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Averda launches hazardous waste tracking system

Kgaogelo Letsebe
By Kgaogelo Letsebe, Portals journalist
Johannesburg, 05 Jun 2018
Eugene Barnard, Head of Healthcare at Averda South Africa.
Eugene Barnard, Head of Healthcare at Averda South Africa.

Waste management firm Averda has introduced an automated waste tracking and record-keeping system that will enable companies, and healthcare institutions in particular, to collect, transport and safely dispose of hazardous waste.

The Averda TruTrak system will help medical institutions to adhere to the newly proposed national health care risk waste management regulations, says Eugene Barnard, head of healthcare at Averda South Africa.

Hazardous waste is waste that contains organic, inorganic elements or compounds that may, owing to their inherent physical, chemical or toxicological properties, have a detrimental impact on health or the environment.

Explains Barnard: "The system makes use of radio frequency identification tracking tags which are attached to the containers that hold high-risk waste. Scanners on scales, collection vehicles and at treatment facilities automatically record information, including collection and delivery weight, time, date and location details. This data is automatically captured and uploaded to an online client portal.

"Clients are given access to the tracking process via the online portal which allows waste transportation to be monitored in real time. This also provides them with access to delivery notes, invoices and disposal reports detailing the nature, quantity and disposal methods for each waste consignment.

"These are automatically stored and can be printed off as and when required, in line with the waste generator's auditing requirements. The automation of this process eliminates the risk of inaccurate or incomplete reporting, as well as enhancing transparency and boosting data integrity for record-keeping purposes," he adds.

Legislation woes

Last month the environmental affairs minister Edna Molewa gave notice of her intention to make amendments to regulations on health care risk waste in SA. The Proposed National Health Care Risk Waste Management Regulations suggest that healthcare institutions have a legal duty to ensure that their hazardous waste is managed responsibly.

According to the proposed legislation, the person in charge of a health establishment must ensure that health care waste is handled, collected, transported, removed, treated and disposed of in such a manner that it does not pose a risk to human health and the environment.

Furthermore, the department requires that waste generators keep detailed records on the waste management chain.

"The mandated duty of care and record keeping for hazardous waste presents significant difficulty to medical institutions that consign various stages of the disposal process to external service providers," notes Barnard.

"By providing medical institutions with the means to monitor the disposal of their hazardous waste loads, they can ensure that they comply with their legal responsibility to protect the communities they serve."

According to the South African Waste Information Centre of the Department of Environmental Affairs, the environmental impact of recycling is enormous and, more than 19,2 million tonnes of general waste and one million tonnes of hazardous waste went into South Africa's 133 landfill sites in 2017.

Averda confirmed that it will pilot the Averda TruTrak system with key clients, and thereafter, make the service available to the open market within this coming year.

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