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An EMS can facilitate environmental compliance.
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Environmental
Management Systems
and the Solid Waste Industry
Part
1: Background
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An
environmental management system (EMS) is a better way to manage environmental
interactions, risks and liabilities. Over the past eight
years, these systems have been implemented at various organizations
throughout the world.
 While
more
than 1,600 organizations have been ISO
14001-certified in the United States alone, EMS is now on the rise in the solid
waste industry. Click here
>
for an illustrative project example from
Issue 2.
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Did
You Know? |
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Nearly all organizations have developed, and utilize, some
type of management system. Yet, in
many instances, these systems are too informal or reactive, only
meeting minimum environmental regulation requirements.
ISO 14001 is based on the quality management cycle of "Plan-Do-Check-Improve."
As defined in Section 3.0 of the standard: “an EMS is part of the
overall management system that includes organizational structure, planning
activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, and processes. It
provides resources
for developing, implementing, maintaining, reviewing and correcting/improving
an organization’s approach to environmental management.” |
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ISO
14001
Although
there
are numerous types of EMS standards, ISO 14001 is the most commonly implemented
and globally recognized one.
Created
as an international standard in the Fall of 1996, more than 36,000 organizations
have been ISO 14001-certified worldwide (greater than 60 percent of those
certifications have been issued within the last year).
The
Solid Waste Connection
The myriad of environmental interactions and regulatory
requirements that solid waste management facilities face are
multi-faceted and complex. Although a relatively new concept,
implementing EMS-driven solid waste solutions makes
perfect sense.
Simply put, solid waste management IS
environmental management. Nearly all solid
waste activities are regulated, and the
potential environmental impact of those activities is significant
if left uncontrolled.
The solid waste industry must also address
public scrutiny. An EMS can assist by
managing external communications in a consistent and proactive
manner.
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Example
Solid Waste EMS Activity:
Leachate
Treatment |
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Environmental
Aspects - potential chemical treatment spills,
biosolids management, untreated effluent releases or odors
Legal
Requirements - clean water act, Federal 503, local
and solid waste regs, EPCRA, CAA
Objective
- improve effluent discharge quality
Environmental
Monitoring Program - install automated controls, develop operational controls,
train personnel, monitor, measure and audit. |
Cultural
Shift
There is real evidence that the concept of an EMS
(particularly those that conform to ISO 14001) is one that has
established itself as more than just a trend.
It signifies a cultural shift toward aligning an
organization’s business and environmental functions in pursuit of
environmental stewardship and sustainability.
Check
back next issue for Part 2 of our solid waste series: "Regulatory-Based Management vs. an ISO
14001 EMS."
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