Responsible Management of Hazardous Waste
At Lambton, we comply with rigorous government environmental regulations and use the best practices of our industry to ensure that hazardous materials are properly identified and responsibly handled. This series of standard operating procedures protects our employees, customers, neighbours, the public and the environment. It includes:
Waste Characterization
Our management process begins at the hazardous waste generator's site and extends to the Lambton facility's state-of-the-art analytical laboratory. Details of the generator's production process, as well as the composition and volume of the waste, are carefully researched by a Clean Harbors technical representative before the waste is accepted at Lambton. Skilled chemists, technologists and technicians determine the chemical characteristics of each candidate waste stream. Taken together, the laboratory results and initial technical report help Lambton develop options for safe transport, treatment and disposal.
The waste is then either shipped directly to the Lambton facility or to another one of Clean Harbors strategically located service centres, which offer waste generators localized services for blending, bulking, pre-treating and consolidating wastes. After visiting one of these centres, the waste is shipped to the Lambton facility.
All transportation of hazardous materials is tracked on "manifests" that describe the unique nature of each waste stream. This system allows the Ministry of the Environment, as well as the generator and staff at Lambton, to ensure that hazardous materials are safely transported to a licenced facility for proper treatment and disposal.
When the truck arrives at the Lambton facility, its load undergoes a pre-acceptance inspection, where another sample of the waste is taken. Receiving staff carefully compare the sample's key characteristics with those established during the initial laboratory analysis. Only after its identity and appropriate waste management process have been confirmed will the waste be formally accepted and unloaded at the Lambton site. If the waste does not meet the pre-approved criteria, other suitable treatments can be recommended to the generator. If no suitable alternative exists, the waste will be sent back to the generator.
Organic, or carbon-based, liquid waste and emulsions are unloaded into specially designated storage tanks for transfer to the incineration system. Waste solids that meet the facility's acceptance criteria are sent to the secure landfill system for disposal.