easily escape, or o Segregating waste in separate containers for effective disposal or recycling, or o Turning off engines and other powered plant when not in use. Everyone has a responsibility for identifying where waste is being created. If you find a situation which is causing unnecessary waste, report it to the site management. Where possible, before disposing of anything in a skip you should check that no one else has a use for it. Part 8 - Environmental Protection Sustainability

Materials are costly, so if they can be produced, protected and used sustainably, costs can be reduced and greater protection can be given to users on site and of the finished product. You should avoid: o over ordering materials o leaving skips uncovered in wet weather allowing the contents to contaminate the rainwater o inefficient and careless storage of materials causing pollution. In the interests of sustainability on site you should not bury waste materials in the ground or pour waste liquids down the drain. Water, materials, time and energy are all often wasted on site. Part 8 - Environmental Protection Sustainability

Environmental protection procedures should include at least a simple four point pollution incident response plan: o Switch off the polluting plant or machinery o Contain – use proprietary spill kits to stop the pollution spreading o Clean up – carefully remove the pollutant and contaminated material to designated containers for disposal o Notify – site management and ultimately the enforcing authority should be notified Spilt or leaking oil can be particularly damaging to the environment. It is possible for spilt or leaking substances to soak deep into the ground and pollute ground water which in some cases becomes domestic drinking water. Part 8 - Environmental Protection Pollution Incident Response Five litres of oil can contaminate an area the size of two football pitches

You must: Properly contain spilt material using absorbent materials Clean up oil spills on to soil promptly by digging out the contaminated soil and putting it into a designated container for collection. You must not: Wash down spilt material with detergent Allow waste liquids into the drainage system (except where designed for it) Mix contaminated soil with other soil to dispose of it. Part 8 - Environmental Protection Pollution Incident Response

‘Waste’ includes any household, commercial or industrial waste regardless of whether it is liquid or solid, even if it is not hazardous: anything which is disposed of as broken, worn out, contaminated or soiled Waste includes waste from a house, shop, office, factory, building site or any other business premises. Common wastes encountered in the lift industry include the waste produced during the manufacture of equipment which could take the form of industrial effluent. Wastes produced during the installation, repair, modernisation and maintenance could include lift mechanisms, lubricating substances and cardboard and plastic packaging materials. Part 8 - Environmental Protection Waste o Scrap metal o Industrial effluent o Clinical waste o Unwanted surplus material o Building or demolition waste

As you have control of waste, you have a Duty of Care to ensure no unauthorised or harmful deposit, treatment or disposal of waste and to prevent the escape of waste under their control, even if it is not hazardous. o You must not dispose of waste, treat waste or store waste for longer than three months without a valid licence. o You will need a Consignment Note to transport waste from one place to another (eg site to depot). o You should transfer waste to an authorised person (or tip site) with a Waste Transfer Note. Companies need to be registered with the Environment Agency if they carry other people’s waste or carry building or demolition waste. In the future, carrying your own waste will also require registration. Part 8 - Environmental Protection Duty of Care

A nationally recognised set of colours for waste segregation has been developed by Waste Aware Construction and the Institution of Civil Engineers. It has proved extremely successful at many sites where it has been employed in reducing the amount of construction waste sent to landfill and saving money for construction companies. The use of these colour-coded signs is crucial to the success of any waste segregation and recycling efforts. Recycling is easier if the same type of waste is stored together. Packaging waste has its own specific sign alongside the other raw materials that a site produces as waste. Part 8 - Environmental Protection Waste Awareness Colour Coding Scheme

o White label – plaster waste o Orange label – hazardous waste (in Scotland “special waste”) o Grey label – Inert waste (concrete, brick etc) o Blue label – metal waste o Black label – mixed waste o Brown – Packaging waste o Green label – wood/timber waste The colours were chosen because they will stand out clearly on site. The use of internationally recognised safety colours were chosen where appropriate to keep things globally consistent. Part 8 - Environmental Protection Waste Awareness Colour Coding Scheme

Being waste aware helps you to: o Reduce the amount of money spent on waste. o Reduce waste disposal costs, e.g. handling charges, transport and taxes/levies. o Reduce the amount of raw material used. o Reduce the amount of waste on site. o Reduce transport of waste movements to recycling centres or landfill. o Reduce the amount of effort used to do a repetitive job. o Reduce the amount of time lost taking waste to a skip. o Reduce the amount of handling and storing waste on-site. o Reduce the need for double handling. o Reduce land-use, ecological damage, noise and pollution during waste disposal. Part 8 - Environmental Protection Waste Awareness Colour Coding Scheme

It is particularly important that hazardous waste is not mixed in with other types of waste. Hazardous waste can be very damaging to the environment if incorporated into landfill. Hazardous waste may be split into other materials which should be dealt with separately. Examples of hazardous waste are: o Used oil o Asbestos o Empty or part full substance containers including empty aerosol cans o Used absorbent granules contaminated with oil or grease o Broken fluorescent tubes even if the glass is not broken o Waste solvents such as white spirit o Chemicals and oils and greases used in the lift and escalator industry Part 8 - Environmental Protection Hazardous Waste

Lift and escalator parts contaminated by oils and grease are also hazardous waste and need the same special conditions as other hazardous waste to dispose of safely including environment agency consignment notes and licences to transport the waste. Some materials will have environmental labels and disposal instructions on them. Part 8 - Environmental Protection Hazardous Waste

These regulations set out the requirements and duty of care for disposal of waste electrical and electronic goods produced. Although there is doubt about whether lift and escalator equipment is strictly within the scope of WEEE, most lift and escalator companies comply with these regulations when disposing of redundant or waste electrical and electronic components and equipment. Your company should have in place a procedure for gathering WEEE and for its legal disposal. This may involve engineers returning material to a common location e.g. (company depot) where arrangements should be in place for a reputable recycling company to collect and process the material. Part 8 - Environmental Protection Waste electrical and electronic equipment regulations (WEEE)

Consider: Electronic circuit boards may be replaced during maintenance and repair. Don’t discard these along with general rubbish. Modernisation requires the disposal of larger parts; disposing of a lift controller is a bigger task compared with the disposal of a circuit board. It may be more practical to have large and heavy items collected from site rather than returned to the depot. You should check whether these items contain hazardous material, eg asbestos components or mercury switches. These have to be disposed of as hazardous waste. Part 8 - Environmental Protection Waste electrical and electronic equipment regulations (WEEE)

No one should have to suffer nuisance and possibly ill health because of site activities. If you think any aspect of your work, particularly during construction or modernisation might be a nuisance to other people you should report the fact to your supervisor. Activities include: o Causing excessive noise particularly during unsocial hours o Creating vibration that can be felt off site o Generating smoke including from bonfires o Allowing vehicle or plant fumes to be a nuisance to nearby properties o Creating off site dust clouds o Positioning site lighting to shine into nearby properties o Depositing mud or dust on public roads Such nuisances should be prevented by good site management through site rules. Part 8 - Environmental Protection Nuisance

Thank you for Attending Any Questions? Part 8 - Environmental Protection