Environmental Protection & Safety

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While you may not consider them hazardous, many products in your home contain chemical compounds that have the potential to be hazardous if not handled or disposed of properly. These common products such as cleaners, paints, automotive products, pesticides and garden products are useful, and they are generally safe when properly handled and stored. However, these products which can be found in your garage, basement, kitchen and bathroom, have the potential to poison, corrode, ignite or explode when misused, stored improperly, or disposed of improperly. Careless disposal can pose a threat to health, safety and the environment, and because of this potential risk these items are referred to as household hazardous waste (HHW). The proposed Douglas-Sarpy-Omaha HHW facility will provide our community with a means to properly and safely dispose of these items.

HHW facilities are operated under stringent safety standards and must comply with numerous local, state and federal regulations that protect worker and public safety, and the environment. HHW facilities are designed with multiple layers of safety features and are staffed by workers who receive extensive training in hazardous materials handling. Two and even three levels of containment are included to prevent any possible leaks or spills from leaving the site and reaching surface water or groundwater.

Public safety and the establishment of trust between the HHW facility and the public is vital to the success of the program. The HHW facility will be a much safer place than most hardware, home improvement, automotive and grocery stores where items such as paint, solvents, pool chemicals, adhesives, automotive products and cleaning products are purchased. If a spill or other incident occurs in a store, they do not have the design features that are part of a HHW facility nor do they have the on-site staff trained to safely contain and control an accident. It is estimated that the HHW facility will, at any one time, have only an amount of material equal to or less than an average hardware store.

Facility Environmental Protection and Safety

Safety and environmental protection are obviously the two greatest concerns for the public regarding this facility. They are also the design team’s chief concern. To achieve the highest degree of safety and environmental protection, the facility will approach the concerns from two directions

Operating procedures: ways of doing business at the facility
Design features: physical things incorporated into the design of the facility

The greatest advancement in safety and environmental protection is that material brought to the facility is not stored in an unsafe manner in homes, under sinks, in basements, or in garages nor is it disposed in the landfill, or poured down the drain.

Spill Prevention and Controls

Is a spill likely? Just as spills of these materials occur in homes every day, there will likely be occasional spills at the HHW facility. However, the staff at the facility will be trained and equipped to deal with these spills far more safely and effectively than a homeowner. Spills at the facility will not be flushed down the drain, allowed to run down the street or thrown in the trash. Large uncontrolled spills are not possible because materials will not be stored in containers larger than a drum and because of the multiple layers of containment that are described later in this brochure.

Environmental Protection & Safety Operating Procedures

A major portion of safety and protection comes from the management and operation of the facility. This means the staff puts safety, environmental protection and professionalism to work in their every action. Facility staff will be specialists in chemistry, safety, materials handling and environmental regulations. Staff will receive specialized training and certification in hazardous materials management with regular refresher courses to maintain top performance. In addition staff will receive training and continuing education in material identification, first aid, spill prevention and response, safety and customer service.

To the casual observer, some of the safety procedures will be very apparent while others will be integrated into the daily operation and would need to be pointed out. Like every other industrial business, operating procedures will be reviewed regularly to further improve the environmental protection and safety of the facility. Some of the planned safety procedures are:

Customers stay in their cars when delivering material to the facility, and the material is unloaded by facility staff onto carts that are rolled into the building.

Workers at times will wear protective clothing that includes a respirator mask. This protective gear is for the worker’s protection, is often recommended by product labels and handling practices that require special laundering procedures after handling some materials. Outside the facility and in the public areas protective gear will not be needed.
Unknown materials are tested and classified at the on-site laboratory.
Incompatible materials are kept separate within the facility. A reaction by incompatible materials could be serious and is prevented by keeping materials separate from beginning to end.

