How do I dispose of silicone waste as a business

Waste from a company does not fall under municipal household collection or under a packaging take back scheme for consumers. It is commercial waste and goes through a contract with a licensed waste contractor.

Streams are coded according to the European List of Waste, which applies across the European Union. Clean plastic packaging generally falls under 15 01 02 and metal packaging under 15 01 04. Packaging containing residues of hazardous substances, or contaminated by them, falls under 15 01 10 with an asterisk and therefore counts as hazardous waste. Which code applies depends on the product and on how empty the container is, your waste contractor determines this together with you.

The paperwork around hazardous waste is national, not European. Every member state has its own consignment note, notification and register requirements, and the receiving party must hold the relevant permit and registration. In the Netherlands this runs through a begeleidingsbrief and registration with an inzamelaar listed in the VIHB register, in Germany through the electronic waste verification procedure with an Entsorgungsnachweis and Begleitschein. Ask your contractor which regime applies to you.

Separating streams pays off financially. A separate stream of clean plastic containers is considerably cheaper to dispose of than a mixed container classified as hazardous waste. It is therefore worth emptying containers completely and letting residues cure first.

If you produce larger quantities of clean, cured silicone waste on a regular basis, keep it separate. That is the only form in which silicone is likely to become interesting for chemical recycling, where the material is broken down into raw material for new silicone. Ask your waste contractor or your supplier whether a route already exists.

For bulk containers, drums and intermediate bulk containers many suppliers operate return schemes. Ask about them, a cleaned returnable drum saves disposal costs and is more sustainable than a new one. Section 13 of the safety data sheet remains leading in all cases.

Read more: where does an empty silicone container go