Storage drums are kept and stored properly: Lids are always on, drums are never stacked, drums are moved one at a time by hand with equipment to keep them upright. Rooms where drums are stored are kept within design limits
Wastes are removed from the facility as soon as the minimum shipment loads are accumulated.
Spill or leak response equipment is readily available
Regular meetings will be held with area fire department Haz-Mat (hazardous material) response teams to keep each abreast of local issues, and enhance each others expertise.
Each of the environmental and safety design features will be subjected to regular inspection. Some items will be inspected each operating day, while others will be inspected weekly or monthly.

Environmental Protection & Safety Design Features

Security Fence:: The facility will be fenced and gated to control access to the facility when the facility is closed and to discourage dumping. The fence will be designed in keeping with the surrounding properties.
Security Cameras:: The facility will use security cameras to discourage illegal dumping and vandalism.
Security Alarm:: A security alarm linked to emergency services will protect the facility from trespassers, break-ins and vandalism.
Fire Protection & Sprinkler System:: The entire building and canopied driveway will have fire detectors and sprinkler system with remote notification to emergency services. The state and local fire marshal will help to design this feature.
Covered Receiving Area:: A canopy that will cover the area where the public will have HHW unloaded from their car will allow the facility to safely operate during inclement weather.
Spill Containment:: Both inside the building and outside under the canopy, there will be floor drains leading to a pit (sump) to contain spills and prevent any runoff. For all stored material, multiple layers of containment will minimize the likelihood of spills or leaks. To accomplish this—individual containers of HHW will be packed inside drums (if liquid) with any extra space filled with an inert absorbent material; the drums are stored within a shallow tank.
Separated Storage:: Different types of wastes will be kept apart to prevent any inadvertent mixing or interaction between the products.
On-site Laboratory:: One of the best safety features of our facility will be our on-site laboratory. The laboratory will provide personnel the tools they need to safely determine an unknown item’s characteristics, so that it is handled appropriately.
Safety showers, eye washes, ventilation and cooling:: Required by law for many businesses and this facility.
Alkaline Storage:: Alkaline liquids and solids, that include items with a high pH like lime, oven cleaner, lye, bleach and ammonia.
Oxidizers Storage:: Oxidizers, organic peroxides, water reactive and other reactive materials that include pool chlorine and hydrogen peroxide.
Pesticides Storage:: Pesticides and poisons that are not corrosives or oxidizers are held here.
Acids Storage:: Acidic liquids and solids such as muriatic and sulfuric acid and some cleaning compounds.
Flammable Storage:: Flammable and combustible liquids and solids, compressed gases (aerosols) are kept in this specially designed room where everything is designed to suppress sparks. Examples materials kept here are gasoline, turpentine, varnishes and stains.
Material Reuse:: The facility is at its heart a recycling center, for HHW. The ReShop will offer good, usable products that have been dropped off at the facility by other residents. A variety of household cleaners, garden products, automotive products, paints, stains, varnishes, and hobby supplies will be generally available. Types and quantities of products will vary.
Laboratory:: In the Laboratory, unidentified materials are opened for sampling and testing under the fume hood. When identified, they are routed to the appropriate area to be recycled, consolidated or packaged for disposal.
Covered Vehicle Unloading Area:: When a resident arrives at the facility with material for disposal they drive under a canopy. An operator greets the customer and visually inspects the items. The customer will complete a short form for the purpose of documentation. To help identify any unknowns, staff will ask the resident about any items that don't have readable labels. Following that, facility staff will unload the items onto a cart and the customer then drives away or parks their vehicle to enter the ReShop.
Carts:: Materials are not hand carried around the facility. Instead they are placed on a cart. The cart full of materials is weighed at different stages of processing to maintain an accurate inventory.
Bulking:: Some materials are bulked to consolidate the material for shipping. Items that are bulked include oil-base paints and solvents, latex paint, motor oil, and anti-freeze.
Recycling:: Empty metal containers are crushed and recycled. Paper and plastic containers cannot be recycled due to contamination. Glass containers can not be recycled due to worker safety.